Nevada Legalizes Self-Driving Cars

by John Stossel | June 25, 2011

I reported earlier this year about a cool new technology: cars that drive themselves. Google already designed one, and it drove more than a thousand miles on public roads using just a computer chip and a sensor to detect other cars. It only crashed once, and in that case it was rear-ended while it was stopped at a red light.

So why can’t you buy one yet? Because they’re illegal. Outdated government rules in every state require a driver always to be in control of the wheel.

But today, Nevada – at Google’s urging – became the first state to pass a bill that allows driverless cars. Wow--a government that actually repealed a law.

It could have a big impact. According to transportation expert Randal O’Toole, self-driving cars could safely drive close together at higher speeds, since computers have better reaction times than people. About 6,000 robot cars could drive on highways that currently supports 2,000 regular cars – and that means fewer traffic jams, less congestion and fewer idling cars wasting fuel.

We should stop wasting taxpayer money on high-speed rail and move to this cleaner, more convenient technology, that's just around the corner.