Norway Considers Allowing Autonomous Car Testing Next Year

While facing public skepticism in some parts of the globe, self-driving vehicles

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by Cristian Gnaticov

December 23, 2016 at 11:59

While facing public skepticism in some parts of the globe, self-driving vehicles will start appearing on Norway’s roads as of 2017.

According to Reuters, the local Ministry of Transport and Communications has already taken a first step into this direction by sending a proposal for consultation on a new law, with the ultimate goal of having it passed by the parliament next spring.

“The objective of the bill is to facilitate the testing of self-driving vehicles on Norwegian road… within the framework of traffic safety, while protecting the integrity of personal use“, the ministry wrote, while adding that autonomous vehicles will be gradually introduced on Norway’s roads, and only ‘technologically mature systems’ will be accepted for testing.

Besides taking a step towards the future of the automotive industry, Norway’s plan also aims to give local technology companies a boost, as the country is currently trying to diversify its operations in fields other than the petroleum sector, following the global oil prices plunge.