BILL NUMBER: SB 1298 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2012
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. Existing law
also requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to register vehicles
that are being operated in this state and to issue a license plate to
an applicant for the operation and identification of that person's
vehicle.
This bill would authorize the operation of an autonomous vehicle,
as defined, on public roads by a licensed driver
who possesses the proper class of license for the type of
vehicle being operated if either of 2
an application is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles and
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 are met. The first condition is that the driver be
seated in the driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the
autonomous vehicle, and be capable of taking over immediate manual
control of the autonomous vehicle in the event of an
autonomous technology failure or other emergency, and the 2nd
condition is that the manufacturer of the autonomous technology
provides, among other things, that the autonomous vehicle has a
mechanism to engage and disengage the autonomous technology that is
easily accessible to the operator. The bill would require that
the autonomous vehicle's technology meets all
federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the vehicle'
s model year and all other applicable safety standards and
performance requirements set forth in state and federal law and the
regulations promulgated pursuant to those provisions
laws .
The bill would require , until January 1, 2017, that,
until such time that an autonomous vehicle meets the requirements
established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) for the operation of autonomous vehicles without the
presence of a licensed driver , or the State of
California establishes regulations or standards for the operation of
autonomous vehicles, an autonomous vehicle may not be operated
on public roads unless a licensed driver is seated in the driver's
seat of the vehicle. The bill would also 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, including, among other things,
specific recommendations for the operation of an autonomous vehicle
without the presence of a licensed driver require,
prior to January 1, 2014, the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt
regulations setting forth requirements for the submission and
approval of an application to operate an autonomous vehicle and would
provide that federal regulations promulgated by HNHTS supersede
state law or regulation when found to be in conflict .
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 entities 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 a vehicle
on which it is installed without the active
physical control or continuous monitoring by
a human operator.
(2) (A) "Autonomous vehicle" means any vehicle equipped with
autonomous technology that has been integrated into that vehicle
.
(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) An "operator" of an autonomous vehicle is the person who is
seated in the driver's seat or causes the autonomous technology to
engage.
(3)
(4) 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 who possesses the proper
class of license for the type of vehicle being operated 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. The driver shall be seated in the driver's
seat, monitoring the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle, and
capable of taking over immediate manual control of the autonomous
vehicle in the event of an autonomous technology failure or other
emergency. Prior to the start of testing in this state, the
entity person performing the testing
must shall obtain an instrument of
insurance, surety bond, or proof of self-insurance in the amount of
five million dollars ($5,000,000).
(2) The manufacturer of the autonomous technology
certifies provides 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 does not or is unable to take
control of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle shall
be equipped with technology capable of
moving the autonomous vehicle safely out of traffic and
coming 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 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 vehicle's autonomous
technology meets federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the
vehicle's model year and all other 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
make inoperative any safety features of
the autonomous vehicle that are mandated by federal regulations
federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the vehicle'
s model year and all other applicable safety standards and
performance requirements set forth in state and federal law and the
regulations promulgated pursuant to those laws .
(G) The autonomous vehicle has a separate mechanism, in addition
to, and separate from, any other mechanism required by law, to
capture and store the autonomous technology sensor data for at least
30 seconds before a collision occurs between the autonomous vehicle
and another vehicle, object, or natural person while the vehicle is
operating in autonomous mode. The autonomous technology sensor data
shall be captured and stored in a read-only format by the mechanism
so that the data is retained until extracted from the mechanism by an
external device capable of downloading and storing the data. The
data shall be preserved for three years after the date of the
collision.
(c) (1) Until such time that an autonomous
vehicle meets the requirements established by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the operation of
autonomous vehicles without the presence of a licensed driver, the
autonomous vehicle may not be operated on public roads unless a
licensed driver is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle
, or the State of California establishes regulations
or standards for the operation of autonomous vehicles, an autonomous
vehicle may not be operated on public roads unless a
licensed driver is seated in the driver's seat of the
vehicle .
(2) This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
(d) 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, including, but not
limited to, specific recommendations for the operation of an
autonomous vehicle without the presence of a licensed driver.
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), an
autonomous vehicle may not be operated on public roads unless the
manufacturer first submits an application to the Department of Motor
Vehicles that contains, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A certification by the manufacturer that the autonomous
technology meets all of the requirements of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b).
(2) A certification that the manufacturer has tested the
autonomous technology on public roads.
(3) A certification that the manufacturer will maintain a surety
bond, or proof of self-insurance, in an amount of five million
dollars ($5,000,000), to compensate for losses due to injuries or
property damage caused by a defect in the autonomous technology.
(e) (1) Prior to January 1, 2014, the Department of Motor Vehicles
may adopt regulations setting forth requirements for the submission
and approval of an application to operate an autonomous vehicle
pursuant to this division. The department may establish additional
requirements by the adoption of regulations, which it determines, in
consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on
public roads.
(2) Nothing in this division shall limit or expand the existing
authority to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads, until 120
days after the Department of Motor Vehicles adopts the regulations
authorized by this subdivision.
(f) Federal regulations promulgated by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration shall supersede the provisions of this
division when found to be in conflict with any other state law or
regulation.