California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1164


Introduced by Assembly Member Gatto

February 27, 2015


An act to amend Section 38750 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1164, as introduced, Gatto. Autonomous vehicles.

Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle being operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt regulations no later than January 1, 2015, setting forth requirements for the submission of evidence of insurance, surety bond, or self-insurance, and for the submission and approval of an application to operate an autonomous vehicle.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P1    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 38750 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:

3

38750.  

(a) For purposes of this division, the following
4definitions apply:

P2    1(1) “Autonomous technology” means technology that has the
2capability to drive a vehicle without the active physical control or
3monitoring by a human operator.

4(2) (A) “Autonomous vehicle” means any vehicle equipped
5with autonomous technology that has been integrated into that
6vehicle.

7(B) An autonomous vehicle does not include a vehicle that is
8equipped with one or more collision avoidance systems, including,
9but not limited to, electronic blind spot assistance, automated
10emergency braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise control,
11lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic jam and queuing
12assist, or other similar systems that enhance safety or provide driver
13assistance, but are not capable, collectively or singularly, of driving
14the vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a human
15operator.

16(3) “Department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles.

17(4) An “operator” of an autonomous vehicle is the person who
18is seated in the driver’s seat, or, if there is no person in the driver’s
19seat, causes the autonomous technology to engage.

20(5) A “manufacturer” of autonomous technology is the person
21as defined in Section 470 that originally manufactures a vehicle
22and equips autonomous technology on the originally completed
23vehicle or, in the case of a vehicle not originally equipped with
24autonomous technology by the vehicle manufacturer, the person
25 that modifies the vehicle by installing autonomous technology to
26convert it to an autonomous vehicle after the vehicle was originally
27manufactured.

28(b) An autonomous vehicle may be operated on public roads
29for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of
30license for the type of vehicle being operated if all of the following
31requirements are met:

32(1) The autonomous vehicle is being operated on roads in this
33state solely by employees, contractors, or other persons designated
34by the manufacturer of the autonomous technology.

35(2) The driver shall be seated in the driver’s seat, monitoring
36the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle, and capable of taking
37over immediate manual control of the autonomous vehicle in the
38event of an autonomous technology failure or other emergency.

39(3) Prior to the start of testing in this state, the manufacturer
40performing the testing shall obtain an instrument of insurance,
P3    1surety bond, or proof of self-insurance in the amount of five million
2dollars ($5,000,000), and shall provide evidence of the insurance,
3surety bond, or self-insurance to the department in the form and
4manner required by the department pursuant to the regulations
5adopted pursuant to subdivision (d).

6(c) Except as provided in subdivision (b), an autonomous vehicle
7shall not be operated on public roads until the manufacturer submits
8an application to the department, and that application is approved
9by the department pursuant to the regulations adopted pursuant to
10subdivision (d). The application shall contain, at a minimum, all
11of the following certifications:

12(1) A certification by the manufacturer that the autonomous
13technology satisfies all of the following requirements:

14(A) The autonomous vehicle has a mechanism to engage and
15disengage the autonomous technology that is easily accessible to
16the operator.

17(B) The autonomous vehicle has a visual indicator inside the
18cabin to indicate when the autonomous technology is engaged.

19(C) The autonomous vehicle has a system to safely alert the
20operator if an autonomous technology failure is detected while the
21autonomous technology is engaged, and when an alert is given,
22the system shall do either of the following:

23(i) Require the operator to take control of the autonomous
24vehicle.

25(ii) If the operator does not or is unable to take control of the
26autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle shall be capable of
27coming to a complete stop.

28(D) The autonomous vehicle shall allow the operator to take
29control in multiple manners, including, without limitation, through
30the use of the brake, the accelerator pedal, or the steering wheel,
31and it shall alert the operator that the autonomous technology has
32been disengaged.

33(E) The autonomous vehicle’s autonomous technology meets
34Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the vehicle’s model
35year and all other applicable safety standards and performance
36requirements set forth in state and federal law and the regulations
37promulgated pursuant to those laws.

38(F) The autonomous technology does not make inoperative any
39Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the vehicle’s model
40year and all other applicable safety standards and performance
P4    1requirements set forth in state and federal law and the regulations
2promulgated pursuant to those laws.

3(G) The autonomous vehicle has a separate mechanism, in
4addition to, and separate from, any other mechanism required by
5law, to capture and store the autonomous technology sensor data
6for at least 30 seconds before a collision occurs between the
7autonomous vehicle and another vehicle, object, or natural person
8while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode. The
9autonomous technology sensor data shall be captured and stored
10in a read-only format by the mechanism so that the data is retained
11until extracted from the mechanism by an external device capable
12of downloading and storing the data. The data shall be preserved
13for three years after the date of the collision.

14(2) A certification that the manufacturer has tested the
15autonomous technology on public roads and has complied with
16the testing standards, if any, established by the department pursuant
17to subdivision (d).

18(3) A certification that the manufacturer will maintain, an
19instrument of insurance, a surety bond, or proof of self-insurance
20as specified in regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
21subdivision (d), in an amount of five million dollars ($5,000,000).

22(d) (1)  As soon as practicable, but no later than January 1,
232015, the department shall adopt regulations setting forth
24requirements for the submission of evidence of insurance, surety
25bond, or self-insurance required by subdivision (b), and the
26submission and approval of an application to operate an
27autonomous vehicle pursuant to subdivision (c).

28(2) The regulations shall include any testing, equipment, and
29performance standards, in addition to those established for purposes
30of subdivision (b), that the department concludes are necessary to
31ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads,
32with or without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle. In
33developing these regulations, the department may consult with the
34Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Institute of
35Transportation Studies at the University of California, or any other
36entity identified by the department that has expertise in automotive
37technology, automotive safety, and autonomous system design.

38(3) The department may establish additional requirements by
39the adoption of regulations, which it determines, in consultation
40with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, are
P5    1necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on
2public roads, including, but not limited to, regulations regarding
3the aggregate number of deployments of autonomous vehicles on
4public roads, special rules for the registration of autonomous
5vehicles, new license requirements for operators of autonomous
6vehicles, and rules for revocation, suspension, or denial of any
7license or any approval issued pursuant to this division.

8(4) The department shall hold public hearings on the adoption
9of any regulation applicable to the operation of an autonomous
10vehicle without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle.

11(e) (1) The department shall approve an application submitted
12by a manufacturer pursuant to subdivision (c) if it finds that the
13applicant has submitted all information and completed testing
14necessary to satisfy the department that the autonomous vehicles
15are safe to operate on public roads and the applicant has complied
16with all requirements specified in the regulations adopted by the
17 department pursuant to subdivision (d).

18(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the application seeks
19approval for autonomous vehicles capable of operating without
20the presence of a driver inside the vehicle, the department may
21impose additional requirements it deems necessary to ensure the
22safe operation of those vehicles, and may require the presence of
23a driver in the driver’s seat of the vehicle if it determines, based
24on its review pursuant to paragraph (1), that such a requirement is
25necessary to ensure the safe operation of those vehicles on public
26roads. The department shall notify the Legislature of the receipt
27of an application from a manufacturer seeking approval to operate
28an autonomous vehicle capable of operating without the presence
29of a driver inside the vehicle and approval of the application.
30Approval of the application shall be effective no sooner than 180
31days after the date the application is submitted.

32(f) begin deleteNothing in this division shall end deletebegin insertThis division does not end insertlimit or
33expand the existing authority to operate autonomous vehicles on
34public roads, until 120 days after the department adopts the
35regulations required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).

36(g) Federal regulations promulgated by the National Highway
37Traffic Safety Administration shall supersede the provisions of
38this division when found to be in conflict with any other state law
39or regulation.

P6    1(h) The manufacturer of the autonomous technology installed
2on a vehicle shall provide a written disclosure to the purchaser of
3an autonomous vehicle that describes what information is collected
4by the autonomous technology equipped on the vehicle. The
5department may promulgate regulations to assess a fee upon a
6manufacturer that submits an application pursuant to subdivision
7(c) to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads in an amount
8necessary to recover all costs reasonably incurred by the
9department.



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