State laws on autonomous vehicles are evolving as testing of the technology continues. “California expanded its testing rules to allow for remote monitoring instead of a safety driver inside the vehicle,” write Jack Karsten and Darrell West at Brookings. “Waymo and another company have since applied to begin testing vehicles without drivers in the state.” They report that Arizona and Nevada also allow testing without a safety driver, adding, “States should learn from regulations that promote innovation and safety at the same time.”
A key obstacle centers on terminology. “Vehicle operator” can refer to an autonomous driving system (Tennessee), a “natural person” riding in the vehicle (Texas), or the person who causes the ADS to engage, possibly remotely (Georgia). “These distinctions will affect how states license both human drivers and autonomous vehicles going forward,” Karsten and West report.
The most popular legislative focus has been on vehicle platooning, they write, with 11 states offering exemptions to following-distance rules, suggesting an emphasis on commercial applications for autonomous vehicles at the state level.
Other initiatives are likely to center on the data that self-driving cars produce. “Given the number of sensors built in to autonomous vehicles and the amount of data they generate, determining privacy protections will be an important aspect of new regulations,” according to Karsten and West.
Reporting on the database of autonomous vehicle legislation from the National Conference of State Legislatures, they note that 22 states plus the District of Columbia have passed laws relevant to autonomous vehicles, 10 state governors have issued executive orders, 10 states have considered legislation, and eight states haven’t considered legislation.
Karsten and West note that California requires companies to report the number of autonomous miles driven and the number of disengagements of the autonomous system, offering charts showing progress from September 2014.
“National safety guidelines and state laws should incorporate the lessons learned from real world testing,” they conclude. “Preventing all future accidents may prove impossible, but they can provide feedback on what policies work best and which do not.”
