BILL NUMBER: SB 1298 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to add Division 16.6 (commencing with Section 38750) to the
Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1298, as amended, Padilla. Vehicles: autonomous vehicles:
safety and performance requirements.
Existing law requires the Department of the California Highway
Patrol to adopt rules and regulations that are designed to promote
the safe operation of specific vehicles, including, among other
things, schoolbuses and commercial motor vehicles.
This bill would authorize the operation of an autonomous vehicle,
as defined, on public roads by a licensed driver if either of 2
conditions applies, including, among other things, that the
manufacturer of the autonomous technology certifies that the
autonomous vehicle has a mechanism to engage and disengage the
autonomous technology that is easily accessible to the operator and
that the autonomous technology meets all applicable safety standards
and performance requirements set forth in state and federal law and
the regulations promulgated pursuant to those provisions.
The bill would require that federal regulations promulgated by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would
supersede these provisions when found to be in conflict. The bill
would authorize the Department of the California Highway Patrol, in
consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to recommend to
the Legislature additional requirements for the safe operation of
autonomous vehicles on California's public roads.
This bill would require the department to adopt safety standards
and performance requirements to ensure the safe operation and testing
of "autonomous vehicles," as defined, on the public roads in this
state. The bill would permit autonomous vehicles to be operated or
tested on the public roads in this state pending the adoption of
safety standards and performance requirements that would be adopted
under this bill.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 16.6 (commencing with Section 38750) is added
to the Vehicle Code, to read:
DIVISION 16.6. Autonomous Vehicles
38750. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Development is actively under way of new technology that,
through the use of computers, sensors, and other systems, permits a
motor vehicle to operate without the active control and continuous
monitoring of a human operator. Motor vehicles with this technology,
referred to as "autonomous vehicles," offer significant potential
safety, mobility, and commercial benefits for individuals and
businesses in the state and elsewhere.
(b) Autonomous vehicles have been operated safely on public roads
in the state in recent years by companies developing and testing this
technology.
(c) The State of California, which presently does not prohibit or
specifically regulate the operation of autonomous vehicles, desires
to encourage the current and future development, testing, and
operation of autonomous vehicles on the public roads of the state.
The state seeks to avoid interrupting these activities while at the
same time creating appropriate rules intended to ensure that the
testing and operation of autonomous vehicles in the state are
conducted in a safe manner.
(d) Toward that end, the Legislature finds it appropriate to
authorize the establishment of specific safety requirements for the
testing and operation of autonomous vehicles, and to require that
future testing and operation of autonomous vehicles in the state
comply with those requirements.
38751. (a) For purposes of this division, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "Autonomous technology" means technology that has the
capability to drive the vehicle on which it is installed without the
active control or continuous monitoring by a human operator.
(2) (A) "Autonomous vehicle" means any vehicle equipped with
autonomous technology.
(B) An autonomous vehicle does not include a vehicle that is
equipped with one or more collision avoidance systems, including, but
not limited to, electronic blind spot assistance, automated
emergency braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise control, lane
keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic jam and queuing assist,
or other similar systems that enhance safety or provide driver
assistance, but are not capable, collectively or singularly, of
driving the vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a
human operator.
(3) A "manufacturer" of autonomous technology is the person as
defined in Section 470 that originally manufactures a vehicle and
equips autonomous technology on the originally completed vehicle or,
in the case of a vehicle not originally equipped with autonomous
technology by the vehicle manufacturer, the person that modifies the
vehicle by installing autonomous technology to convert it to an
autonomous vehicle after the vehicle was originally manufactured.
(b) An autonomous vehicle may be operated on public roads by a
licensed driver if either of the following applies:
(1) The autonomous vehicle is being operated on roads in this
state solely by employees, contractors, or other persons designated
by the manufacturer of the autonomous technology for testing
purposes. For testing purposes, a human operator shall be present in
the autonomous vehicle such that he or she has the ability to monitor
the vehicle's performance and intervene, if necessary, unless the
vehicle is being tested or demonstrated on a closed course. Prior to
the start of testing in this state, the entity performing the testing
must obtain an instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of
self-insurance in the amount of five million dollars ($5,000,000). An
autonomous vehicle may be tested on the public roads of the state
with the autonomous technology engaged only if the entity performing
the tests has completed at least 10,000 miles of prior road testing
with the autonomous technology engaged on a vehicle.
(2) The manufacturer of the autonomous technology certifies all of
the following:
(A) The autonomous vehicle has a mechanism to engage and disengage
the autonomous technology that is easily accessible to the operator.
(B) The autonomous vehicle has a visual indicator inside the cabin
to indicate when the autonomous technology is engaged.
(C) The autonomous vehicle has a system to safely alert the
operator if an autonomous technology failure is detected while the
autonomous technology is engaged, and when an alert is given, the
system shall do either of the following:
(i) Require the operator to take control of the autonomous
vehicle.
(ii) If the operator is unable to take control of the autonomous
vehicle, or the operator is not physically present inside the
vehicle, be equipped with technology capable of moving the autonomous
vehicle safely out of traffic and to a complete stop.
(D) If limitations of the autonomous technology installed on the
autonomous vehicle make it necessary for the operator to be
physically present inside the autonomous vehicle when the autonomous
technology is engaged, the autonomous vehicle shall allow the
operator to take control in multiple manners, including, without
limitation, through the use of the brake, the accelerator pedal, or
the steering wheel, and it shall alert the operator that the
autonomous technology has been disengaged.
(E) The autonomous technology meets all applicable safety
standards and performance requirements set forth in state and federal
law and the regulations promulgated pursuant to those laws.
(F) The autonomous technology does not adversely affect any safety
features of the autonomous vehicle that are mandated by federal
regulations.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person is the operator of an
autonomous vehicle when the person causes the autonomous technology
to engage, regardless of whether the person is physically present in
the vehicle while it is engaged.
(d) Federal regulations promulgated by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration shall supersede this section when found
to be in conflict with this section.
(e) The Department of the California Highway Patrol may, in
consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, recommend to the
Legislature additional requirements for the safe operation of
autonomous vehicles on California's public roads.
38751. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), autonomous
vehicles may be operated on the public roads in this state if the
manufacturer of the autonomous vehicle certifies, in a manner to be
determined by the Department of the California Highway Patrol, that
the vehicle meets all of the safety standards and performance
requirements adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision (e) to
ensure the safe operation of the vehicle.
(b) A manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle may operate the
vehicle for testing purposes on the public roads in this state if the
manufacturer and the vehicle to be tested meet the testing safety
requirements adopted by the department.
(c) (1) "Autonomous vehicle" means a motor vehicle that uses
computers, sensors, and other technology and devices that enable the
vehicle to safely operate without the active control and continuous
monitoring of a human operator.
(2) A vehicle equipped with one or more crash avoidance systems,
including, but not limited to, electronic blind spot assistance,
automated emergency braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise
control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic jam and
queuing assist, or other similar systems that enhance safety or
provide driver assistance, but are not capable, collectively or
singularly, of driving the vehicle without the active control and
continuous monitoring of a human operator, is not an autonomous
vehicle.
(d) A "manufacturer" of an autonomous vehicle is the person as
defined in Section 470 that manufactures the autonomous vehicle as an
originally completed vehicle or, in the case of a vehicle not
originally equipped with autonomous technology, the person that
modifies the vehicle to convert it to an autonomous vehicle.
(e) (1) As used in this division, "department" means the
Department of the California Highway Patrol. The department shall
adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this division
pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) This division does not prohibit the operation and testing of
autonomous vehicles on the public roads in this state on or before
the adoption of regulations by the department.