Bill Text: HI HR163 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Traffic safety; Driverless cars

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-30 - (H) Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Carroll, Herkes, Manahan, Wooley excused (4). [HR163 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HR163-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	163
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the department of transportation to review and report on policies relating to the use of driverless vehicles in hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 40,000 deaths occur each year on America's highways; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Google research team has developed a driverless car to help improve highway safety by limiting human error; and

 

WHEREAS, in road tests of an autonomous vehicle conducted by Google, not a single accident occurred in more than 100,000 miles of driving; and

 

     WHEREAS, there have only been two accidents since 2010 involving Google's driverless cars; and both of those mishaps were caused by human error when the Google car was rear-ended; and

 

WHEREAS, Google's autonomous cars safely navigate roads through the use of artificial intelligence software, global positioning systems and sensors; and

 

     WHEREAS, driverless cars have many advantages over human-driven vehicles, including the fact that machines do not become tired, angry or distracted, and can be aware of more variables that occur on the road; and

 

     WHEREAS, autonomous cars can be built lighter than traditional vehicles, thus increasing fuel efficiency; and

 

     WHEREAS, autonomous cars can be driver closer together than traditional vehicles, resulting in less congested roads; and

 

     WHEREAS, Nevada passed a law to allow Google to test its driverless cars in the state and address legal issues that may arise when no human driver is behind the wheel of a motor vehicle; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii should following Nevada's lead and adopt policies to allow the use of driverless cars that would result in greater fuel efficiency, safer traffic conditions and less congested roads; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Department of Transportation is requested to review its by-laws and policies, applicable administrative rules and statutes, as well as any internal practices and procedures, that could relate to driverless cars; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that following such review, the Department of Transportation shall report to the Legislature prior to the Regular Session of 2013 on the findings of their review and offer suggestions for legislation that would allow the use of driverless cars in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the governor of the State of Hawaii, the director of the Department of Transportation, and Google Inc.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Traffic safety; Driverless cars