By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp officials will tell a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes to automotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads. "Without changes to those regulations, it may be years before the promise of today’s technology can be realized and thousands of preventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen," said Mike Abelson, vice president of global strategy at GM, in written testimony released Monday. "It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greater numbers." On Monday, Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, and Senator John Thune, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that "clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-driving vehicle technology" and hope to propose a joint bill this year.