Google, Ford and Uber just created a giant lobbying group for self-driving cars

A who’s-who of car makers, technology companies and ride-hailing startups are joining forces to pressure the federal government on the issue of self-driving cars. Ford, Google, Uber, Lyft and Volvo announced Tuesday the formation of the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, a lobbying group with the express purpose of advocating autonomous driving. It’s a power move by some of the most high-profile names behind the still nascent technology, made at a time when regulators and policymakers in Washington, D.C., are still wrapping their heads around the concept of self-driving cars.

The coalition will be headed up by David Strickland, a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He will serve as the group’s counsel and spokesperson. In essence, Strickland will be lobbying his former agency, which has been tasked by Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to come up with a set of rules for self-driving cars by early summer.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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