Driver-less vehicles are headed your way. How will Indiana cope?

Americans say they aren’t ready for self-driving cars, but that future is closer than many realize.

Indiana lawmakers are pushing for laws to both oversee and encourage growth of a virtually unregulated sector of automobile manufacturing.

Currently Indiana has no laws regarding self-driving vehicles. At the federal level, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration approved guidelines for the industry, but little is done to actually regulate the autonomous technology.

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s goal is to create “an environment that attracts research and economic development” within the autonomous vehicle industry.

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However, fostering an environment of innovation, while also guaranteeing Hoosier safety is a delicate balance, lawmakers say after months of back and forth with industry leaders.

Under House Bill 1341, an autonomous driving task group would have to approve the operation of self-driving cars that don’t require a driver in any capacity. The task force would also have the capability to revoke an autonomous vehicle’s ability to operate in Indiana if safety issues arise.

The House unanimously voted for the legislation Thursday, and the bill will now head to the Senate.

Indiana hasn’t yet made a name for itself as a hub for autonomous car manufacturers but it could be in a position to grab a swath of the industry due to its large automobile manufacturing presence.

Indiana’s automotive industry ranks No. 2 among the states in gross domestic product, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Already the Indiana Department of Transportation has started testing technology that allows data sharing between vehicles and traffic signals on three state highway corridors, and House Bill 1341 would enable the department to study other ways to adapt Indiana's roads.

However, the state lags behind others when it comes to autonomous vehicle laws. Six governors have issued executive orders relating to self-driving vehicles and another 21 states have passed related legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In cities such as Phoenix and San Francisco, self-driving cars with a backup driver are already being tested.

Opponents of the proposed legislation are concerned that instead of leading to more autonomous vehicle testing in Indiana, the new rules would inhibit the industry. Matthew Mincieli, a representative from TechNet, said the new task force could stifle the industry’s flexibility and act as an “unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.”

Indiana’s task force would be able to create new requirements for manufacturers to meet, under the proposed bill.

Opponents would rather the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulate the industry and deal with any safety problems that arise, like the agency does with non-autonomous cars. They suggest Indiana model itself after states whose governors have issued executive orders supporting the industry but refrained from instituting additional regulations. Delaware's governor, for example, signed an executive order last year along those lines.

Bill author Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, still touted his bill as a way to encourage advancements within the industry. Besides creating the task force, House Bill 1341 would allow autonomous semi-trucks to drive in platoons, following closely behind one another. The legislation also prohibits local governments from regulating the industry.

According to Soliday, most manufactures and stakeholders are on board with the legislation, after an estimated 12 versions.

But perhaps even more important to Soliday than staying on the cutting edge of technology is the safety of Hoosiers.

“We’re committed in the state to moving forward and encouraging innovation, but we’re just not going to compromise Hoosier safety,” Soliday said. “We’re just not going to do it.”

Among the concerns for Soliday and Indiana Department of Transportation's commissioner Joe McGuiness are how safely these vehicles would function in school and construction zones and poor weather.

Manufacturers say adding autonomous vehicles to roads would actually decrease the number of accidents, by eliminating human error.

In Indiana, there were more than 52,000 traffic collisions in 2016 and 821 traffic deaths.

Renee Gibson, director of state affairs at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said one of the primary goals of the innovations is to increase safety.

“We hope that by removing human error from the equation (autonomous) vehicles can potentially drastically reduce vehicle crashes and save thousands of lives,” Gibson said. "Automakers do take this responsibility very seriously. They have no interest in compromising safety as this technology is rolled out."

Despite the promise of increased safety, many drivers are reluctant to let their roadways be overtaken by self-driving vehicles.

In a national AAA survey, three quarters of respondents said they would be afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle and 54 percent said they would feel less safe even sharing the road with autonomous vehicles.

Only 10 percent of respondents said they would feel safer.

Whether Hoosiers are comfortable with the concept of self-driving cars or not, the technology is already being created. New cars already have certain autonomous functions, such as Lane Keeping Assist or Automatic Emergency Braking.

The AAA survey also found that 59 percent of Americans want autonomous features in their cars, even if they’re reluctant to give up the steering wheel completely.

“Autonomous vehicles aren’t coming. They are here,” said Mark Fisher, vice president of government relations and policy development at the Indy Chamber.

Earlier this month, Uber announced the company would start carrying passengers in driver-less cars by the end of next year. Google's Waymo already completed the first driver-less ride on a public road in 2015 and Lyft is planning for half of platform's rides to be using driver-less vehicles, according to the Self Driving Coalition for Safer Streets.

That doesn’t mean lawmakers expect to see only driver-less vehicles on roadways in the near future. Soliday said most companies still have flaws to work through, such as how well the cars work in poor weather conditions. He attributes many of the promises to "talk."

"There’s a lot of opportunities here for the future," Soliday said. "It’s coming. If anybody tells you they know when, they’re kidding you."

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.