BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1298| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1298 Author: Padilla (D) Amended: 8/24/12 Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 8-0, 04/10/12 AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/21/12 AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Harman, Runner ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-25, 8/24/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Autonomous vehicles SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill establishes conditions for the operation of autonomous vehicles upon public roadways. CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 2 Assembly Amendments revise and recast the bill with a similar intent as it left the Senate. ANALYSIS : Existing law defines a vehicle as "a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks." Existing law provides numerous rules governing the operation of vehicles on the state's public and private roads. It does not, however, require that a person drive a vehicle. This bill: 1. Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding new technologies that permit motor vehicles to operate without the active control and continuous monitoring of a human operator and the need to encourage the current and future development, testing, and operation of autonomous vehicles on the state's public roads. 2. Defines "autonomous technology" as a technology that has the capability to drive a vehicle without the active physical control or continuous monitoring by a human operator. 3. Defines an "autonomous vehicle" as any vehicle equipped with autonomous technology that has been integrated into that vehicle. 4. Specifies that 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. 5. Defines an "operator" of an autonomous vehicle as the person who is seated in the driver's seat, or if there CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 3 is no person in the driver's seat, causes the autonomous technology to engage. 6. Defines a "manufacturer" of autonomous technology as the person who 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. 7. Allows an autonomous vehicle to be operated on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper license for the vehicle being operated if it is being operated on roads in this state solely by employees, contractors, or other persons designated by the manufacturer of the autonomous technology. Under this scenario, the driver must be seated in the driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle, and must be 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 person performing the testing must obtain an instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of self-insurance in the amount of $5 million dollars and provide evidence of such in a form and manner required by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). 8. Prohibits an autonomous vehicle from being operated on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to DMV that is approved by DMV. 9. Requires the application to include a certification by the manufacturer that the technology satisfies 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 CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 4 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 does either of the following: Require the operator to take control of the autonomous vehicle; or, Allow the autonomous vehicle to come to a complete stop if the operator does not or is unable to take control of the autonomous vehicle. A. The autonomous vehicle allows 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 alerts the operator that the autonomous technology has been disengaged; B. 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; C. The autonomous technology does not make inoperative any 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; D. 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 thirty seconds before a collision occurs between the autonomous vehicle and another vehicle, CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 5 object, or natural person while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode. The autonomous technology sensor data must 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. Such data must be preserved for three years after the date of the collision; E. The manufacturer has tested the autonomous technology on public roads and complies with any DMV testing standards; F. The manufacturer will maintain a surety bond, or proof of self-insurance, in an amount of $5 million per DMV regulations. 1. Requires DMV, as soon as practicable but no later than January 1, 2015, to adopt regulations setting forth requirements for the submission of evidence of required insurance, surety bond, or self-insurance and approval of an application to operate an autonomous vehicle. 2. Requires the regulations to include any testing, equipment and performance standards that DMV concludes are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads with or without the presence of a driver. 3. Allows DMV, in developing these regulations, to consult with the CHP, Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, or any other entity DMV identifies that has expertise in automotive technology, automotive safety, and autonomous system design. 4. Allows DMV to establish additional requirements by the adoption of regulations, which it determines, in consultation with the CHP, are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, including, but not limited to, regulations regarding the aggregate number of deployments of autonomous vehicles on public roads, special rules for the CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 6 registration of autonomous vehicles, new license requirements for operators of autonomous vehicles, and rules for the revocation, suspension, or denial of any license or approval related to autonomous vehicles. 5. Requires DMV to hold public hearings on the adoption of any regulation applicable to the operation of an autonomous vehicle without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle. 6. Requires DMV to approve an application submitted by a manufacturer if it finds that the applicant has submitted all information and completed testing to satisfy DMV that the autonomous vehicles are safe to operate on public roads and that the applicant has complied with all of its regulations. 7. Specifies, if the application seeks approval for autonomous vehicles capable of operating without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle, that the department may impose additional requirements it deems necessary to ensure the safe operation of those vehicles, and may require the presence of a driver in the driver's seat of the vehicle if it determines, based on its review of the testing conducted by the manufacturer, that such a requirement is necessary to ensure the safe operation of those vehicles on public roads. 8. Requires DMV to notify the Legislature of the receipt of an application from a manufacturer seeking approval to operate an autonomous vehicle capable of operating without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle and approval of the application. Approval of the application shall be effective no sooner than 180 days after the date the application is submitted. 9. Allows DMV to establish additional requirements by rule which it determines, in consultation with the CHP, are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads. 10. Provides that this bill does not limit or expand the existing authority to operate autonomous vehicles on CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 7 public roads, until 120 days after DMV adopts those regulations. 11. Provides that federal regulations promulgated by the National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will supersede this bill's provisions when found to be in conflict with them. 12. Requires the manufacturer of autonomous technology installed on a vehicle to provide a written disclosure to the purchaser of an autonomous vehicle that describes what information is collected by the autonomous technology equipped on the vehicle. 13. Allows DMV to promulgate regulations to assess a fee upon manufacturers that submit applications to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads in an amount necessary to recover all the costs it reasonably incurs. Comments The author states that despite the many safety improvements to the automobile since its invention, auto accidents remain a leading cause of death. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among people 5 through 34 years old. In 2009, more than 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency rooms as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes nationwide. According to NHTSA, in 2010, a total of 32,885 people died in the United States in car accidents. More than 2,700 of these traffic fatalities were here in California. Car accidents also result in a significant economic impact. A 2005 CDC report found that the lifetime cost of crash-related deaths and injuries among drivers and passengers was $70 billion. The author states that the vast majority of traffic fatalities and injuries are due to human error, noting that a 2006 U.S. Department of Transportation study found that some form of driver error occurred in nearly 80% of car accidents. The author asserts that through the use of CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 8 computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle is capable of analyzing the driving environment more quickly and operating the vehicle more safely than a human being. The author introduced this bill to enable California to join other states in establishing safe testing and operation standards for autonomous vehicles. Last year, the Governor of Nevada signed a similar bill into law. In addition, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Arizona are all currently considering autonomous vehicle legislation. The author and supporters note that as a global technology leader, California is uniquely positioned to be the leader in the deployment of autonomous technology and the manufacture of autonomous vehicles. The author states that this technology will not only save lives, it will create jobs. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 5/17/12) (unable to reverify to time of writing) Automobile Club of Southern California California Foundation for Independent Living Centers Google TechAmerica TechNet ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-25, 8/24/12 AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, CONTINUED SB 1298 Page 9 Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Halderman, Roger Hernández, Williams JJA:nm 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED