Michigan Enacts First Law for Testing, Sale of Driverless Cars

Michigan, in a race with Silicon Valley for supremacy in autonomous autos, today enacted legislation that it said is the first in the U.S. to establish comprehensive regulations for testing, use and eventual sale of self-driving cars.

Governor Rick Snyder signed a law that defines how self-driving cars can be used on public roads in testing and commercial deployment, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said in a statement. The law allows public road testing of vehicles without steering wheels, gas or brake pedals or any need for human control. It lets auto and tech companies operate driverless ride-sharing services and also lays out rules for how self-driving cars can be sold to the public once the technology has been tested and certified.