Implications of Connected and Automated Driving Systems, Vol. 5: Developing the Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan (2018)

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NCHRP Web-Only Document 253, Vol. 5: Developing the Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan 66 Conclusions and Next Steps 8.1 Conclusions This project draws attention to potential legal and regulatory areas that will require modification and/or clarification as C/ADSs are deployed in all domains by providing: • A framework for completing an in-depth state legal audit. • Prioritized areas of law determined to merit the most attention in the short-, mid-, and long- terms as C/ADSs in all domains are deployed. • An overview of potential barriers to legislative and regulatory modification. • Recommendations for overcoming these barriers via tasks forces and legislative outreach. The eventual deployment of C/ADSs will require a regulatory structure that will work across state lines. In some cases, this will require that states work together to harmonize their MVCs to enable the operation of this new technology as it develops. Addressing these recommended modifications and harmonization needs will take coordination with state legislatures, sister state agencies, and a close alliance with industry. States are encouraged to use the priorities outlined in the AVAP to put a strategic framework in place to assess, engage, and act as they consider modifications to state MVCs. Further, the role of AAMVA and AASHTO in this effort cannot be overemphasized. AAMVA’s expert staff and its Vehicle Standing Committee, Automated Vehicles Best Practices Working Group and Law Enforcement Standing Committee, consisting of DMV and law enforcement practitioners on the front lines, are valuable resources, and AAMVA continues to be a leader in the area of C/ADS deployment. Similarly, AASHTO staff is a valuable resource for DOT administrators. The prioritization and harmonization summary tables presented in Chapter 6 illustrate that 2018–2020 is an important timeframe for states to begin legal and regulatory changes (Table 6, Table 7, Table 8). States can choose to make these modifications earlier, but should also closely monitor the marketplace and any federal oversight direction. Just as importantly, any modifications suggested should be in a form that allows for flexible updating and ease of change. 8.2. Dissemination of Research Results Implementing the recommendations may be a challenging endeavor for states. To assist in this process, this document and the AVAP should be disseminated to state and local agencies, legislative bodies, governor’s offices, and other interested parties. These documents may also be of significant help to

NCHRP Web-Only Document 253, Vol. 5: Developing the Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan 67 consultants, OEMs and their suppliers, technology firms, new-to-market transportation providers, and researchers who study the policy implications of C/ADS implementation. Additionally, the results of this project may be disseminated through research papers presented at TRB annual meetings, as well as other national and international conferences. Example conferences and meetings could include: • The AAMVA Annual International Conference and Regional Conferences, • Meetings of AAMVA’s Vehicle Standing Committee, Automated Vehicles Best Practices Working Group, Law Enforcement Standing Committee, and Motor Carrier Working Group, • The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Annual Conference and Exhibition, and • The AASHTO Annual Meeting. The results of this project may be further disseminated to state and local agencies through partnering organizations and national associations to member groups. Stakeholder representatives from national organizations, like AAMVA, AASHTO, and the CVSA will aid in distributing key research findings and will play an important role in distributing the results to members across the states, and coordinating with the TRB and the research team on facilitating workshops to disseminate project results. 8.3 Implementation Support Legal Audit Workshop With support from the TRB staff, a series of workshops could be held to explain the research findings and the processes involved in conducting a legal audit. The purpose of such a legal audit is to identify legal provisions in state codes that may require modification as C/ADS-equipped vehicles become more commonplace. A legal audit requires a systematic front-to-back review and analysis of state codes to identify provisions that might need modification because they impede automated transport functionality or are no longer relevant. The workshops could provide practitioners at the state and local level a review of the required steps, barriers, and methods to overcome when performing a legal audit to revise state codes and law for C/ADSs. The workshop could discuss priorities for revising legal codes across the short-, mid- and long- term as C/ADS-equipped vehicles are deployed. It could also include discussions of the technologies of interest, the key terms to review and define, methods of adaptation—for instance, legislative, administrative code, or changes through interpretation—and how states can develop their legal codes while maintaining interstate consistency and harmonization where appropriate. National organizations like AAMVA, AASHTO, and CVSA could be asked for assistance in recruiting workshop participants in hopes of conducting the workshops in conjunction with the previously noted conferences and/or meetings. Additional implementation-related suggestions are provided in the stand-alone Implementation of Findings and Products Technical Memorandum.

NCHRP Web-Only Document 253, Vol. 5: Developing the Autonomous Vehicle Action Plan 68 8.4 Further Research/Other Follow-On Activities The following activities could be considered to further advance the state of the research for C/ADS- equipped vehicle integration with the current and future vehicle fleet, especially from a legal standpoint. A plethora of legal issues are arising at the intersection of C/ADSs and the law. Issues of federal preemption and other existing federal standards for vehicles and traffic control devices, criminal acts that utilize a car, and even the constitutionality of searches of owners and their vehicles, are all cutting-edge issues emerging in C/ADS research. However, we were not tasked with addressing these or a host of other important questions. Rather, our investigation explores only a narrow slice of the intersection between the law and C/ADSs—the MVCs and the legal responsibilities of DMVs and DOTs that might be impacted with respect to licensing and titling of the vehicles, licensing the “driver,” reviewing cybersecurity issues, and plans to accommodate C/ADS-equipped vehicles within the transportation network. Additional research into these areas would be beneficial.