AB 1592, as amended, Bonilla. Autonomous vehicles: pilot project.
Existing law permits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes if, among other requirements, a driver is seated in the driver’s seat and is capable of taking immediate manual control of the vehicle in the event of an autonomous technology failure or other emergency.
This bill would, notwithstanding the above provision,begin insert until 180 days after the operative date of regulations promulgated by the Department of Motor Vehicles to allow testing of autonomous vehicles without a driver in the vehicle,end insert authorize the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to conduct a pilot project for the testing of autonomous vehicles that do not havebegin delete an operatorend deletebegin insert
a driver seated in the driver’s seatend insert and are not equipped with a steering wheel, a brake pedal, or an accelerator if the testing is conducted only at specified locations and the autonomous vehicle operates at speeds of less than 35 miles per hour. The bill would require the authority or a private entity, or a combination of thebegin delete two,end deletebegin insert 2,end insert to obtain an instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of self-insurance in an amount of $5,000,000 prior to the start of testing of any autonomous vehicle on or across a public road and would require evidence of the insurance, surety bond, or proof of self-insurance to be provided to the Department of Motor Vehicles in the form and manner required by the department.begin insert
The bill would require the authority or a private entity, or a combination of the 2, to provide the department with a detailed description of the testing program, as specified.end insert
The bill would require the operator of the autonomous vehicle technology to disclose what personal information concerning a pilot project participant is collected by an autonomous vehicle.begin insert The bill would allow the department to require data collection for evaluating the safety of the vehicles, as provided.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 38755 is added to the Vehicle Code, to
2read:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 38750, the Contra Costa
4Transportation Authority is authorized to conduct a pilot project
5for the testing of autonomous vehicles that do not havebegin delete an operatorend delete
6begin insert a driver seated in the driver’s seatend insert and are not equipped with a
7steering wheel, a brake pedal, or an accelerator provided the
8following requirements are met:
9(1) The testing shall be conducted only at a privately owned
10business park designated by the authority, inclusive of public roads
11within the designated business park, and
at GoMentum Station
12located within the boundaries of the former Concord Naval
13Weapons Station.
14(2) The autonomous vehicle shall operate at speeds of less than
1535 miles per hour.
P3 1(b) A change in ownership of the property comprising the
2GoMentum Station shall not affect the authorization to conduct
3testing pursuant to this section.
4(c) Prior to the start of the testing of an autonomous vehicle that
5does not havebegin delete an operatorend deletebegin insert a driver seated in the driver’s seatend insert on
6or across a public road, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority
7or a private entity, or
a combination of the two, shallbegin delete obtainend deletebegin insert do
8both of the following:end insert
9begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertObtainend insert an instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of
10self-insurance in an amount of five million dollars ($5,000,000),
11and shall provide evidence of the insurance, surety bond, or proof
12of self-insurance to the Department of Motor Vehicles in the form
13and manner required by the department.
14
(2) Submit a detailed
description of the testing program to the
15department. The detailed description shall include all of the
16following:
17
(A) Certification that, prior to testing on public roads, the
18autonomous vehicle has been tested under controlled conditions
19that simulate, as closely as practicable, the real world conditions
20that the autonomous vehicle will be subject to during this pilot
21project, and that the Contra Costa Transportation Authority or a
22private entity, or a combination of the two, has made a reasonable
23determination that it is safe to operate the autonomous vehicle on
24public roads under these conditions.
25
(B) Evidence satisfactory to the department that the City of San
26Ramon and any other local authorities with jurisdiction over the
27public roads in the designated privately owned
business park
28approve of the geographic area and environmental, traffic, and
29speed conditions authorized for purposes of this pilot project.
30
(C) Certification that the autonomous vehicle can only operate
31in autonomous mode in the geographic area and environmental,
32traffic, and speed conditions authorized in this specific pilot
33project.
34
(D) Certification that this pilot project complies, or will comply,
35with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidance, if
36any, on the safe testing, deployment, and operation of autonomous
37vehicles.
38
(E) Certification that the autonomous vehicle used in the pilot
39project complies with all applicable federal Motor Vehicle Safety
40Standards, or written evidence that the National Highway Traffic
P4 1Safety Administration either considers the absence of a steering
2wheel, a brake pedal,
or an accelerator permissible under federal
3Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or has granted the autonomous
4vehicle an exemption from compliance with the relevant federal
5Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
6
(F) Identify to the department the autonomous vehicles that are
7to be tested on public roads during this pilot project. For each
8vehicle, the manufacturer shall provide to the department the make,
9model, and model year of the vehicle, the full vehicle identification
10number, and the license plate number and the state of issuance.
11
(G) Certification that the vehicle is equipped with a
12communication link between the vehicle and a remote operator to
13provide information on the vehicle’s location and status and to
14allow two-way communication between the remote operator and
15any passengers if the vehicle experiences any failures that would
16endanger the safety of the vehicle’s passengers or
other road users
17while operating without a driver.
18
(H) Certification that the autonomous vehicle is designed to
19detect and respond to roadway conditions in compliance with all
20provisions of this code and local regulations applicable to the
21operation of motor vehicles.
22
(I) A copy of a law enforcement interaction plan, which includes
23information that the Contra Costa Transportation Authority or a
24private entity, or a combination of the two, will provide to the law
25enforcement agencies whose jurisdiction covers the designated
26privately owned business park to instruct those agencies on how
27to interact with the vehicle in emergency and traffic enforcement
28situations.
29(d) The operator of the autonomous vehicle technology tested
30pursuant to this section shall disclose to an individual
who
31participates in the pilot project what personal information, if any,
32concerning the pilot project participant is collected by an
33autonomous vehicle.
34
(e) For the testing of autonomous vehicles within the designated
35business park, the department may require data collection for
36evaluating the safety of the vehicles, including, but not limited to,
37both of the following:
38
(1) A report to the department of any accident originating from
39the operation of the autonomous vehicle on a public road that
40resulted in the damage of property or in bodily injury or death.
P5 1Accidents shall be reported within 10 days in the form and manner
2specified by the department pursuant to the regulations adopted
3by the department under Section 38750.
4
(2) The submission to the department of an annual report in the
5form and manner specified by the department pursuant to the
6regulations adopted under Section 38750 summarizing information
7on unplanned technology disengagements that occurred while the
8autonomous vehicle was being tested on public roads.
9“Disengagement” means a deactivation of the autonomous mode
10when a failure of the autonomous technology is detected or when
11the safe operation of the vehicle required disengagement from the
12autonomous mode.
15 13(e)
end delete
14begin insert(f)end insert This section does not limit the authority of the department
15to promulgate regulations governing the
testing and operation of
16autonomous vehicles on public roads, with or without the presence
17of a driver inside the vehicle, pursuant to Section 38750.
18
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the act that
19added this section, to address the specific circumstances of the
20pilot project proposed in the County of Contra Costa. Pursuant
21to Section 38750, the Department of Motor Vehicles is developing
22regulations for the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles,
23and it is not the intent of the Legislature to influence the content
24of those statewide regulations through the adoption of the act that
25added this section, which is only intended to govern the
26establishment of one local pilot project.
27
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until 180 days after
28the operative date of regulations promulgated by the department
29to allow testing of autonomous vehicles without a driver in the
30vehicle, on which date any testing of autonomous vehicles by the
31Contra Costa Transportation Authority shall conform to those
32regulations, and as of the January 1 following that date this section
33is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before
34that January 1, deletes or extends that date.
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