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Autonomous vehicle laws: Governments struggle to create standard regulations

As autonomous vehicle testing and deployment continues to roll out, local governments must decide on cohesive laws that would regulate these machines.

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Quantumrun Foresight
February 10, 2023

As of 2022, several companies worldwide have begun offering autonomous taxi/rideshare services in select cities on a trial basis. It would seem that the deployment of self-driving technologies will only accelerate from now on. However, regulatory hurdles remain as each state imposes its own autonomous vehicle laws.

Autonomous vehicle laws context

Widescale testing of autonomous vehicles is vital for the continued development of autonomous transport solutions. Unfortunately, state and city governments trying to invite automotive companies to test their autonomous vehicles often face numerous political and regulatory hurdles.

Looking at the US market, since the federal government has yet to release (2022) a comprehensive plan for ensuring the safety of autonomous vehicles, individual states and cities must themselves assess risk, manage public expectations, and cooperate with each other to ensure regulatory consistency. State and local rules must coexist alongside federal regulations that govern autonomous vehicle testing and deployment. In addition, as of 2022, 29 US states updated vehicle driver definitions and commercial requirements associated with truck platooning (linking two or more trucks using automated driving systems).

However, there are still not enough laws that permit the testing of autonomous vehicles. Even in California, the most progressive state for self-driving technology, regulations prohibit car use without a driver ready to take control of it. Conversely, the states of Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have been leading the way in developing laws governing autonomous vehicles. Jurisdictions that have passed such legislation are often more welcoming to autonomous vehicle companies, as their lawmakers want to remain competitive for investments and economic growth.

Disruptive impact

Various US states are looking into new ways to integrate autonomous vehicles into their vision of smart cities. Phoenix and Los Angeles, for example, are working on imaginative approaches to designing, building, and testing autonomous vehicle systems. Nonetheless, implementing self-driving vehicles still has some major roadblocks. For one, city and state governments have jurisdiction over local streets, but the federal government regulates highways surrounding these areas. For cars to become autonomous and widely used, the rules of the road would need to be compatible with each other.

Aside from juggling various road regulations, local governments also face challenges in differing autonomous vehicle interfaces. Most automotive manufacturers have their own systems and dashboards that are often not compatible with other platforms. Without global standards, it would be difficult to create comprehensive laws. However, some companies are starting to address system incompatibilities. In 2019, after both Volkswagen and Ford independently analyzed Argo AI's self-driving system, the brands decided to invest in the autonomous vehicle platform startup. This partnership will allow Volkswagen and Ford to integrate the system into their own vehicles on a much larger scale. The current valuation of Argo AI is over USD $7 billion dollars.

Implications of autonomous vehicle laws

Wider implications of autonomous vehicle laws may include:

State/provincial and national governments collaborating to develop laws that would oversee the testing, deployment, and long-term monitoring of self-driving vehicles.
Increased investments in Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructures, such as highways, to support autonomous vehicle testing and implementation.
Vehicle insurance companies coordinating with regulators to determine accountabilities in terms of accidents and AI malfunctions.
Governments requiring autonomous vehicle developers to submit more detailed and meaningful testing reports that accurately measure progress. Businesses that don’t comply might lose their permits to test and operate.
The public’s continued mistrust of the safety of autonomous vehicles as accidents and malfunctions continue to occur.