Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has welcomed the state legislature”™s passage of a pilot program that will allow manufacturers and fleet service providers of self-driving vehicles to conduct tests in Connecticut. The House of Representatives voted 130-18 on June 5 to approve the bill, which passed 36-0 in the Senate.
In this legislation, four state agencies ”“ the Departments of Motor Vehicles, Transportation and Emergency Services and Public Protection plus the Office of Policy and Management ”“ are given the authority to “establish a pilot program for not more than two municipalities” to allow the testing of autonomous vehicles by their manufacturers on the highways within the municipalities.
“This legislation will help put Connecticut at the forefront of this innovative, burgeoning industry,” Malloy said in a statement. “Autonomous vehicles are already being tested in several states throughout the country, and we cannot allow our state to be outpaced as this technology grows.”
