Executives from companies developing self-driving cars will testify before a congressional committee on Tuesday March 15. The head of Google’s self-driving car program, along with representatives from GM and Lyft, will testify about the government’s role in promoting the technology — after manufacturers complained that regulation was hampering its development. The meet comes shortly after Google revealed one of its self-driving cars caused an accident for the first time.

Chris Urmson, Director of the Self Driving Cars Project at Google, will testify before Congress on efforts to develop safe and effective autonomous cars. Urmson will testify alongside executives from General Motors Co, Delphi Automotive PLC and privately held ride-hailing service Lyft Inc to talk about “advancements in autonomous vehicle technology and its anticipated benefits for Americans,” the committee said.

In January, Detroit-based GM said it would invest $500 million in Lyft Inc and laid out plans to develop an on-demand network of self-driving cars with the ride-sharing service. The committee wants witnesses’ views “on the appropriate role of government in promoting innovation including removing unnecessary hurdles, and their strategy to grow consumer adoption of this new technology.”

Major automakers and technology companies are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves, but they have complained that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and ultimate deployment of such vehicles.

In January, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it may waive some vehicle safety rules to allow more driverless cars to operate on U.S. roads as part of a broader effort to speed up development of self-driving vehicles. Safety regulators will write guidelines for self-driving cars within six months, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in January.

On Feb. 4, NHTSA said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving Google car could be considered the driver under federal law, a major step toward ultimately winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads. But Google said last month it bears “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a municipal bus in Mountain View, California on Feb. 14.

The crash may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle and the fault of the self-driving car. The Mountain View-based Internet search leader said it made changes to its software after the crash to avoid future incidents.

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