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Senator Eyes Tesla's Self-Driving on All Roads
18 Dec
Summary
- A new bill would restrict advanced driving systems to defined operational domains.
- The legislation aims to prevent autonomous features from being used on all road types.
- It targets companies like Tesla for enabling systems on any road without limits.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey has introduced legislation, the "Stay in Your Lane Act," aimed at increasing the safety of autonomous and semi-autonomous driving systems. The bill proposes that automakers must define and adhere to specific "operational design domains" (ODDs) for their advanced driving features. This would restrict vehicles to operate only within predefined geographic or weather conditions for which the technology is engineered.
This legislative push appears primarily directed at Tesla, which has allowed its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system to be used across a wide range of road types, including city streets and residential areas. The "Stay in Your Lane Act" would compel such companies to limit their systems' deployment to "safer" road environments, thereby preventing potential misuse and accidents.
The proposed law bypasses lengthy regulatory processes, establishing a clear statutory requirement for manufacturers to set and enforce these operational boundaries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would have the authority to investigate and penalize companies that fail to comply or define their ODDs too broadly, ensuring a greater level of accountability in the development of self-driving technology.
