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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
autonomous vehicles
Purpose
Establishes a regulatory framework for the operation of autonomous vehicles in Arizona.
Background
The operation of autonomous vehicles in Arizona is primarily regulated through Executive Order 2018-04, which requires all autonomous vehicles to meet certain criteria prior to being operated or tested on public roads. Under the Executive Order, autonomous vehicles are required to be: 1) in compliance with all applicable federal motor safety standards; 2) able to achieve minimal risk conditions in the event of an automated driving system failure; 3) capable of complying with all applicable traffic and motor safety laws; and 4) in compliance with all applicable certificate, title registration, licensing and insurance requirements.
The Executive Order also directed the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop a Law Enforcement Interaction Protocol in coordination with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and relevant law enforcement agencies. The protocol outlines procedures for dealing with traffic collisions involving autonomous vehicles and requires an autonomous vehicle company to provide DPS and ADOT with an interaction policy that provides law enforcement with guidelines on how to safely interact with autonomous vehicles.
A person that is involved in a vehicle accident resulting in injury or death of another person must: 1) immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close as possible to the accident scene; 2) provide relevant information to the person struck; and 3) render reasonable assistance to an injured person (A.R.S. §§ 28-661 and 28-663). In order to operate a vehicle, a person must ensure that the vehicle is equipped with proper restraints, headlamps, mirrors, windshields and windshield wipers (A.R.S. §§ 28-909; 28-941; 28-956; 28-957; and 28-957.01).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Autonomous Vehicle Operation and Enforcement
1. Allows a licensed driver to operate an autonomous vehicle on public roads with the automated driving system engaged if the driver is able to resume control of the dynamic driving task or respond to a request to intervene.
2. Allows a fully autonomous vehicle to operate on public roads without a driver only if a person submits:
a) a law enforcement interaction plan consistent with the Law Enforcement Interaction Protocol issued by DPS on May 14, 2018; and
b) a written statement to ADOT acknowledging that the fully autonomous vehicle:
i. is equipped with an automated driving system in compliance with all applicable federal laws and standards;
ii. will achieve minimal risk conditions in the event of an automated driving system failure;
iii. is capable of complying with all applicable traffic and motor vehicle safety laws, and that a person responsible for the vehicle may be issued traffic citations; and
iv. meets all applicable title, registration, licensing and insurance requirements.
3. Allows ADOT to issue a cease and desist letter prohibiting the operation of fully autonomous vehicles if a person fails to submit a law enforcement interaction plan.
4. States that an automated driving system, when engaged, is considered the driver of an autonomous vehicle for the purpose of assessing compliance with traffic laws.
5. States that an automate driving system satisfies electronically all physical acts required by a driver of the vehicle.
6. Exempts an automated driving system from driver license requirements.
7. States that a licensed driver is not required to operate a fully autonomous vehicle in compliance with outlined requirements and is not prohibited from driving a fully autonomous vehicle that allows the driver to control all or part of the dynamic driving task.
8. Requires DPS to maintain a law enforcement protocol for fully autonomous vehicles that includes guidelines on how to interact with fully autonomous vehicles in emergency and traffic enforcement situations, as well as how to provide contact information for insurance and citation purposes.
9. Allows DPS to issue a revised law enforcement protocol after providing advance notice to, and opportunity for comment from, persons who are authorized to operate fully autonomous vehicles.
10. Allows an on-demand autonomous vehicle network to operate under the same requirements as a transportation network company, except for any requirement that by its nature does not apply to fully autonomous vehicles.
11. Allows a fully autonomous vehicle that is a commercial motor vehicle to operate pursuant to state law governing commercial motor vehicles, except for any law that by its nature does not apply to a fully autonomous vehicle.
12. Prohibits a county, city or town from imposing taxes, fees or other requirements on automated driving systems or persons operating such systems.
13. Stipulates that an airport is not prohibited from:
a) charging fees consistent with fees imposed on similar companies for use of the airport's facilities; and
b) designating locations for staging, pickup or other similar operations.
14. States that ADOT and DPS are the only state agencies that may implement or enforce laws and rules relating to fully autonomous vehicles, provided that such laws and rules are not unreasonable or unduly burdensome.
15. Prohibits a traffic or motor vehicle law from prohibiting the operation of an autonomous vehicle or requiring a human driver to operate a fully autonomous vehicle, provided that the vehicle is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
16. States that this legislation provides the exclusive means by which ADOT may suspend, revoke or cancel the registration, or otherwise restrict the operation of, an autonomous vehicle.
17. Allows ADOT to issue a request for information on an autonomous vehicle if data or evidence indicates that the vehicle is likely not in safe mechanical condition.
18. Requires a person to respond to an information request within a reasonable time specified by ADOT.
19. Specifies that the response may be in the form of documents, a meeting with ADOT, a demonstration or any other reasonable form or combination of forms.
20. Allows ADOT to provide notice of intent to suspend the registration of, or impose restrictions on, an autonomous vehicle that is determined to not be in safe mechanical condition.
21. Requires the notice to include:
a) a description of ADOT's reasons and evidence supporting the determination; and
b) a statement that a certification of correction or adjustment must be submitted within a specified time which includes an explanation of how the issues identified have been addressed.
22. Requires ADOT to suspend or restrict the registration of an autonomous vehicle if a person fails to submit the certification of correction or the certification is not accurate.
23. Allows a person to dispute ADOT's finding and request a hearing within 10 days of the notice of intent to suspend or restrict operation.
24. Requires a hearing to he held not more than 60 days after submission of a request.
25. Stipulates that a decision to uphold ADOT's determination is subject to judicial review.
26. States that ADOT's authority to suspend or restrict the operation of an autonomous vehicle does not apply to vehicles subject to motor carrier safety requirements.
Vehicle Accident Requirements
27. Requires a fully autonomous vehicle operating without a human driver, when involved in an accident resulting in injury, death or property damage, to stop at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene of the accident as possible until the duty to give information and assistance is satisfied.
28. Specifies that an autonomous vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in property damage must come to a stop without obstructing traffic more than necessary.
29. States that the duty to give information and assistance is satisfied if:
a) the autonomous vehicle owner or a person on behalf of the owner promptly contacts law enforcement to report the accident, or the vehicle itself reports the accident; and
b) the owner or a person on behalf of the owner provides the owner's name and address and the registration number of the autonomous vehicle to a person struck by the vehicle or the occupants of a vehicle involved in the accident.
30. Requires the vehicle owner or person on behalf of the owner, if a fully autonomous vehicle strikes an unattended vehicle, to conspicuously leave a written notice in the vehicle struck providing the name and address of the driver and the owner.
31. Requires the vehicle owner or a person on behalf of the owner, if a fully autonomous vehicle strikes fixtures on or adjacent to a highway, to notify the person in charge of the property of:
a) the fact of the accident;
b) the vehicle's name and address; and
c) the vehicle's registration number.
32. Allows the owner of a fully autonomous vehicle or a person on behalf of the owner, rather than the vehicle driver, to notify law enforcement of an accident involving injury or death.
Equipment Requirements
33. States that a person responsible for a child under five years old may be cited for a violation of child restraint system requirements if the violation occurs in a fully autonomous vehicle.
34. States that a person responsible for a passenger under 16 years old may be cited for a violation of seat belt requirements if the violation occurs in a fully autonomous vehicle.
35. Exempts fully autonomous vehicles that are incapable of being operated by a human driver from requirements relating to:
a) headlamp beam indicators;
b) mirrors;
c) windshield wipers; and
d) windshields.
36. Exempts fully autonomous vehicles from the requirement that a notice of operational restrictions be placed in clear view of the driver.
Definitions
37. Defines automated driving system as the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain.
38. Defines autonomous vehicle as a motor vehicle that is equipped with an automated driving system.
39. Defines dynamic driving task as all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic, including:
a) lateral vehicle motion control by steering;
b) longitudinal motion control by acceleration and deceleration;
c) monitoring the driving environment by object and event detection, recognition, classification and response preparation;
d) object and event response execution;
e) maneuver planning; and
f) enhancing conspicuity by lighting, signaling and gesturing.
40. Specifies that the dynamic driving task does not include strategic function such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints.
41. Defines fully autonomous vehicle as an autonomous vehicle that is equipped with an automated driving system designed to function as a level four or five system under SAE J3016 and that may be designed to function either:
a) solely by use of the automated driving system; or
b) by a human driver when the automated driving system is not engaged.
42. Defines human driver as a natural person in the vehicle who performs in real time all or part of the dynamic driving task or achieves a minimal risk condition for the vehicle.
43. Defines minimal risk condition as a condition to which a human driver or an automated driving system may bring a vehicle in order to reduce the risk of a crash when a given trip cannot or should not be completed, including bringing the vehicle to a complete stop.
44. Defines operational design domain as operating conditions under which a given automated driving system is specifically designed to function, including roadway types, speed range, environmental conditions such as weather or time of day, and other domain constraints.
45. Defines SAE J3016 as surface transportation recommended practice J3016 taxonomy and definitions related to driving automation systems for on-road motor vehicle published by SAE International in June 2018.
46. Defines on-demand autonomous vehicle network as a passenger transportation network that uses a digital network or software application to connect passengers to fully autonomous vehicles for transportation, exclusively or in addition to other vehicles, including transportation for hire and transportation for compensation.
47. Defines request to intervene as a notification by an automated driving system to a human driver that the human driver should promptly begin or resume performance of part or all of the dynamic driving task.
Miscellaneous
48. Makes technical and conforming changes.
49. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
COM 2/16/21 DP 9-1-0-0
3rd Read 2/24/21 59-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 4, 2021
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