California Code of Regulations
Title 13 - Motor Vehicles
Division 1 - Department of Motor Vehicles
Chapter 1 - Department of Motor Vehicles
Article 3.8 - Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles
Section 228.06 - Application for a Permit for Post-Testing Deployment of Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads
Universal Citation: 13 CA Code of Regs 228.06
Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Except for testing as provided in Sections 227.30 and 227.38 of Article 3.7, an autonomous vehicle shall not be deployed on any public road in California until the manufacturer has submitted and the department has approved an Application for a Permit to Deploy Autonomous Vehicles on Public Streets, form OL 321 (Rev. 7/2020), which is hereby incorporated by reference. Manufacturers may also choose to submit the form via the department's web portal or electronic data transfer.
(1) The manufacturer shall identify
in the application the operational design domain in which the subject
autonomous vehicles are designed to operate and certify that the vehicles are
designed to be incapable of operating in the autonomous mode in areas outside
of the disclosed operational design domain.
(2) The manufacturer shall identify any
commonly-occurring or restricted conditions, including but not limited to:
snow, fog, black ice, wet road surfaces, construction zones, and geo-fencing by
location or road type, under which the vehicles are either designed to be
incapable of operating or unable to operate reliably in the autonomous mode or
state the mechanism for safely disengaging out of autonomous mode in the event
of experiencing conditions outside of its operational design domain.
(3) The manufacturer shall describe how the
vehicle is designed to react when it is outside of its operational design
domain or encounters the commonly-occurring or restricted conditions disclosed
on the application. Such reactions can include measures such as notifying and
transitioning control to the driver, transitioning to a minimal risk condition,
moving the vehicle a safe distance from the travel lanes, or activating systems
that will allow the vehicle to continue operation until it has reached a
location where it can come to a complete stop.
(4) The manufacturer shall submit the fee of
three thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars ($3,275) for the processing
of the application.
(5) The
manufacturer must provide on the application the number of the Manufacturer's
License issued by the department pursuant to Vehicle Code section
11701.
(6) The manufacturer shall
certify in the application that the autonomous vehicles are equipped with an
autonomous technology data recorder that captures and stores autonomous
technology sensor data for all vehicle functions that are controlled by the
autonomous technology at least 30 seconds before a collision with another
vehicle, person, or other object while the vehicle is operating in autonomous
mode. The data captured and stored by the autonomous technology data recorder,
in a read only format, must be capable of being accessed and retrieved by a
commercially available tool.
(7)
The manufacturer shall certify that the autonomous vehicles comply with all
applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 571, and the California Vehicle Code, Division 12 (Equipment
of Vehicles), or the manufacturer shall provide evidence of an exemption that
has been approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
(8) The
manufacturer shall certify that the autonomous technology meets Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards, if any, for the vehicles' model year, and that the
autonomous technology does not make inoperative any Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571, and the
California Vehicle Code, Division 12 (Equipment of Vehicles).
(9) The manufacturer shall certify that the
autonomous technology is designed to detect and respond to roadway situations
in compliance with all provisions of the California Vehicle Code and local
regulation applicable to the performance of the dynamic driving task in the
vehicle's operational design domain, except when necessary to enhance the
safety of the vehicle's occupants and/or other road users.
(A) The manufacturer shall also certify that,
when necessary, it will make available updates pertaining to the autonomous
technology at least annually or by the effective date of any changes in the
California Vehicle Code and local regulation applicable to the operation of
motor vehicles to ensure that the autonomous vehicle is in compliance with any
changes made to the California Vehicle Code and local regulation applicable to
the performance of the dynamic driving task in the vehicle's operational design
domain.
(B) The manufacturer shall
also certify that it will make available updates pertaining to location and
mapping information utilized or referenced by the autonomous technology for the
safe operation of the vehicle in the operational design domain on a continual
basis consistent with changes to the physical environment captured by the maps
sensors, or other information.
(C)
The manufacturer shall notify the registered owner of the autonomous vehicle of
the availability of the updates pursuant to (A) and (B) above and provide
instructions on how to access the updates.
(10) A certification that the autonomous
vehicles meet appropriate and applicable current industry standards to help
defend against, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, unauthorized intrusions,
or false vehicle control commands.
(11) A certification that the manufacturer
has conducted test and validation methods and is satisfied, based on the
results of the tests and validations, that the vehicles are safe for deployment
on public roads in California.
(b) In addition to the requirements specified in subsection (a), for vehicles that do not require a driver, the manufacturer shall also certify that the vehicle complies with all of the following:
(1) A communication link between the vehicle
and the remote operator, if any, to provide information on the vehicle's
location and status and allow two-way communication between the remote operator
and any passengers, if applicable, should the vehicle experience any failures
that would endanger the safety of the vehicle's passengers or other road users
while operating without a driver.
(2) The ability to display or transfer
vehicle owner or operator information as specified in Vehicle Code section
16025 in the event that the vehicle is involved in a crash, collision, or
accident or if there is a need to provide that information to a law enforcement
officer for any reason.
(3) Any
vehicle that is not equipped with manual controls for completing the dynamic
driving task, such as a steering wheel, brake pedal, and accelerator pedal,
complies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or the
manufacturer provides evidence of an exemption that has been approved by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(c) The manufacturer shall submit with the application all of the following:
(1) For
vehicles to be sold or leased to persons other than the manufacturer, a
consumer or end user education plan, which covers the operational design domain
of the vehicle, which also includes the following:
(A) The identification of any and all
restrictions of the autonomous technology in the autonomous vehicles and an
explanation of the educational materials that will be provided to end users of
the autonomous vehicles produced by the manufacturer.
(B) A copy of the sections of the vehicle
owner's manual, or an equivalent vehicle operator instruction guide or pamphlet
that provides information on the following:
(i) The mechanism to engage and disengage the
autonomous technology showing that the mechanism is easily accessible to the
vehicle operator.
(ii) The visual
indicator inside the vehicle's cabin to indicate when the autonomous technology
is engaged.
(iii) The operator and
manufacturer's responsibilities with respect to the operation of the autonomous
vehicles.
(C) An
explanation how end users will receive education after purchasing a
previously-owned vehicle.
(D) The
internet web site address where copies of the end user education plan may be
accessed shall be provided at no cost to law enforcement and emergency response
agencies in the vicinity of the operational design domain of the vehicles and
shall be provided to the California Highway Patrol at the E-mail address
provided in section
227.38 (e)(3) of
Article 3.7.
(2) A
description of how a vehicle that meets the Society of Automotive Engineers'
definition of a level 4 or level 5 vehicle, or for vehicles that meet the
Society of Automotive Engineers' definition of a level 3 vehicle and the driver
does not or is unable to take manual control of the vehicle, will safely come
to a complete stop when there is an autonomous technology failure that would
endanger the safety of the vehicle's occupants or other road users, including
but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)
To the extent practicable, moving the vehicle a safe distance from the travel
lanes.
(B) Activation of systems
that will allow the vehicle to continue operation until the vehicle has reached
a location where it can come to a complete stop.
(3) A copy of a law enforcement interaction
plan that meets all of the requirements specified in Section
227.38 (e) of
Article 3.7.
(4) A copy of the
written disclosure required by Section
228.24.
(5) A certification that the subject
autonomous vehicle satisfies each requirement of Vehicle Code section 38750,
subsection (c)(1).
(6) A
certification that the manufacturer has complied with its responsibility to
register with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and that it is
aware of its responsibilities to comply with federal motor vehicle safety
requirements.
(7) A summary of the
manufacturer's autonomous technology testing in the operational design domain
in which the subject autonomous vehicles are designed to operate. The summary
shall describe all locations where the vehicle has been tested and shall
include:
(A) The total number of vehicle test
miles driven on public roads, on test tracks, or other private roads in
autonomous mode.
(B) A description
of the testing methods used to validate the performance of the subject
autonomous vehicles.
(C) The number
of collisions originating from the operation of the autonomous test vehicles in
autonomous mode on public roads that resulted in damage of property to any one
person in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or bodily injury or death,
and a full description of the cause of each collision and measures taken to
remediate the cause of each collision where applicable.
(d) Manufacturers that have publicly disclosed an assessment demonstrating their approaches to achieving safety shall provide the department with a copy of that assessment.
(e) The requirements identified in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section shall be submitted as follows:
(1) Documents shall be submitted on business
letterhead and clearly identify the party completing the plan or
report.
(2) Each plan or report
shall contain at least a two-page summary including the contents and conclusion
of the plan or report. Charts, graphs or other visual or audio materials may be
included as attachments to the summary.
(3) Each page shall be sequentially numbered,
and contain the name of the party completing the plan or report, and shall name
or identify the subject autonomous vehicles covered by the technology in the
plan or report.
(4) Each plan or
report shall be signed and dated under penalty of perjury, by the party
completing the plan or report, certifying the correctness of its
contents.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 38750, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 322, 11701 and 38750, Vehicle Code; and Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 1651 and 38750, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 322, 11701 and 38750, Vehicle Code; and Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. California may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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