Informational Forum Briefs Lawmakers On Driverless Technology

From the Connecticut General Assembly: State Representative Kevin Ryan (D-Norwich, Montville, Bozrah) co-hosted an informational forum at the Legislative Office Building this week featuring presentations and discussions about autonomous vehicles. The forum was one of four in the U.S. presented by the Council of State Governments.

The technology behind driverless autonomous vehicles is in its infancy but is developing quickly and has the potential to transform transportation – as did the automobile more than a century ago with the transition from horses to the internal combustion engine. The automobile created new manufacturing opportunities, gas and oil production, an infrastructure with paved roads, street signs, laws governing the use of a motor vehicle, drivers licenses, and much more.

Rep. Ryan heard from invited guests on a variety of topics related to autonomous vehicles, including:

• Estimated timetables for developing and rolling out AV technologies
• Testing AV technology
• The companies and their partners involved in AV technology
• The economic and social impact, both positive and negative, posed by AV’s
• Policy considerations, including AV legislation passed or pending in other states
• Long-term planning and policy toward AV technology

The informational forum ties in with proposed legislation that would establish a task force to study the impact of AV’s on Connecticut. If approved, the task force would be required to submit a report on its findings and recommendations in January 2018.

Connecticut is an innovator. We take a concept, turn it into an invention, then build it and improve it. It’s part of our Yankee Ingenuity reputation. Using a thoughtful approach to policy and legislation Connecticut can be an incubator for autonomous vehicle technology with many economic benefits.

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