This report provides the most comprehensive discussion to date of
whether so-called automated, autonomous, self-driving, or
driverless vehicles can be lawfully sold and used on public roads
in the United States. The short answer is that the computer
direction of a motor vehicle's steering, braking, and accelerating
without real-time human input is probably legal. The long answer,
contained in the report, provides a foundation for tailoring
regulations and understanding liability issues related to these
vehicles. The report's largely descriptive analysis, which begins
with the principle that everything is permitted unless prohibited,
covers three key legal regimes: the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road
Traffic, regulations enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), and the vehicle codes of all fifty US
states. The Geneva Convention, to which the United States is a
party, probably does not prohibit automated driving. The treaty
promotes road safety by establishing uniform rules, one of which
requires every vehicle or combination thereof to have a driver who
is "at all times ... able to control" it. However, this requirement
is likely satisfied if a human is able to intervene in the
automated vehicle's operation. NHTSA's regulations, which include
the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to which new vehicles
must be certified, do not generally prohibit or uniquely burden
automated vehicles, with the possible exception of one rule
regarding emergency flashers. State vehicle codes probably do not
prohibit-but may complicate-automated driving. These codes assume
the presence of licensed human drivers who are able to exercise
human judgment, and particular rules may functionally require that
presence. New York somewhat uniquely directs a driver to keep one
hand on the wheel at all times. In addition, far more common rules
mandating reasonable, prudent, practicable, and safe driving have
uncertain application to automated vehicles and their users.
Following distance requirements may also restrict the lawful
operation of tightly spaced vehicle platoons. Many of these issues
arise even in the three states that expressly regulate automated
vehicles. The primary purpose of this report is to assess the
current legal status of automated vehicles. However, the report
includes draft language for US states that wish to clarify this
status. It also recommends five near-term measures that may help
increase legal certainty without producing premature regulation.
First, regulators and standards organizations should develop common
vocabularies and definitions that are useful in the legal,
technical, and public realms. Second, the United States should
closely monitor efforts to amend or interpret the 1969 Vienna
Convention, which contains language similar to the Geneva
Convention but does not bind the United States. Third, NHTSA should
indicate the likely scope and schedule of potential regulatory
action. Fourth, US states should analyze how their vehicle codes
would or should apply to automated vehicles, including those that
have an identifiable human operator and those that do not. Finally,
additional research on laws applicable to trucks, buses, taxis,
low-speed vehicles, and other specialty vehicles may be useful.
This is in addition to ongoing research into the other legal
aspects of vehicle automation.
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