A Cruise car drives in downtown Austin on Sept. 26. Cruise, based in San Francisco, is one of several autonomous vehicle companies that tests their self-driving cars in Austin., The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The bill included a key provision aimed at boosting the industry and speeding development of the technology in Texas: It barred cities from getting involved. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, “if a vehicle is truly automated a licensed human operator is not required to be in the vehicle and the vehicle itself is considered to be licensed to drive. In such situation, the owner of the vehicle is considered to be the operator for the purposes of assessing compliance with traffic laws.
Screens hanging on the backs of the front seats showed a digital map with the route that Cookie would follow to our destination and allowed us to select up to eight different radio stations. The steering wheel turned on its own as the car moved through downtown Austin traffic. The AV frequently drove slower than the vehicles around us, but at times it took corners very quickly.
Another report stated that a Cruise AV crashed into a brick wall on Austin’s West Avenue on Aug. 23 and because it didn’t have a steering wheel, there was no way for emergency personnel to quickly move it. A tow truck was called.