This week, the NHTSA issued the federal government's first directive on the benefits and hurdles related to the introduction of self-driving cars. The guidelines should make it easier for companies to develop autonomous technologies.
"With self-driving cars all but certain to hit the road in the coming years, federal safety regulators on Thursday announced new guidelines for companies and states eager -- or reluctant -- to make them a reality," reports David Undercoffler. "Currently only California, Nevada and Florida have enacted laws allowing self-driving cars on public roads."
"[The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] said other states considering joining this trio, and companies interested in testing this emerging technology in a public space, had asked the agency to recommend how to safely allow these vehicles on the streets."
"As additional states consider similar legislation, our recommendations provide lawmakers with the tools they need to encourage the safe development and implementation of automated vehicle technology," NHTSA Chief David Strickland said in a statement.
FULL STORY: Feds issue guidelines for self-driving cars like Google's

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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research