Bill > HB217

This bill amends Alaska law to clarify requirements for autonomous vehicles and driving tests. It specifies that if a driver fails any part of a driving test, they only need to retake the specific portions they did not pass. For autonomous vehicles registered in Alaska, they must meet federal standards and have specific limitations on transporting commerce or passengers, generally restricted to vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross weight and designed for no more than 16 passengers. With some exceptions, autonomous vehicles operating in the state must have a human safety operator present who can monitor and intervene in the vehicle's operation, and this operator must meet federal and state licensing requirements. The bill also outlines how fault and damages will be determined in civil actions involving autonomous vehicle accidents and exempts certain small, electrically powered personal delivery devices from these regulations. The bill defines "autonomous technology" as systems capable of driving without human intervention, distinguishing it from driver-assistance features, and categorizes autonomous vehicles based on their level of automation, from conditional to full driving automation, all of which are defined in relation to the vehicle's ability to perform the "dynamic driving task" (all real-time driving functions) and "dynamic driving task fallback" (responding to system failures or requests to intervene) without human input.