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

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 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.