House passes bill to speed self-driving cars’ deployment

The House voted Wednesday to speed the introduction of self-driving cars by giving the federal government authority to exempt automakers from safety standards not applicable to the technology, and to permit deployment of up to 100,000 of the vehicles annually over the next several years.

The bill was passed by a voice vote. State and local officials have raised concern that it limits their ability to protect the safety of their citizens by giving to the federal government sole authority to regulate the vehicles’ design and performance. States would still decide whether to permit self-driving cars on their roads. Generally, the federal government regulates vehicles, while states regulate drivers.

Automakers have complained that a patchwork of laws states have passed in recent years would hamper deployment of the vehicles. Self-driving cars are forecast to dramatically lower traffic fatalities once they are on roads in significant numbers, among other benefits. Early estimates indicate there were more than 40,000 traffic fatalities last year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 94 percent of crashes involve human error.

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee are also working on self-driving car legislation. If a measure passes the full Senate, the two versions would have to be reconciled before President Donald Trump could sign it into law.

The House bill is the product of extensive negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, a rarity.

The measure “gives the auto industry the tools to revolutionize how we’re going to get around for generations to come,” said Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said the bill “is fundamentally an issue of American competitiveness” since foreign automakers are developing self-driving cars.

The bill addresses “a variety of barriers that otherwise block the ability to safely test and deploy these vehicle technologies,” the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said.

The bill permits the deployment of up to 25,000 self-driving vehicles in its first year, rising to 100,000 vehicles annually in the third year.

But consumer and safety groups say they remain concerned the bill will weaken safety standards.

JEFF SWENSEN / THE NEW YORK TIMES 2016 The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that would add hundreds of thousands of self-driving cars — like this Ford Fusion modified by Uber — to U.S. road in the next few years.