Washington, D.C. — TechNet, the national, bipartisan
network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today welcomed passage
by the U.S. House of Representatives of the SELF DRIVE Act (H.R. 3388) as the
first major step in developing clear and consistent federal safety standards
for self-driving vehicles, also referred to as autonomous vehicles (AV).

The
following statement can be attributed to Linda Moore, president and CEO of TechNet,
whose membership includes General Motors, Lyft, Uber, Waymo, and other
innovative companies developing AV-related technology:

“Self-driving vehicles hold
enormous promise to save lives, create jobs, and provide greater mobility and
freedom to elderly Americans and persons with disabilities. Innovations in self-driving vehicle
technology have led state legislatures and regulators to respond with
common-sense safety proposals, but also many unnecessary burdens that are creating
a 50-state patchwork of conflicting policies, which threaten progress. As companies continue to make advancements in
this technology, the federal government has a proper role to play in developing
uniform standards in areas where it makes sense, ensuring that self-driving
cars will be safe for the road.

“We applaud the House leadership,
as well as Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) for
spearheading this bipartisan effort to chart the right approach to this
issue. We look forward to the
introduction of similar legislation in the Senate soon, and ultimately seeing
the nation’s first major self-driving vehicle safety law signed by the
President during this Congress.”