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Dive Summary:
- The California State Assembly last week approved a bill by a vote of 63-4 that would require legislative approval to remove safety operators from autonomous vehicles weighing 10,001 kilograms or more.
- The measure seeks to add more oversight to the state Department of Motor Vehicles as supporters raise concerns about road safety and driver union jobs.
- The follow-up effort was essentially the same as a previous version, which Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed in September 2023. The new bill now goes to the California Senate for revision.
Dive Insight:
The state still prohibits the testing and development of medium- and heavy-duty autonomous vehicles. The issue came further into focus when the DMV held workshops last year discussing them heavy duty AV testing to help inform potential rules.
The new bill threatens to delay the removal of medium and heavy duty drivers AVs well beyond 2030 in the state. Before driverless operations can take place for vehicles weighing 10,001 pounds or more, the state DMV would have to issue a report on the technology, a legislative oversight hearing would have to be held, and the California State Legislature and governor would have to approve the change.
While driverless passenger cars are taking place in California, problems have arisen, such as accidents involving a self-driving car drifting on foot about 20 feet on October 2, 2023as well as the DMV suspension of the AV license of robot taxi company Cruise from October 24, 2023. The company, majority owned by General Motors, later acknowledged its shortcomings, made management changes and adjust security governance.
The relentless push by California lawmakers on a safety operator bill isn’t the only effort that could add layers of AV regulation in the state, whose roads total more miles than any other U.S. state except Texas. Another bill would be allow cities with 250,000 people or more to create licensing programs for AV services and limit the hours of operation of these vehicles. Smaller cities bordering these municipalities should essentially follow the ordinances of these larger areas.
“The bill would effectively shut down AVs in California by allowing local governments to create their own ordinances, creating a barrier to entry before an approved AV service enters the municipality,” the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association said in a statement. That bill, which passed the California Senate last week, now heads to the Assembly.