Bill > A1591

Introduced Session

This bill clarifies that, for the purposes of insurance, a self-driving car must comply with compulsory automobile and motor vehicle insurance requirements. Current law provides, with certain limited exceptions, that every owner or registered owner of a motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this State shall maintain motor vehicle liability insurance coverage. This bill clarifies that this mandate includes self-driving motor vehicles that are capable of operating without active control or monitoring by a human operator. Further, the "New Jersey Automobile Reparation Reform Act," P.L.1972, c.70 (C.39:6A-1 et seq.) created a system of "no-fault" insurance for private passenger automobiles. The bill amends the definition of "automobile" under that act to include a self-driving private passenger automobile which meets any SAE automation level as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The bill also defines a "self-driving private passenger automobile" to mean a private passenger automobile that uses autonomous technology, including sensors, global positioning system coordinates, or any other technology to perform the mechanical operations of driving, and has an operator seated in the driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle, and who is capable of taking over immediate manual control of the autonomous vehicle in the event of an autonomous technology failure or other emergency. Therefore, the bill extends the requirements of the New Jersey Automobile Reparation Reform Act to self-driving cars, including the requirement for owners and registrants to maintain liability insurance and the requirement that applicable insurance policies include personal injury protection benefits.

Committee Categories

Melinda Kane (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document