Driverless Car Bill Cruises Through NJ Senate Panel

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey Senate panel has given the green light to a bill that would allow for driverless cars.

The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved legislation Monday that would allow self-driving cars to be tested and licensed for general use.

Sen. Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, who sponsored the proposal, said the measure aims to create the framework for policies governing automated vehicles, but also seeks to establish the Garden State as a hub for developing the cutting-edge vehicles.

"We need to create the rules by which autonomous vehicles could be licensed in the state of New Jersey and create those parameters within the upcoming year," Kean told WCBS 880. "We should be creating the jobs, creating the opportunity, creating, in fact, the mobility people want in this day and age."

New Jersey would be among the first states to pass such legislation.

"Other states are already moving in this direction," Kean said. "We are the innovation state. We should be in the forefront of this type of technological drive."

Kean added that he's not overly concerned about driverless vehicles being potentially dangerous because, he said, 90 percent of accidents are caused by driver error.

Just about every major automobile manufacturer has a driverless car in the works — among them are Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and even Google. Some companies have said the cars could be available by the end of the decade.

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