Federal lawmakers file self-driving technology legislation

The AV START Act (S. 1885) would require manufacturers to submit safety evaluation reports to the Secretary of Transportation with information on safety, crashworthiness, and cybersecurity through documented testing, validation and assessment.

   Two U.S. senators on Sept. 28 introduced bipartisan legislation that seeks to regulate self-driving vehicle technology by implementing a series of rules and regulations for manufacturers to follow.
    The American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act (S. 1885), is sponsored by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chair John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., are original cosponsors of the bill.
   “Self-driving vehicles will completely revolutionize the way we get around in the future, and it is vital that public policy keep pace with these rapidly developing lifesaving technologies that will be on our roads in a matter of years,” said Peters, also a member of the Commerce Committee. “I look forward to our continued efforts to ensure the safe deployment and use of self-driving vehicles as the Commerce Committee considers this important legislation.”
   The AV START Act would require manufacturers to submit safety evaluation reports to the Secretary of Transportation with information addressing important factors including safety, crashworthiness, and cybersecurity through documented testing, validation, and assessment. Such reports would have to be submitted prior to the testing or deployment of a self-driving vehicle.
   The bill also creates specific requirements for manufacturers to ensure that all self-driving vehicles account for state and local traffic laws, expands the Secretary of Transportation’s existing discretionary authority to implement an enhanced review and approval process for federal motor vehicle safety standards to prioritize safety for up to 100,000 vehicles per manufacturer three years after enactment. New authorities for self-driving technologies in the AV START Act apply to vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less and the bill maintains existing Department of Transportation authority for advancing automated truck and bus technology in the future.
   In addition, the legislation directs the Secretary of Transportation to work with manufacturers to adopt policies related to coordination around and disclosure of potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities, requires manufacturers to develop and execute a comprehensive written plan for identifying and reducing cybersecurity risks to self-driving vehicles, and directs the Department of Transportation to modernize existing federal motor vehicle safety standards, which were written before self-driving vehicles were envisioned.
   “This legislation proposes common sense changes in law to keep pace with advances in self-driving technology,” Thune said in a statement. “By playing a constructive role in the development of self-driving transportation systems, our government can help save lives, improve mobility for all Americans – including those with disabilities – and create new jobs by making us leaders in this important technology.”
   The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is expected to consider the bill at an Oct. 4 legislative markup.