California enacted new laws for autonomous vehicle testing starting April 2. The California DMV has three autonomous vehicle permit options. A manufacturer can be licnesed for testing with a driver which is what is was previously allowed, testing without a driver and public rides.
The San Francisco Chronicle reprots that Waymo has applied to test self-driving vehicles without a backup driver another but will probably not test in highly populated areas to start..
The Office of Administrative Law approved regulations governing the driverless testing and public use of autonomous vehicles on California roads on February 26, 2018. The DMV began issuing driverless testing permits on April 2, 2018 in order to test without a driver there must be a constant communication link between the driverless car and a “remote operator” that gives real-time data on the vehicle’s status and position. The company must provide a“law enforcement interaction plan” explaining how incidents will be handled by the operator and how the vehicle will interact with emergency personal.
Rides can only be given to the public in autonomous cars if they are not charged for the ride and there is a test driver present and the operator provides bond and/or insurance documentation.
Under the testing regulations, manufacturers are required to provide DMV with a Report of Traffic Collision Involving an Autonomous Vehicle (form OL 316) within 10 business days of the incident.
The California Autonomous Vehicle Testing Regulations require every manufacturer authorized to test autonomous vehicles on public roads to submit an annual report summarizing the disengagements of the technology during testing. This “disengagement report” is due by January 1 of each year.