Whether it is fuel savings, safer commutes or freed-up time behind the wheel, drivers have many reasons to embrace self-driving cars.

But another group is just as eager to see these vehicles on the road: politicians.

Lawmakers from California, Texas and Virginia are wooing the autonomous car industry, along with the jobs and tax revenue that come with it.

They are financing research centers, building fake suburbs for testing the cars, and, perhaps most important, going light on regulation, all in an effort to attract a rapidly growing industry.

The prize: A piece of the estimated $20 billion automakers and other companies will spend globally on development over the next five years, according to an analysis by Gartner.

In June, the state designated 70 miles of roads in Northern Virginia for autonomous car testing.

In July, officials unveiled a 32-acre testing ground in Ann Arbor, Michigan, specifically for self-driving car research – a mock suburb with asphalt and gravel roads lined by brick and glass building facades, where self-driving cars could be tested away from pedestrians. The state spent $6 million to build the facility, with an additional $4 million coming from private companies.

The project has already spurred investment. Fifteen companies, including Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda, have committed to spending $1 million each to conduct research there.

And Florida is setting up a fake town of its own, outside Florida Polytechnic University.

bbabo.Net