As driverless cars grow closer, a delicate balance between rules and guidelines

The Washington Post highlights Marc Scribner's report on state laws blocking platooning technology. 

Enter the concept of “platooning,” the idea that two or more autonomous vehicles can travel in the slipstream of each other. As the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out in a report released Thursday, grouping vehicles almost bumper to bumper at highway speeds will reduce congestion, improve fuel economy and accommodate more traffic without requiring new highway lanes.

The question of how closely automated vehicles can travel raises two of the larger issues that federal and state officials are working to resolve. With the advent of self-driving cars, there is greater need for uniformity in state traffic laws. There also is a delicate question: states traditionally have regulated drivers, while the federal government has governed vehicle safety.

Who takes the lead in regulating a system where one day drivers may rarely, if ever, touch the wheel?

Read the full article at The Washington Post.