Self-driving car ban bill introduced in Minnesota Senate

A bill introduced to the Minnesota state Senate Tuesday would ban the use of self-driving cars indefinitely, following the death of a woman struck by a self-driving Uber test vehicle in Tempe, Arizona, earlier this month. 

Republican Sen. Jim Abeler and three other senators authored the piece of legislation. Sen. Abeler does not expect the bill to pass this year, according to the Associated Press, but wants to start the debate on self-driving cars. 

“Arizona confirmed my concerns,” Abeler told Minnesota Public Radio. “I’ve been hearing about this and am very worried about it. And very frankly, the idea of driving home while you ride in the back seat is just a recipe for trouble.”

There are currently no self-driving vehicles that allow users to sit in the back seat.

The family of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, the woman killed by an Uber vehicle in Arizona, has reportedly reached a settlement with Uber. The family’s attorney, Cristina Perez Hesano, told the Associated Press that “the matter has been resolved.”

Uber halted testing of all self-driving vehicles in Arizona and the cities of San Francisco, Toronto, and Pittsburgh following the death of Herzberg.