Driverless legislation pushed

Darren Handschuh - CASTANET Dec 21, 2017 / 3:07 pm | Story: 214639

The BC Conservatives think the province should take the wheel when it comes to driverless cars. Scott Anderson, interim leader of the BC Cons, believes British Columbia should be at the forefront of the coming transportation revolution by proactively introducing framework legislation to allow autonomous vehicles on our roads. The party proposes legislation to allow autonomous vehicle testing on B.C. streets, similar to the legislation enacted in Ontario, but further reaching, as in the case of Virginia, where autonomous vehicles can be tested in real-world conditions. According to Anderson, automakers and some technology companies hope to begin deploying driverless vehicles around 2020, and at least one manufacturer of light autonomous vehicles is ready for deployment as early as next year. In terms of heavy trucking, Loblaw Companies Ltd. has already pre-ordered 25 electric self-driving trucks from Tesla. The autonomous programming software is already installed in them, but dormant because there is no legislation for its use. Meanwhile, as of 2017 33 US states have introduced autonomous vehicle legislation and 21 states have actually passed legislation related to autonomous vehicles. "We are at the cusp of a revolution in transportation that will rival the transition from horse to automobile in importance," said Anderson. "Autonomous vehicles are coming far faster than we think, and coupled with the cheap, clean energy that Site C and other development projects will produce, these technologies will revolutionize our existence...everything from our use of streets to how we work and live will be impacted." Autonomous vehicles are expected to save lives, lower insurance costs, and reduce injuries. Various studies have found that human error is the culprit in between 90-97 per cent of crashes, and a 2014 study found that U.S. traffic crashes cost society $836 billion annually.