Driverless Cars - Legislation

Legislation

One of the most significant obstacles to the proliferation of autonomous cars is the fact that they are illegal on most public roads. The Nevada Legislature passed a law in June 2011 to authorize the use of autonomous cars. Nevada became the first jurisdiction in the world where autonomous vehicles might be legally operated on public roads. The bill was signed into law by Nevada's Governor on June 16, 2011. According to the law, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (NDMV) is responsible for setting safety and performance standards and the agency is responsible for designating areas where autonomous cars may be tested. The law went into effect on March 1, 2012. This legislation was supported by Google in an effort to legally conduct further testing of its Google driverless car. As of 2012, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and California are also considering the legalization of autonomous cars.

The Nevada law defines an autonomous vehicle "to mean a motor vehicle that uses artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a human operator." The law also acknowledges that the operator will not need to pay attention while the car is operating itself. Google had further lobbied for an exemption from a ban on distracted driving to permit occupants to send text messages while sitting behind the wheel, but this did not become law. Furthermore, Nevada's regulations require a person behind the wheel and one in the passenger’s seat during tests.

In May 2012 the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued the first license for a self-driven car to a Toyota Prius modified with Google's experimental driver-less technology. Google's autonomous system permits a human driver to take control by stepping on the brake or turning the wheel. License plates issued in Nevada for autonomous cars will have a red background and feature an infinity symbol (∞) on the left side, which according to the DMV Director "... using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the 'car of the future."

In September 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill allowing the legalization of driverless cars in the state of California which also requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to draft regulations by 2015.

In California, proposed legislation would require that "the driver would still need to sit behind the wheel in case the robotic functions of the car suddenly fail and a real driver is needed" - which limits the benefits that autonomous cars could provide un-licensed drivers.