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Technology often marches ahead of the ability of government regulators to keep up. A prime example is the internet, which surged ahead in its formative days in part because there was an absence of red tape to hold back its pioneers.

Autonomous vehicles are another example. Researchers and industry are racing to develop, test and eventually market self-driving vehicles, from cars to trucks to small sidewalk delivery robots. The trick for government is how to monitor public safety without forcing unnecessary detours to innovation.

The release of the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy in late 2016 signaled Washington will keep a “hands-off” attitude, at least for now, when it comes to telling automakers and others how to proceed with the development of autonomous vehicles.

However, some state governments have taken the federal approach as an invitation to regulate a burgeoning young industry and to “fence out” innovation. The result could lead to contradictory state laws that lack national cohesiveness and which impede interstate commerce.

Fortunately, those “regulate-first, ask-questions-later” states may not include Wisconsin.