Self-driving cars: One politician’s plan to avoid chaos in California

By MIKE BROWN

Ben Allen wants to act on autonomous cars before it’s too late. The California state senator introduced a bill in December 2020 to spur legislators to think about policy changes before self-driving cars cover communities. “If we don’t create a coordinated, well-thought-through policy, this could actually end up making things worse than they are,” Allen tells Inverse .

Since 2014, the Democratic senator has represented the 26th district , which covers the Westside, Hollywood, and South Bay areas of Los Angeles County. Allen is not alone in his efforts, he says: there’s even talk among Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s team of a national task force.

Want to find out more about how policies could prepare roads for autonomous cars, how the industry has responded to Allen’s bill, and whether California is in danger of being left behind? Read the full interview, only in MUSK READS+ . Ben Allen.Ben Allen Firms like Waymo , Tesla , and Cruise Automation are developing self-driving car systems.

Tesla started a beta of its autonomous driving software in October 2020. The current software requires the driver to maintain attention, but CEO Elon Musk suggested in December 2020 some jurisdictions could approve full self-driving […]

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