The law, introduced by state Senator Dave Cortese, is designed to improve safety and response times when autonomous vehicles become disabled or obstruct emergency responders. It also creates accountability mechanisms for companies that do not comply.
The measure follows high-profile incidents across California in which robotaxis broke down, drove into crime scenes, or impeded first responders. Many of those involved Waymo, the largest robotaxi operator in the United States, which has about 4,000 autonomous vehicles in its commercial fleet nationwide and roughly 1,200 in the San Francisco Bay Area. A TechCrunch investigation earlier this year identified cases where Waymo relied on first responders to manually drive its vehicles when they encountered problems.
The new state law also follows a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demanding that AV developers come up with solutions to interference with first responders.
Under SB 1246, AV developers can only employ remote drivers who are based in the United States and hold a U.S. driver's license. The provision responds to concerns about how companies use remote operations. Tesla is the only company that has publicly said it uses remote operators who can take direct control of its robotaxis. Waymo and others say they use remote assistance, in which the self-driving system remains in control and a human can provide guidance or send software commands. Waymo has a global network of remote assistance staff, including in the Philippines, and operates command centers in Arizona and Michigan. Zoox's remote operations teams are based in the United States.
AV companies must also notify local jurisdictions about the location and status of vehicles during system-wide failures and provide local incident technicians to assist with accidents and obstructions. The law allows fines if an AV blocks first responders.
"California has embraced autonomous vehicles, but we cannot embrace innovation at the expense of public safety. When an autonomous vehicle crashes, breaks down, blocks a roadway in an emergency, or gets in the way of law enforcement or first responders, there must be clear accountability," Cortese said.