Summary
Cities around the country have long been crying out for more control over how autonomous vehicles are deployed on their streets. In California, they might finally get their wish. A handful of AV-related bills, which made progress this month, could put more restrictions on companies like Cruise, Motional, Waymo and Zoox.
Cities would be able to create their own, separate permitting processes and penalties for AVs that break local laws. The bill would also require all AV commercial passenger service companies to be compliant with disability access laws. It would also allow emergency responders to manually override the vehicles.
The AVIA recently published its TRUST principles for how AV companies should safely expand operations in the U.S. AB 2286 is a revival of AB 316, the bill that would require human operators to be in the driver's seat of autonomous heavy-duty vehicles. AB 1777 would also require AV manufacturers to compile and submit quarterly reports to the DMV.
The DMV would have the power to impose fines or revoke permits. Members of the public would also be able to submit reports of incidents. The DMV would also have the authority to revoke permits or revoke licenses. The agency would be able to impose fines or suspend permits.
