Bill > A1859

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 that is capable of operating without active control or monitoring by a human operator. 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

Arthur Barclay (D)*,  Patricia Jones (D)*,  Pam Lampitt (D)*,  Raj Mukherji (D)*,  Annette Chaparro (D), 

Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading (on 05/17/2018)