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The Route 35 gate to Fort Monmouth in Eatontown. Land in the fort could be used to develop driverless car technology.

(Noah K. Murray | The Star-Ledger )

A bill to regulate the self-driving cars that may take you to work someday was cleared Monday for a future vote by the full senate and could lead to reuse of dormant facilities at the former Fort Monmouth Army base.



Before a four wheeled R2-D2 or C-3PO can back out of the driveway, state lawmakers want to put regulations in place. The bill was approved by all 13 members of the senate budget and appropriations committee to go to a vote of the full senate.

Before voting, State Senator Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth said she supported the bill and hoped it would help with the redevelopment of the former Army base at Fort Monmouth.



"This provides a great opportunity for Fort Monmouth to use up to 83-acres to pursue it," Beck said before voting for the bill. "It's being looked at by most of major car manufacturers. This is one small step."



The bill, sponsored by Senate Minority leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union and Senate transportation committee chairman Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson, would require the state Motor Vehicle commission to establish standards for licensing driverless vehicles and rules to cover their safety, testing, insurance, registration and operation.



Kean hopes that the state could become a hub for development of driverless cars, he said in a release. A consortium of graduate students and engineering faculty at Princeton University are involved in researching driverless cars, as are technology corporations, such as Google.



On Oct. 3, the former Army base was the site of a meeting hosted by Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering, which attracted 60 people, including representatives from BMW, various information technology and insurance companies.



A spokeswoman for the state Economic Development Authority, which is overseeing redevelopment of the base, declined to provide details about any proposals or discussions to locate a facility at the Fort. However, minutes of the Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority said PAVE is interested in establishing a world class facility at the base for autonomous vehicle research.



The bill's first hurdle was clearing Sacco's committee in October. One of the benefits of an autonomous car is the potential to reduce crashes and highway deaths by eliminating driver error, Kean said in a statement. Of the 508 fatal highway crashes in 2013, state police statistics attributed all but 8 to some from of driver error or action.



At a hearing in October, representatives of car manufacturers said they feared that regulation is premature and would stifle development of the technology which is in its infancy. Representatives from General Motors and Honda were at Monday's hearing to oppose the bill, but testimony wasn't taken.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.