Nov. 7, 2018 – Car companies are predicting the advent of autonomous or self-driving vehicles (AV) within the not-too-distant future.

“Automated or self-driving vehicles are about to change the way we travel and connect with one another,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao at the Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 16, 2018.

But how soon will they be among us? The timeline surrounding self-driving cars depends heavily on the regulatory and legal developments over the next few years. To be successfully adopted, autonomous vehicles require both the right technological and legal frameworks.

A car company would not have much incentive to mass produce a truly self-driving car if there is nowhere it could be legally driven, or if the liability a manufacturer would bear would be considered as too risky.

The following websites show the broad range of the law and policy around AV. To keep up with this rapidly developing and changing topic, researchers should also pay attention to news sites. In addition, there are also several research centers that collect resources in this evolving area.

Laws and Regulations

Several different proposed regulations and laws could greatly affect the future of autonomous vehicle rollouts.

Federal and state governments play a significant role in the regulations surrounding the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles whereas city governments control the test sites and streets. As of this writing, Congress has yet to pass comprehensive federal laws on autonomous vehicles, leaving agencies to fill the void.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) have traditionally developed the nationwide safety standards for vehicles, and they appear to be leading the federal response to emerging AV technology.

For example, the Department of Transportation (DOT) in October 2018 updated its guidance on the AV testing and deployment, including a new set of voluntary guidelines for automated driving systems. The document, Preparing for the Future of Transportation - Automated Vehicles 3.0, adds to a previous issuance, version 2.0, which included voluntary guidance for automated driving systems as well as a section on best practices for legislatures.

Where to Begin

Researchers beginning a legal exploration of AVs should visit NHTSA’s website, Automated Vehicles for Safety. This site lists resources and guidance for the area and an overview of the six levels of driver assistance technology advancement in coming years.

Next, to get a local perspective, these two sites closely follow state legislative developments:

• The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) webpage on legislation for AVs, which has a legislative database that covers both state and local legislation and executive orders; and

• The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Center for Insurance Policy and Research webpage on self-driving cars.

Very recently, the National League of Cities also published its Definitive Guide to Piloting Autonomous Vehicles, which offers “an analysis of current regulations surrounding autonomous vehicles (AVs) as well as an overview of successful pilot programs and best practices from cities around the country.”

Wisconsin Sites

Gov. Scott Walker created a special committee to recommend a coordinated effort on how best to advance testing and operation of autonomous and connected vehicles in Wisconsin.

The State of Wisconsin has several web pages devoted to the topic of autonomous vehicles:

This site from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation lays out the documents and reports of the Governor’s “Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment.”

As an innovator, Wisconsin has a U.S. Department of Transportation designated AV Proving Grounds, a set of partners involved with AV research and development. See its website at Wisconsin – Automated Vehicles Proving Grounds.

Policies and Whitepapers

AV is still a developing area, and it is important to stay abreast of policy developments. Besides NHTSA (above), two groups have also put out helpful guidance for policymakers:

• the Rand Corporation’s Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Guide for Policymakers, and

• the prestigious Brookings Institute’s Products Liability and Driverless Cars: Issues and Guiding Principles for Legislation.

Ford, Lyft, Uber, Volvo Cars, and Waymo established the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets in April 2016 to “assist lawmakers, regulators, and the public to realize the safety and societal benefits of self-driving vehicles.” The website notes that their mission is to promote the benefits of fully self-driving vehicles and to support the safest and most rapid deployment possible of these technologies.

The Governors Highway Safety Association has published Autonomous Vehicles Meet Human Drivers: Traffic Safety Issues for States. This study will help guide states as they create legislation in this important area.

Information Resources and News

AV is a rapidly changing subject for policy and enactments. The following sites will assist a researcher with lists of further links and ways to follow the news:

• The Autonomous Vehicle Information Library from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators has a curated list of AV sites, including international topics but especially a tab devoted to laws and policy.

• The Consumer Technology Association has a special page devoted to automated vehicles and collects news and releases on the topic.

• The Wikipedia article on self-driving cars summarizes several aspects of the topic and includes a section on legislation and policy.

• The Congress for the New Urbanism, a group that helps to plan well-designed cities, provides a unique collection of links to AV topics.

• Another group, the American Planning Association, has a Knowledgebase Collection on Autonomous Vehicles.

• The Eno Center for Transportation provides a library of resources that can be searched for AV topics.

• For an overview, Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society has a website that collects legal actions, Automated Driving: Legislative and Regulatory Action.

For news, two sites for basic automotive information are following this topic. Both Edmunds.com (do a general search on “autonomous vehicle”), and the American Automobile Association's AAA Newsroom (search for posts tagged “self-driving cars”)  are invaluable resources for keeping up on the topic.

The Driverless Car Market Watch is a semi-active blog that discusses current developments in the adoption of AV technology. It includes some basic background information. The website TU Automotive follows AV developments closely, including legislation.

Staying Alert to Fast-moving Changes

AV development is advancing by the minute. The American Planning Association website reported that the 11 largest automakers are planning to have fully autonomous vehicles on highways by 2021.

As is the case with all laws involving technology, there may be gaps as legislators, regulators, and local officials work to keep up with advancements and support the evolution of the technology.

Interested practitioners can follow lawmaking in this area by monitoring the key sites noted above and by staying alert to news developments as AV technologies continue to transform the way we drive.