Bill > A3745

Introduced Session

This bill permits the testing and use of autonomous vehicles on the public highways, roads, and streets of this State. An autonomous vehicle may be operated on any highway, road, or street within this State for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license, as determined by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission), for the type of vehicle being operated if: the autonomous vehicle is being operated on a public highway, road, or street in this State solely by employees, contractors, or other persons designated by the manufacturer of the autonomous technology; the operator is seated in the driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the autonomous vehicle, and capable of taking over immediate manual control of the autonomous vehicle in the event of an autonomous technology failure or other emergency; and, prior to the start of testing in this State, the manufacturer performing the testing obtains an instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of self-insurance in the amount of $5,000,000, and is to provide evidence of the insurance, surety bond, or self-insurance to the commission, in a form and manner determined by the commission. The bill provides that an autonomous vehicle is not to be operated on a highway, road, or street in this State for testing purposes until the manufacturer submits an application to the commission in a form and manner determined by the commission. The application is to contain requirements that include: a certification by the manufacturer that the autonomous technology satisfies all of the following requirements: the autonomous technology that is easily engaged or disengaged by the operator; the autonomous vehicle has a visual indicator inside the cabin to indicate when the autonomous technology is engaged; and the autonomous vehicle has a system to safely alert the operator if an autonomous technology failure is detected while the autonomous technology is engaged, and when an alert is given, the system is to either require the operator to take control of the autonomous vehicle or be capable of coming to a complete stop if the operator does not or is unable to take control of the autonomous vehicle. The application is to also include that: the autonomous vehicle is to allow the operator to take control of the vehicle in multiple ways, including, but not limited to, use of the brake, the accelerator pedal, or the steering wheel, and it is to alert the operator that the autonomous technology has been disengaged; the autonomous vehicle and autonomous technology meet the safety and performance standards provided in State and federal law for the vehicle's model year; and the autonomous vehicle has a separate mechanism, in addition to, and separate from, any other mechanism required by law, to capture and store the autonomous technology sensor data for at least 30 seconds before a collision occurs between the autonomous vehicle and another vehicle, object, or person while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode. The autonomous technology sensor data is to be stored for three years from the date of the collision and be captured and stored in a read-only format by the mechanism so that the data is retained until extracted from the mechanism by an external device capable of downloading and storing the data. The commission is to also require a certification that the manufacturer has tested the autonomous technology on private roads, lots, or tracks, or out-of-State public highways, roads, and streets, has complied with any other testing standards established by the commission, and a certification that the manufacturer will maintain a surety bond, or proof of self-insurance as specified in regulations adopted by the commission, in an amount of $5,000,000. This bill provides that the commission is to approve an application submitted by a manufacturer pursuant this bill if the commission finds that the applicant has submitted all information and completed testing necessary to satisfy the commission that the autonomous vehicle is safe to operate on the highways, roads, and streets of this State for testing purposes and the applicant has complied with the regulations adopted by the commission. Finally, this bill requires the manufacturer of the autonomous technology installed on a vehicle to provide a written disclosure to the purchaser of an autonomous vehicle that describes what information, including personal information, is collected by the autonomous technology equipped on the vehicle.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Daniel Benson (D)*,  Pam Lampitt (D)*,  Declan O'Scanlon (R)*,  Herbert Conaway (D),  Patricia Jones (D), 

Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading (on 12/12/2016)