Dive Brief:
- The California Department of Motor Vehicles put forth draft regulations Aug. 30, signaling a potential shift to allow heavy-duty autonomous vehicles without drivers to operate on public roads.
- The DMV suggested that vehicles weighing 10,001 pounds or more could eventually be permitted for testing and operations — provided they’re on roads where the speed limit is 50 mph or greater as well as on frontage or access roads.
- “The draft regulatory language is intended only to encourage public feedback and is not a formal regulatory proposal,” the department said in the announcement. The public can submit feedback through Oct. 14.
Dive Insight:
The draft rules call for requiring safety driver testing before a permit for driverless operations could occur. Manufacturers would also have to submit a safety case.
In both testing and driverless operations, permits could be issued beforehand. But the DMV is looking for input on how much time and how many miles traveled would be needed to allow such permits.
The department is also looking to gain more regulatory powers that would allow the DMV to intervene on fleets’ hours or areas of operation based on safety or other concerns.
The DMV also suggested that the department could require monthly reports on disengagements as well as more details in crash reports than what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gathers.
Those crash reports could include information such as on the vehicle’s sensors 30 seconds prior to the collision along with braking, acceleration and steering details and camera footage.
Hazmat, oversize and tank trucks would still not be allowed to operate autonomously, per a DMV summary.
The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association praised the potential change, applauding Gov. Gavin Newsom and the DMV for the proposed regulations.
The pending regulatory change could clash with another legislative attempt to give legislators and the governor more oversight in the process, but Newsom rejected such a restriction from the Legislature last year.
