Nevada passes law governing the use of autonomous vehicles

When we think of the future of motor vehicles, we're (mostly) excited about what's coming next. We're a bit less than thrilled about the prospect of vehicles that can drive themselves, but the state of Nevada seems all too ready to welcome the autonomous vehicle.

The Huffington Post reports that Nevada has passed a law that will allow autonomous vehicles on its roads as early as March 1, 2012. The new law simply directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to come up with regulations authorizing the use of autonomous vehicles on the highways within the state. The law even directs the DMV to come up with a driver's license for such vehicles.

While the law in Nevada is less than a year from hitting the books, keep in mind that the driverless car is itself still a long way from reality. After all, Google's autonomous vehicles have about 140,000 miles under their collective belt. Meanwhile, we're betting that most 1995 Honda Civics have more road time than the entire Google fleet.