Brent Snavely and Nathan Bomey

Detroit Free Press and USA TODAY

DETROIT — The Obama administration on Thursday proposed a 10-year, $4 billion push to spark the development of self-driving cars, hoping to one day eliminate roadway deaths.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulators said they would seek unified national regulations on self-driving cars.

Regulators are also encouraging automakers to run trials. NHTSA said it will consider granting exemptions from regulations to automakers for up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles for on-road, real-world testing.

The agency also plans to work with state governments and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators within six months to develop cohesive state regulations for autonomous vehicles.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the president's 2017 budget proposal includes $4 billion over 10 years for pilot projects, including a program to test self-driving cars by investing in technologically connected roads. He provided few other details on how the money would be spent if it comes to fruition.

Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind have said their goal is to one day have no deaths attributable to car accidents. Today, about 4 in 5 accidents are due to a driver's mistake, he said.

"We ask ourselves, 'What if human error could be eliminated?'" Foxx told reporters on the floor of the North American International Auto Show. "That is a possibility worth pursuing."

The auto industry has been pressing the U.S. government to step in and create regulations for self-driving cars to avoid a patchwork of laws that is already forming from state to state.

Among the key questions are: Who accepts liability when a self-driving car crashes; how will insurance policies be regulated; which technologies will be legal; and what type of on-road testing will be allowed?

Foxx unveiled the regulations at a press conference, flanked by representatives from Google, Delphi, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, Tesla Motors and Volvo, all of which have autonomous vehicle technologies in the works.

"If you've got a good idea that you think doesn't compromise safety, bring it to us," Foxx told the auto executives.

Mark Reuss, global product chief for General Motors, said he welcomed the alternative approach to auto regulations for self-driving vehicles.

"It's different, and it needs to be different," he said.

The initiative comes after two years dominated by record recalls and fines that have elevated tension between regulators and automakers.

Buzz about autonomous cars dominated discussions at the Detroit auto show. Automakers say partially self-driving cars are months to years away, while completely self-driving cars could be anywhere from a few years to a few decades away.