II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1885 

To support the development of highly automated vehicle safety technologies, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BLUNT, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To support the development of highly automated vehicle 

safety technologies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘American Vision for Safer Transportation through Ad6 vancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act’’ or the ‘‘AV 

7 START Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 


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Sec. 3. Relationship to other laws. 

Sec. 4. Expedited resolution of highly automated vehicles conflicts with standards. 

Sec. 5. Highly automated vehicles testing. 

Sec. 6. Highly automated vehicles exemptions. 

Sec. 7. Inoperative controls. 

Sec. 8. Levels of driving automation. 

Sec. 9. Safety evaluation report. 

Sec. 10. Highly Automated Vehicles Technical Safety Committee. 

Sec. 11. Highly automated vehicles rulemaking. 

Sec. 12. Consumer education. 

Sec. 13. Traffic safety and law enforcement. 

Sec. 14. Cybersecurity. 

Sec. 15. Savings provision. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

3 (1) AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM; DEDICATED

4 HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLE; HIGHLY AUTOMATED

5 VEHICLE; MANUFACTURER; MOTOR VEHICLE; MOTOR

6 VEHICLE EQUIPMENT.—The terms ‘‘automated driv7 ing system’’, ‘‘dedicated highly automated vehicle’’, 

8 ‘‘highly automated vehicle’’, ‘‘manufacturer’’, ‘‘motor 

9 vehicle’’, and ‘‘motor vehicle equipment’’ have the 

10 meanings given such terms in section 30102 of title 

11 49, United States Code, as amended by subsection 

12 (b). 

13 (2) NHTSA.—The term ‘‘NHTSA’’ means the 

14 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

15 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Transportation. 

17 (b) MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY CHAPTER.—Section 

18 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

2 (13) as paragraphs (8) through (16) respectively; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

4 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

6 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 

7 (4) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes8 ignated, the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM.—In de10 scribing a Level 3, 4, or 5 automated driving system 

11 (as defined by SAE International standard J3016, 

12 published on September 30, 2016, or subsequently 

13 adopted by the Secretary), the term ‘automated driv14 ing system’ means the hardware and software that 

15 is collectively capable of performing the entire dy16 namic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless 

17 of whether the system is limited to a specific oper18 ational design domain.’’; 

19 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesig20 nated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) DEDICATED HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHI22 CLE.—The term ‘dedicated highly automated vehicle’ 

23 means a highly automated vehicle designed to be op24 erated exclusively (as defined by the SAE Inter25 national standard J3016, published on September 


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1 30, 2016) by a Level 4 or 5 automated driving sys2 tem (as defined by the SAE International standard 

3 J3016, published on September 30, 2016, or subse4 quently adopted by the Secretary) for all trips.’’; and 

5 (6) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig6 nated, the following: 

7 ‘‘(7) HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLE.—The term 

8 ‘highly automated vehicle’ means a motor vehicle 

9 with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less 

10 that is equipped with a Level 3, 4, or 5 automated 

11 driving system (as defined by SAE International 

12 standard J3016, published on September 30, 2016, 

13 or subsequently adopted by the Secretary).’’. 

14 SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30103 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b), to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(b) PREEMPTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES.—No 

20 State or political subdivision of a State may main21 tain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect any law 

22 or regulation regarding the design, construction, or 

23 performance of highly automated vehicles, auto24 mated driving systems, or components of automated 

25 driving systems unless such law or regulation is 


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1 identical to a standard prescribed under this chap2 ter. 

3 ‘‘(2) MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARD.—When a 

4 motor vehicle safety standard is in effect under this 

5 chapter, a State or political subdivision of a State 

6 may prescribe or continue in effect a standard appli7 cable to the same aspect of performance of a motor 

8 vehicle or motor vehicle equipment only if the stand9 ard is identical to the standard prescribed under this 

10 chapter. 

11 ‘‘(3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub13 section may be construed to prohibit a State or 

14 a political subdivision of a State from maintain15 ing, enforcing, prescribing, or continuing in ef16 fect any law or regulation regarding registra17 tion, licensing, driving education and training, 

18 insurance, law enforcement, crash investiga19 tions, safety and emissions inspections, conges20 tion management of vehicles on the street with21 in a State or political subdivision of a State, or 

22 traffic unless the law or regulation is an unrea23 sonable restriction on the design, construction, 

24 or performance of highly automated vehicles, 


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1 automated driving systems, or components of 

2 automated driving systems. 

3 ‘‘(B) MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS.—Nothing 

4 in this subsection may be construed to prohibit 

5 a State or political subdivision of a State from 

6 maintaining, enforcing, prescribing, or con7 tinuing in effect any law or regulation regard8 ing the sale, distribution, repair, or service of 

9 highly automated vehicles, automated driving 

10 systems, or components of automated driving 

11 systems by a dealer, manufacturer, or dis12 tributor. 

13 ‘‘(C) CONFORMITY WITH FEDERAL LAW.— 

14 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

15 preempt, restrict, or limit a State or political 

16 subdivision of a State from acting in accordance 

17 with any other Federal law. 

18 ‘‘(4) HIGHER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT.— 

19 However, the United States Government, a State, or 

20 a political subdivision of a State may prescribe a 

21 standard for a motor vehicle, motor vehicle equip22 ment, highly automated vehicle, or automated driv23 ing system obtained for its own use that imposes a 

24 higher performance requirement than that required 


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1 by the otherwise applicable standard under this 

2 chapter. 

3 ‘‘(5) STATE ENFORCEMENT.—A State may en4 force a standard that is identical to a standard pre5 scribed under this chapter.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (e), to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(e) COMMON LAW LIABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Compliance with a motor 

9 vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter 

10 does not exempt a person from liability at common 

11 law. 

12 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this section shall be construed to preempt common 

14 law claims.’’. 

15 (b) LICENSING.—Notwithstanding section 30103 of 

16 title 49, United States Code, as amended by subsection 

17 (a), a State may not issue a motor vehicle operator’s li18 cense for the operation or use of a dedicated highly auto19 mated vehicle in a manner that discriminates on the basis 

20 of disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with 

21 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)). 

22 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED RESOLUTION OF HIGHLY AUTOMATED 

23 VEHICLES CONFLICTS WITH STANDARDS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the John A. Volpe National Trans3 portation Systems Center of the Department of 

4 Transportation. 

5 (2) DYNAMIC DRIVING TASK.—The term ‘‘dy6 namic driving task’’ has the meaning given the term 

7 by SAE International standard J3016, published on 

8 September 30, 2016. 

9 (3) SAFETY STANDARD.—The term ‘‘safety 

10 standard’’ means a Federal motor vehicle safety 

11 standard prescribed under chapter 301 of title 49, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (b) REFERENCES TO HUMAN DRIVERS.—Not later 

14 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Director or other designated entity, after consultation 

16 with stakeholders, shall prepare and submit to the Sec17 retary a report that identifies each provision, requirement, 

18 specification, or procedure in a safety standard with a ref19 erence to features of the equipment that— 

20 (1) are necessary only for the performance of 

21 the dynamic driving task by a human driver; 

22 (2) specify a location or reference point within 

23 a vehicle by reference to the position of a human 

24 driver; or 


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1 (3) serve a purpose of providing information to, 

2 or receiving input from, a human driver engaged in 

3 performing the dynamic driving task. 

4 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF CONFORMING REFERENCES TO

5 AUTOMATED SYSTEMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each provision of the re7 port prepared under subsection (b) identifying the 

8 text of a regulation from a safety standard, a test 

9 procedure, or a method for determining compliance 

10 with a safety standard, the Director or designated 

11 entity shall include— 

12 (A) an alternative reference to an auto13 mated system that is suitable for assessing, 

14 through an objective test procedure, the compli15 ance of a dedicated highly automated vehicle, or 

16 of a highly automated vehicle operating in auto17 mated mode, with the safety standard; or 

18 (B) a determination that— 

19 (i) the relevant regulatory text applies 

20 to features of the motor vehicle equipment 

21 that are only necessary for the perform22 ance of a dynamic driving task by a human 

23 driver; and 

24 (ii) no alternative reference to an 

25 automated system is practicable. 


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1 (2) CONDITIONS.—In carrying out paragraph 

2 (1), the Director or designated entity— 

3 (A) shall ensure that all requirements re4 main objective and practicable; 

5 (B) may not modify the purpose of any 

6 safety standard; and 

7 (C) may specify different references for— 

8 (i) dedicated highly automated vehi9 cles that are intended for human occu10 pancy; and 

11 (ii) dedicated highly automated vehi12 cles that are not designed, intended, or 

13 marketed for human occupancy. 

14 (d) RULEMAKING.— 

15 (1) COMMENCEMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date on which the Director or designated 

17 entity submits the report under subsection (b), the 

18 Secretary shall commence a rulemaking proceeding 

19 to incorporate the report by reference into the rel20 evant safety standards, except as provided in para21 graph (3). 

22 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the Director or other entity submits the report 

24 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall issue a 

25 final rule to incorporate the report by reference into 


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1 the relevant safety standards, except as provided in 

2 paragraph (3). 

3 (3) ALTERNATIVE TEXT.—If the Secretary de4 termines that one or more of the revisions to a regu5 lation contained in the report submitted under sub6 section (b) is not objective, is not practicable, or 

7 does not meet the need for motor vehicle safety, the 

8 Secretary shall incorporate alternative regulatory 

9 text. 

10 (4) INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE.—If the 

11 Secretary does not complete the rulemaking pro12 ceeding under this subsection within 1 year after the 

13 submission of the report under subsection (b), the 

14 revisions to regulations contained in such report 

15 shall be incorporated by reference into the relevant 

16 safety standards. 

17 (e) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

18 may be construed to prohibit the Secretary from maintain19 ing different test procedures for highly automated vehicles 

20 that retain the capability to be operated by a human driver 

21 when such vehicles are not operating in an automated 

22 mode. 

23 SEC. 5. HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES TESTING. 

24 Section 30112(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (10)— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

5 (A), by inserting ‘‘(except for a highly auto6 mated vehicle)’’ after ‘‘the introduction of a 

7 motor vehicle’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

9 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(11) the introduction of a motor vehicle into 

12 interstate commerce solely for the purposes of test13 ing, evaluation, or demonstration of a highly auto14 mated vehicle or automated driving system if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the testing, evaluation, or demonstra16 tion of the vehicle is only conducted by employ17 ees, agents, or fleet management contractors of 

18 the manufacturer of the highly automated vehi19 cle, the automated driving system, or any com20 ponent thereof; 

21 ‘‘(B) such manufacturer agrees not to sell, 

22 lease, or offer for sale or lease, the vehicle or 

23 system at the conclusion of the testing, evalua24 tion, or demonstration; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) such manufacturer has submitted ap2 propriate manufacturer identification informa3 tion that is similar to information submitted by 

4 manufacturers subject to a Federal motor vehi5 cle safety standard under part 566 of title 49, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations, before the com7 mencement of such testing or evaluation.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES EXEMPTIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30113 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘this section,’’ and insert13 ing the following: ‘‘this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) the term’’; 

15 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

16 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘new motor vehicle safety feature’ 

19 includes any feature that enables a highly automated 

20 vehicle or an automated driving system, regardless 

21 of whether an exemption has already been granted 

22 for a similar feature on another model or models.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b)— 

24 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may begin a proceeding under 

2 this subsection when a manufacturer applies for an exemp3 tion or a renewal of an exemption. The Secretary shall 

4 publish notice of the application and provide an oppor5 tunity to comment. An application for an exemption or 

6 for a renewal of an exemption shall be filed at a time and 

7 in the way, and contain such information, this section and 

8 the Secretary require. The Secretary shall grant or deny 

9 an exemption for a highly automated vehicle not later than 

10 180 days after receiving an application for such exemption 

11 from a manufacturer.’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (3)(B)(iv), by inserting 

13 ‘‘or introducing or delivering into interstate 

14 commerce’’ after ‘‘selling’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘ELIGI17 BILITY.—’’; and 

18 (B) by striking the second sentence and in19 serting the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) A manufacturer is eligible for an exemp21 tion under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of subsection 

22 (b)(3)(B) only if the Secretary determines that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the exemption is for not more than 

24 2,500 vehicles to be sold in the United States 

25 in any 12-month period; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the vehicle is a highly automated ve2 hicle; and 

3 ‘‘(i) during the 12-month period be4 ginning on the date of the enactment of 

5 the AV START Act, the exemption is for 

6 not more than 50,000 vehicles to be sold 

7 or introduced into interstate commerce in 

8 the United States; 

9 ‘‘(ii) during the 12-month period im10 mediately following the period described in 

11 clause (i), the exemption is for not more 

12 than 75,000 vehicles to be sold or intro13 duced into interstate commerce in the 

14 United States; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) during any 12-month period fol16 lowing the period described in clause (ii), 

17 the exemption is for not more than 

18 100,000 vehicles to be sold or introduced 

19 into interstate commerce in the United 

20 States. 

21 ‘‘(C) A manufacturer of a highly auto22 mated vehicle may petition the Secretary to ex23 pand the exemption under paragraph (2)(B) to 

24 more than 100,000 vehicles in any 12-month 


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1 period after the exemption has been in place for 

2 5 years.’’; and 

3 (4) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, unless the 

4 vehicle is a highly automated vehicle’’ before the pe5 riod at the end. 

6 (b) SUNSET.—A manufacturer’s eligibility for an ex7 emption from a provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph 

8 in a motor vehicle safety standard under section 

9 30113(d)(2)(B) of title 49, United States Code, as amend10 ed by subsection (a), shall end on the date on which a 

11 standard (except for a standard promulgated under sec12 tion 4 of this Act) that amends the provision, clause, sen13 tence, or paragraph from which an exemption is sought 

14 takes effect, with due consideration for any lead time spec15 ified for compliance. 

16 SEC. 7. INOPERATIVE CONTROLS. 

17 Section 30122(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘A manufac20 turer’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not 

23 apply to a manufacturer that intentionally allows a device 

24 or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or 

25 item of equipment in compliance with an applicable motor 


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1 vehicle safety standard to be temporarily disabled during 

2 the time that an automated driving system is performing 

3 the entire dynamic driving task.’’. 

4 SEC. 8. LEVELS OF DRIVING AUTOMATION. 

5 (a) USE OF SAE INTERNATIONAL’S TAXONOMY AND

6 DEFINITIONS.—The Secretary shall use the taxonomy and 

7 definitions for automated driving systems set forth in SAE 

8 International standard J3016, published on September 

9 30, 2016, for the various levels of automation for motor 

10 vehicles. 

11 (b) REVIEW.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

13 (A) shall review the taxonomy and defini14 tions for automated driving systems set forth by 

15 SAE International to ensure that such tax16 onomy and definitions are clear and objective; 

17 and 

18 (B) may provide feedback to SAE Inter19 national for potential updates. 

20 (2) USE OF REVISED STANDARD.— 

21 (A) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 120 

22 days after SAE International revises the stand23 ard referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary, 

24 after publishing notice of the revision in the 

25 Federal Register, shall determine whether to 


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1 adopt the revised standard to identify the var2 ious levels of automation for motor vehicles. 

3 (B) EFFECT OF DECISION NOT TO ADOPT

4 THE REVISED STANDARD.—If the Secretary de5 cides not to adopt the revised standard— 

6 (i) the Secretary shall notify SAE 

7 International of the Secretary’s decision; 

8 and 

9 (ii) the definitions referred to in sub10 section (a) shall remain in effect. 

11 SEC. 9. SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 301 of 

13 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 30107. Highly automated vehicles safety evaluation 

16 report 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Each manufacturer in19 troducing a new highly automated vehicle or auto20 mated driving system into interstate commerce shall 

21 provide a safety evaluation report, in accordance 

22 with this section, that describes how the manufac23 turer is addressing the safety of such vehicle or sys24 tem. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—Each manufacturer de2 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) submit a report to the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(i) upon testing a highly automated 

5 vehicle or automated driving system; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days before 

7 selling, offering for sale, or otherwise com8 mercializing a highly automated vehicle or 

9 automated driving system; and 

10 ‘‘(B) annually submit, until the vehicle or 

11 system is no longer being sold, offered for sale, 

12 or otherwise introduced into interstate com13 merce by the manufacturer or until the system 

14 is no longer being incorporated into new motor 

15 vehicles by the manufacturer, an updated report 

16 to the Secretary that— 

17 ‘‘(i) may disclose that no significant 

18 changes were made to the vehicle or sys19 tem; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) shall provide aggregate results of 

21 any significant safety deviation from ex22 pected performance disclosed in the pre23 vious report. 

24 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—The Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall review each report submitted 

2 under paragraph (2); and 

3 ‘‘(B) may require that the manufacturer 

4 submit additional or clarifying information. 

5 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not con6 dition the manufacture, testing, sale, offer for sale, 

7 or introduction into interstate commerce of a highly 

8 automated vehicle or automated driving system 

9 based on a review of a safety evaluation report or 

10 additional information submitted under this section. 

11 ‘‘(b) SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT SUBJECT

12 AREAS.—Each report submitted by a manufacturer under 

13 subsection (a) shall describe how the manufacturer is ad14 dressing, through a documented assessment, testing, and 

15 validation process, each of the subject areas described in 

16 paragraphs (1) through (9). 

17 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM SAFETY.—The avoidance of un18 reasonable risks to safety, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) assurance that systems, including 

20 hardware and software, perform intended func21 tions; 

22 ‘‘(B) the mitigation of unreasonable risks 

23 to safety caused by a malfunction of the auto24 mated driving system; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) sense of objects, motorcyclists, 

2 bicyclists, pedestrians, and animals in or cross3 ing the path of travel through the automated 

4 driving system. 

5 ‘‘(2) DATA RECORDING.—The collection by the 

6 vehicle of automated driving system performance in7 formation and incident and crash data— 

8 ‘‘(A) to record the occurrence of malfunc9 tions, disengagements, degradations, or failures; 

10 ‘‘(B) to aid in the analysis of the cause of 

11 any issues described in subparagraph (A); 

12 ‘‘(C) to enable efforts to work with other 

13 entities to address data recording and sharing; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) with respect to event data recorder 

16 information, that complies with the collection 

17 and sharing requirements under the FAST Act 

18 (Public Law 114–94). 

19 ‘‘(3) CYBERSECURITY.—The minimization of 

20 cybersecurity risks to safety and the exchange of in21 formation about any vulnerabilities discovered from 

22 field incidents, internal testing, or external security 

23 research. 

24 ‘‘(4) HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) The methods of informing the human 

2 driver or operator about whether the automated 

3 driving system is functioning properly. 

4 ‘‘(B) For a Level 3 vehicle, the methods to 

5 address driver reengagement. 

6 ‘‘(C) The use of a human-machine inter7 face by people with disabilities through visual, 

8 auditory, or haptic displays, or other methods. 

9 ‘‘(5) CRASHWORTHINESS.—Practicable protec10 tion for all occupants given any planned seating po11 sitions or interior configurations. 

12 ‘‘(6) CAPABILITIES.—The capabilities and limi13 tations of the highly automated vehicle or automated 

14 driving system. 

15 ‘‘(7) POST-CRASH BEHAVIOR.—The post-crash 

16 behavior of the highly automated vehicle or auto17 mated driving system if sensors or critical systems 

18 are damaged in a crash. 

19 ‘‘(8) ACCOUNT FOR APPLICABLE LAWS.—The 

20 account of applicable traffic laws and rules of the 

21 road, based on operational design domain, in the de22 velopment of a highly automated vehicle or auto23 mated driving system. 

24 ‘‘(9) AUTOMATION FUNCTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) The expected operational design do2 main in which the highly automated vehicle or 

3 automated driving system is designed to oper4 ate, including any roadway and infrastructure 

5 assets required for the operation of the highly 

6 automated vehicle or automated driving system, 

7 such as roadside equipment, pavement mark8 ings, signage, and traffic signals, and how it 

9 will respond if that operational design domain 

10 unexpectedly changes. 

11 ‘‘(B) The automated driving system’s ex12 pected object and event detection and response 

13 capabilities, including behavioral competencies 

14 and crash avoidance capability. 

15 ‘‘(C) The ability of the highly automated 

16 vehicle or automated driving system to transi17 tion to a minimal risk condition when a mal18 function is encountered. 

19 ‘‘(D) The performance of the vehicle 

20 through the manufacturer’s development and 

21 implementation of tests, including simulation, 

22 test track, and on-road testing. 

23 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF INAPPLICABLE CAT24 EGORIES.—A manufacturer that is solely testing a vehicle 


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1 or system may certify that one or more of the categories 

2 set forth in subsection (b) do not apply. 

3 ‘‘(d) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The Secretary shall 

4 make any report submitted by a manufacturer under this 

5 section publicly available as soon as practicable, except the 

6 Secretary may not make publicly available any information 

7 relating to a trade secret or confidential business informa8 tion, or which is privileged. The manufacturer may submit 

9 information related to a trade secret or confidential busi10 ness information separately from the report. 

11 ‘‘(e) OFFICIAL SIGNATURE.—Each report submitted 

12 by an entity under this section shall be reviewed by a sen13 ior official of the entity who— 

14 ‘‘(1) is knowledgeable about the information 

15 contained in the report; and 

16 ‘‘(2) shall certify that, based on the official’s 

17 knowledge, the report does not contain any untrue 

18 statement of a material fact. 

19 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF OBLIGATION TO DISCLOSE IN20 FORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A manufacturer’s obliga22 tion to provide information on a specific category 

23 under subsection (b) shall end on the effective date 

24 of a motor vehicle safety standard applicable to the 

25 same aspect of vehicle or system performance as is 


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1 covered by the category, with due consideration for 

2 any lead time specified for compliance. 

3 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF NEW STANDARD.—In adopting 

4 any standard applicable to highly automated vehicle 

5 performance, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) identify the category under subsection 

7 (b) to which the standard relates, if any; and 

8 ‘‘(B) specify what information is no longer 

9 required to be included in the report as a result 

10 of the new standard. 

11 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSIONS.—A manufacturer may sub13 mit a safety evaluation report for vehicles introduced 

14 into interstate commerce before the date of the en15 actment of the AV START Act. 

16 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this 

17 section may be construed to amend, limit the au18 thority, or prohibit the use of the information in19 cluded in the report under chapter 301 of title 49, 

20 United States Code.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap22 ter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

23 inserting after the item relating to section 30106 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘30107. Highly automated vehicles safety evaluation report.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date that is 90 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 10. HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES TECHNICAL COM5 MITTEE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

8 establish a Highly Automated Vehicles Technical Com9 mittee (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Committee’’) 

10 to provide a forum for stakeholders to discuss, prioritize, 

11 and make technical recommendations for highly auto12 mated vehicle and automated driving system safety. 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Secretary— 

15 (A) shall appoint 15 voting members to the 

16 Committee who— 

17 (i) are specially qualified to serve on 

18 the Committee because of their technical 

19 knowledge of automated driving systems, 

20 vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure systems, or 

21 the impact of such systems on Federal 

22 motor vehicle safety standards; and 

23 (ii) shall include representatives of 

24 SAE International, automated vehicle 

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1 ment of Transportation, highly automated 

2 vehicle and automated driving system man3 ufacturers, safety organizations, State and 

4 local government agencies, and other orga5 nizations directly or indirectly impacted by 

6 NHTSA regulations; and 

7 (B) may appoint new members to the 

8 Committee at any time. 

9 (2) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Com10 mittee shall serve without compensation. 

11 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary, or the Sec12 retary’s designee, shall act as Chairperson of the 

13 Committee, but will not have voting rights, except to 

14 break a tie. 

15 (c) DUTIES.— 

16 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Committee shall 

17 provide consensus-based recommendations to the 

18 Secretary on rulemaking, policy, and guidance re19 garding highly automated vehicle safety, including— 

20 (A) the identification and creation of per21 formance standards; and 

22 (B) the harmonization of national highly 

23 automated vehicle safety standards with inter24 national standards. 


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1 (2) SCOPE.—The Committee shall study issues 

2 relating to highly automated vehicles, including— 

3 (A) system safety; 

4 (B) automated steering and braking; 

5 (C) crashworthiness for vehicles with un6 conventional seating positions or vehicles not in7 tended for human occupancy; 

8 (D) event data recording and data access 

9 and sharing; 

10 (E) accessibility for people with physical, 

11 sensory, or other disabilities, including for those 

12 who rely on mobility devices; 

13 (F) potential conflicts with existing Fed14 eral motor vehicle safety standards; and 

15 (G) any other issue the Secretary considers 

16 appropriate. 

17 (3) SUPPORT.—The NHTSA Office of Rule18 making and the NHTSA Office of Vehicle Safety 

19 Research shall provide support services to the Com20 mittee. 

21 (4) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet not 

22 less frequently than 4 times per year. Committee 

23 meetings shall be open to the public, except in cir24 cumstances in which a meeting is likely to discuss— 


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1 (A) internal personnel rules and practices 

2 of the NHTSA; 

3 (B) matters specifically exempted from dis4 closure by statute; 

5 (C) trade secrets or confidential or privi6 leged business information; 

7 (D) matters involving criminal accusation 

8 or official censure; 

9 (E) information of a personal nature that, 

10 if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted 

11 invasion of personal privacy; or 

12 (F) investigatory records that might inter13 fere with enforcement proceedings. 

14 (5) WORKING GROUPS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee may 

16 establish temporary working groups, as nec17 essary, to address specific issues. Each working 

18 group shall include at least 1 member who rep19 resents a manufacturer of highly automated ve20 hicles or automated driving systems and other 

21 individuals who are subject matter experts on 

22 the issue before the working group. 

23 (B) DISABILITY ACCESS.—The Committee 

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1 mated vehicle accessibility for people with phys2 ical, sensory, or other disabilities, including for 

3 those who rely on mobility devices. Such best 

4 practices shall address the physical accessibility 

5 of highly automated vehicles and human-ma6 chine interface accessibility through visual, au7 ditory, or haptic displays or other methods. The 

8 working group shall include representatives 

9 from national organizations representing indi10 viduals with disabilities. 

11 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HIGHLY AUTOMATED

12 VEHICLES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On a periodic basis, the 

14 Committee shall release recommendations on vol15 untary standards regarding highly automated vehicle 

16 safety. 

17 (2) WORK PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the Committee is established under subsection 

19 (a), the Committee shall submit a work plan to the 

20 Secretary for carrying out this section. 

21 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee 

23 shall submit a report containing recommendations of 

24 consensus-based, feasible, and objective standards to 

25 the Secretary for potential rulemaking governing 


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1 highly automated vehicles that meet the need for 

2 motor vehicle safety. 

3 (e) CONSULTATION AND PUBLICATION OF RE4 PORTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consult 

6 with the Committee, as appropriate, on highly auto7 mated vehicle safety matters, including the develop8 ment and implementation of relevant policies, pro9 grams, and rulemaking. 

10 (2) RECOMMENDED AGENDA.—The Secretary 

11 shall regularly provide recommendations to the Com12 mittee regarding the agenda of the Committee and 

13 areas in which Committee activity would benefit and 

14 complement Department of Transportation efforts. 

15 (3) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall make any 

16 report or recommendation developed under this sec17 tion publicly available. 

18 (f) FACA.—The Committee shall not be subject to 

19 the requirements under the Federal Advisory Committee 

20 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

21 (g) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate 

22 upon the submission of the final report required under 

23 subsection (d)(3) unless the Secretary determines that the 

24 Committee should continue. 


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1 SEC. 11. HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES RULEMAKING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review and 

3 seek public comment on the recommendations for stand4 ards made by the Highly Automated Vehicles Technical 

5 Committee under section 10(d)(3). 

6 (b) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the receipt of the recommendations referred to in sub8 section (a), the Secretary shall— 

9 (1) make a determination whether to approve 

10 one or more of the recommendations, based on an 

11 identified need for motor vehicle safety; and 

12 (2) begin a rulemaking proceeding on the rec13 ommendations approved pursuant to paragraph (1) 

14 on the safety of highly automated vehicles. 

15 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion may be construed to restrict the authority of the Sec17 retary under section 30111 of title 49, United States 

18 Code. Any Federal motor vehicle safety standard adopted 

19 pursuant to this section shall meet the requirements under 

20 such section 30111. 

21 SEC. 12. CONSUMER EDUCATION. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

24 establish a working group on responsible education efforts 

25 for advanced driver assist systems and automated driving 

26 systems. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The working group established under 

2 subsection (a) shall— 

3 (1) identify recommended education and re4 sponsible marketing strategies that may be volun5 tarily employed by industry to inform consumers, ve6 hicle owners and operators, and other stakeholders 

7 about advanced driver assistance systems and auto8 mated driving systems as they become available or 

9 are soon to be introduced into interstate commerce; 

10 and 

11 (2) submit a report containing the findings and 

12 recommendations of the working group to Congress 

13 and making such report available to the public. 

14 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The working group shall con15 sider topics pertaining to— 

16 (1) intent, capabilities, and limitations of ad17 vanced driver assistance systems and automated 

18 driving systems; 

19 (2) engagement and disengagement methods, 

20 including methods to address driver engagement in 

21 lower levels of automation; 

22 (3) human-machine interfaces; 

23 (4) emergency fallback scenarios; 

24 (5) operational boundary responsibilities; 


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1 (6) response in the event of a crash or system 

2 failure; 

3 (7) potential mechanisms that could change 

4 function behavior in service; and 

5 (8) consistent nomenclature and taxonomy for 

6 safety features and systems. 

7 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint, 

9 as members of the working group, individuals with 

10 expertise in automated driving systems and driver 

11 assistance systems, including— 

12 (A) representatives of— 

13 (i) motor vehicle manufacturers; 

14 (ii) manufacturers of automated driv15 ing systems and driver assistance systems 

16 (including components); 

17 (iii) motor vehicle dealers; 

18 (iv) motor vehicle owners and opera19 tors, including fleet managers, vehicle rent20 al companies, and transportation network 

21 companies; 

22 (v) consumers or consumer advocacy 

23 groups; 


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1 (vi) automated vehicle proving 

2 grounds designated by the Department of 

3 Transportation; 

4 (vii) public health organizations; 

5 (viii) marketing professionals; 

6 (ix) entities with national experience 

7 in consumer education; and 

8 (x) enabling technology companies; 

9 and 

10 (B) any other members the Secretary con11 siders appropriate. 

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—Members of the working 

13 group shall serve without compensation. 

14 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con15 sult with the Federal Trade Commission about the 

16 recommendations of the working group, as appro17 priate. 

18 (e) TERMINATION.—The working group established 

19 under this section shall terminate on the date that is 2 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 13. TRAFFIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. 

22 (a) RESEARCH.—The Secretary, in coordination with 

23 State and local transportation and highway safety entities, 

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1 evant parties, shall research the traffic safety implications 

2 of highly automated vehicles, including— 

3 (1) the intersection of conventional and highly 

4 automated vehicles; and 

5 (2) law enforcement impacts, including— 

6 (A) enforcing applicable laws; 

7 (B) identifying whether a vehicle was in 

8 automated mode at the time of a crash; 

9 (C) lawfully accessing event data informa10 tion; and 

11 (D) determining how a highly automated 

12 vehicle should respond to law enforcement. 

13 (b) COORDINATION OF SAFETY.—The Secretary, in 

14 coordination with State, local, and law enforcement agen15 cies, may develop a process for State and local entities 

16 to provide information, on a voluntary basis, to the Sec17 retary to assist the Department of Transportation in iden18 tifying defects related to motor vehicle safety of highly 

19 automated vehicles. 

20 (c) CRASH DATA.—Not later than 3 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall re22 vise the crash investigation data collection system to in23 clude the collection of crash report data elements that dis24 tinguish whether the vehicle involved in a crash is a highly 

25 automated vehicle, including the level of automation and 


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1 whether the vehicle was in automated mode at the time 

2 of a crash. 

3 SEC. 14. CYBERSECURITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 301 of 

5 title 49, United States Code, as amended by section 9, 

6 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 30108. Cybersecurity risks to the safety of highly 

8 automated vehicles 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT.—The term 

11 ‘cybersecurity incident’ has the meaning given the 

12 term ‘incident’ in section 227(a) of the Homeland 

13 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148(a)). 

14 ‘‘(2) CYBERSECURITY RISK.—The term ‘cyber15 security risk’ has the meaning given the term in sec16 tion 227(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

17 (6 U.S.C. 148(a)). 

18 ‘‘(3) CYBERSECURITY VULNERABILITY.—The 

19 term ‘cybersecurity vulnerability’ has the meaning 

20 given the term ‘security vulnerability’ in section 102 

21 of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 

22 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501). 

23 ‘‘(b) CYBERSECURITY PLAN.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each manufacturer of a 

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1 tem shall develop, maintain, and execute a written 

2 plan for identifying and reducing cybersecurity risks 

3 to the motor vehicle safety of such vehicles and sys4 tems. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan required 

6 under paragraph (1) shall include a process for— 

7 ‘‘(A) the risk-based prioritized identifica8 tion and protection of safety-critical vehicle con9 trol systems and the broader transportation 

10 ecosystem, as applicable; 

11 ‘‘(B) the efficient detection and response 

12 to potential vehicle cybersecurity incidents in 

13 the field; 

14 ‘‘(C) facilitating expeditious recovery from 

15 incidents as they occur; 

16 ‘‘(D) the institutionalization of methods 

17 for the accelerated adoption of lessons learned 

18 across industry through voluntary exchange of 

19 information pertaining to cybersecurity inci20 dents, threats, and vulnerabilities, including the 

21 consideration of a coordinated cybersecurity 

22 vulnerability disclosure policy or other related 

23 practices for collaboration with third-party cy24 bersecurity researchers; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the identification of the point of con2 tact of the manufacturer with responsibility for 

3 the management of cybersecurity; 

4 ‘‘(F) the use of segmentation and isolation 

5 techniques in vehicle architecture design, as ap6 propriate; and 

7 ‘‘(G) supporting voluntary efforts by indus8 try and standards-setting organizations to de9 velop and identify consistent standards and 

10 guidelines relating to vehicle cybersecurity, con11 sistent, and to the extent appropriate, with the 

12 cybersecurity risk management activities de13 scribed in section 2(e) of the National Institute 

14 of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 272(e)). 

16 ‘‘(3) INSPECTION.—The Secretary may inspect 

17 any cybersecurity plan developed by a manufacturer 

18 under this subsection to enable the Secretary to de19 cide whether the manufacturer has complied, or is 

20 complying, with this chapter or a regulation pre21 scribed or order issued pursuant to this chapter. 

22 ‘‘(4) PROTECTIONS FOR DISCLOSURE.—The 

23 Secretary may, by notice and comment rulemaking, 

24 establish a requirement that manufacturers subject 


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1 to subsection (b) develop a summary of its plan that 

2 is suitable for public disclosure, as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(c) COORDINATED CYBERSECURITY VULNER4 ABILITY DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary may work coopera5 tively with manufacturers of highly automated vehicles 

6 and automated driving systems to incentivize manufactur7 ers to voluntarily adopt a coordinated vulnerability disclo8 sure policy and practice in which a security researcher pri9 vately discloses information related to a discovered vulner10 ability to a manufacturer and allows the manufacturer 

11 time to confirm and remediate the vulnerability— 

12 ‘‘(1) so that manufacturers build relationships 

13 with security researchers to mitigate cybersecurity 

14 risks; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to discover and mitigate cybersecurity 

16 vulnerabilities in highly automated vehicles or auto17 mated driving systems that present a risk to motor 

18 vehicle safety (as defined in section 30102 of title 

19 49, United States Code). 

20 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—All Federal agencies under21 taking research on cybersecurity risks associated with 

22 highly automated vehicles shall coordinate with the Sec23 retary on their findings.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap25 ter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 


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1 inserting after the item relating to section 30107, as 

2 added by section 9, the following: 

‘‘30108. Cybersecurity risks to the safety of highly automated vehicles.’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date that is 18 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 15. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

7 Nothing in this Act may be construed to alter any 

8 existing authority under subtitle VI of title 49, United 

9 States Code, relating to motor vehicles with a gross vehicle 

10 weight of 10,001 pounds or more. 

Æ 


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