Ohio Bill to Ban/Fine Self-driving Cars on Ohio Roads

[supratachophobia]

Link to Reddit thread: Ohio representative introduces bill to ban all autonomous capable Teslas from public roads. • /r/teslamotors

Link to article: Tesla owners wouldn't be able to drive on most roads if this bill passes

Link to Rep. Grossman's Contact Page: Representative Cheryl L. Grossman (R) - District 23 | The Ohio House of Representatives

As I stated in the thread, if you decide to contact her, and you should, please be respecful, open-minded, and try to understand the motivation behind her decision to introduce such a bill. After that, attempt to address her concerns with facts, personal experiances, etc. I have heard 1st hand that she is open-minded and appreciates being educated.

Ohio is not the most important state (well, it is), but a decision here could cause issues elsewhere in other states across the country.

 

[jeffro01]

Holy hell... I don't even know where to begin with this... Republican... Go figure...

This is stupidity in it's most obvious form...

Jeff

 

[Cebe]

I'm sure there will be updated versions to differentiate between "capable of autonomous operation" and "autonomous operation", but this is why Tesla themselves talk about laws needing to be in place.

For example it'd be interesting to see what the insurance companies do. They may very well decide not to insure your car while under autonomous operation (e.g., you're not in the car), or still make it your fault if you're in the car, even if you're not driving. I wonder if they would treat it the same as "the parking brake failed and the car rolled down the hill on its own" type of collision...

 

[TexasEV]

I assume it's legacy auto manufacturers trying to ban the competition until they have time to catch up. Of course the rep will say it's for "public safety". That's the standard line when there's laws to protect an industry or regulatory capture.

 

[Waiting4M3]

This is why we need the feds to step in and create some standards ASAP.

 

[habanero69]

This is why we need the feds to step in and create some standards ASAP.

Don't worry, if Hillary wins, she's all for more gov regulation and control.

 

[Waiting4M3]

Don't worry, if Hillary wins, she's all for more gov regulation and control.

Did she also set up those gov regs on only allowing dealership to sell cars?

Not all regulations are bad, and they are not always a Democrat thing or a Republican thing. I would prefer if we can just focus on the merit of each topic and keep politics out of it.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I bet this same fossil tried to ban those fancy DVDs. Back in my day VHS was just fine and that's how I likes it.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I'm supposed to be respectful to a Republican, really?

Let them pass this law. The next day Tesla will add all Ohio owners to their beta testing program.

 

[supratachophobia]

So, I've spoke with Rep. Reineke's office, the co-author of this bill. The wording of the bill was not intentional to single-out Tesla, although they acknowledge that they understand how it could be interpreted that way. The hand-nag of APv1 would indicate that it would make the current version of AP not-applicable to this law. But they also talked about redefining the wording (which could go either way). The bill was a response to the state of Michigan proposing similar legislation, to be ready for self-driving vehicles. And..., oh yeah, Rep. Reineke owns some car dealerships.... But I was assured this had nothing to do with that.....

I would encourage everyone to stay up on this issue, even going far as to testify at the public hearings that will be held on this issue in the coming months.

 

[shelbri]

When will politicians suggest laws based upon actual risk rather than the perception of risk?

Autopilot driving via Tesla vehicles has resulted in one death in the United States against something like 200 million miles driven. One death (which was preventable had the driver properly followed the guidance on how to use it) while the development of this technology has the promise to reduce fatal crashes by at least 50% or ~15k people a year.

Some say we should wait until it is more thoroughly tested. Yet we have only had one fatal incident. While at the same time, we allow 16 year olds to drive cars even though we know they are 3 times more likely to get into a fatal accident than someone 20 years or older. On average, 6 teens die in car crashes EVERY DAY in the US. (Source: CDC)

Yeah - ban autopilot. Clearly that is the problem.

More likely, this is an attempt to allow other automakers to catch-up!

 

[TexasEV]

The bill was a response to the state of Michigan proposing similar legislation, to be ready for self-driving vehicles. And..., oh yeah, Rep. Reineke owns some car dealerships.... But I was assured this had nothing to do with that.....

So the legacy car companies aren't even subtle about it, using a car dealer to introduce a bill banning self driving cars. I would have thought they'd want to be a few steps removed from having their fingerprints on it, if they wanted the public to believe it's really a public safety issue.

 

[supratachophobia]

So the legacy car companies aren't even subtle about it, using a car dealer to introduce a bill banning self driving cars. I would have thought they'd want to be a few steps removed from having their fingerprints on it, if they wanted the public to believe it's really a public safety issue.

He only "co-authored" it.... the author of the bill is not eligible for re-election which tells me that's why it was authored the way it was.

 

[KublaConn]

So, I've spoke with Rep. Reineke's office, the co-author of this bill. The wording of the bill was not intentional to single-out Tesla, although they acknowledge that they understand how it could be interpreted that way. The hand-nag of APv1 would indicate that it would make the current version of AP not-applicable to this law. But they also talked about redefining the wording (which could go either way). The bill was a response to the state of Michigan proposing similar legislation, to be ready for self-driving vehicles. And..., oh yeah, Rep. Reineke owns some car dealerships.... But I was assured this had nothing to do with that.....

I would encourage everyone to stay up on this issue, even going far as to testify at the public hearings that will be held on this issue in the coming months.

I always scoff...yes...SCOFF, I TELL YOU...whenever I hear or read, "but I assure you that "_______" had nothing to do with our decision" from a politician. As if, when called out on their duplicious BS, they're just going to say "Oh well, you guys got me on this one. Yeah, gotta admit, I was trying to pull a fast on on you there. Good catch."

 

[RogerHScott]

I would have thought they'd want to be a few steps removed from having their fingerprints on it, if they wanted the public to believe it's really a public safety issue.

Which savvy public are you referring to here?

 

[SageBrush]

. And..., oh yeah, Rep. Reineke owns some car dealerships.... But I was assured this had nothing to do with that.....

And here I was thinking that Detroit had bought her, when it turns out that this is just exploitation of political power for personal gain.

Make America great again ?

 

[supratachophobia]

And here I was thinking that Detroit had bought her, when it turns out that this is just exploitation of political power for personal gain.

Make America great again ?

Reineke is a the rep. (male) from Tiffin, Ohio. Grossman is the rep. (female) from Grove City, Ohio. And as someone pointed out, for the latter, the supercharger is installed in her town and therefore benefits from the dollars spent by owners who go there to charge. If the bill wasn't intended to include Tesla's, then why was it worded to cover Teslas?

 

[eloder]

This makes me incredibly angry. I've sent an essay over to the representative.

 

[Wknapp0924]

As an Ohioan living in California this boils my blood. However, it does not surprise me one bit because Trump will probably win Ohio tomorrow... I don't think a bill like this could ever pass, but with Ohio you never know.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

And..., oh yeah, Rep. Reineke owns some car dealerships.... But I was assured this had nothing to do with that...

Someone has to teach this guy what a conflict of interest is.