SB1229.DOC

SECTION 1. (a) The department of transportation, in consultation with the insurance commissioner and the examiner of drivers of each county, shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, providing for the operation of autonomous motor vehicles on highways within the State.

(b) The rules adopted pursuant to subsection (a) shall establish:

(1) Requirements for autonomous motor vehicles before any autonomous motor vehicle may be operated on a state highway, including minimum safety requirements and any testing, equipment, and performance standards that the department concludes are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous motor vehicles on public roads;

(2) Requirements for the testing of autonomous motor vehicles by manufacturers, including:

(A) Evidence of insurance or surety bond; and

(B) Submission of an application to the department that contains the following certifications:

(i) The autonomous motor vehicle has a mechanism to engage and disengage the autonomous technology that is easily accessible to the operator;

(ii) The autonomous motor vehicle has a visual indicator inside the cabin to indicate when the autonomous technology is engaged;

(iii) The autonomous motor vehicle has a system to safely alert the operator if an autonomous technology failure is detected while the autonomous technology is engaged;

(iv) The autonomous motor vehicle shall allow the operator to take control in multiple manners, including through the use of the brake, the accelerator pedal, or the steering wheel, and it shall alert the operator that the autonomous technology has been disengaged;

(v) The autonomous motor vehicle's autonomous technology meets federal motor vehicle safety standards for the vehicle's model year and all other applicable federal and state safety standards and performance requirements;

(vi) The autonomous technology does not make inoperative any federal motor vehicle safety standards for the vehicle's model year and all other applicable federal and state safety standards and performance requirements; and

(vii) The autonomous motor vehicle has a separate mechanism, in addition to, and separate from, any other mechanism required by law, to capture and store the autonomous technology sensor data for at least thirty seconds before a collision occurs between the autonomous motor vehicle and another vehicle, object, or person while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode;

(3) Requirements for mandatory insurance coverage before any autonomous motor vehicle may be operated on a state highway;

(4) Special rules for the registration of autonomous motor vehicles; new examination and license requirements for operators of autonomous motor vehicles; and rules for revocation, suspension, or denial of any license issued by the examiner of drivers; and

(5) Other requirements as the director deems necessary.

"Autonomous motor vehicle" means any vehicle equipped with autonomous technology that has been integrated into that vehicle.

"Autonomous technology" means technology that has the capability to drive a vehicle without the active physical control or monitoring by a human operator; provided that the term shall not include a vehicle that is equipped with one or more collision avoidance systems, including but not limited to electronic blind spot assistance, automated emergency braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic jam and queuing assist, or other similar systems that enhance safety or provide driver assistance, but are not capable of driving the vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a human operator.

"Manufacturer" means the entity or individual that originally manufactures a vehicle and equips autonomous technology on the originally completed vehicle or, in the case of a vehicle not originally equipped with autonomous technology by the vehicle manufacturer, the person that modifies the vehicle by installing autonomous technology to convert it to an autonomous motor vehicle after the vehicle was originally manufactured.

"Operator" means the person who is seated in the driver's seat of the autonomous motor vehicle, or if there is no person in the driver's seat, causes the autonomous technology to engage.

SECTION 2. Section 286-102, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) A person operating the following category or combination of categories of motor vehicles shall be examined as provided in section 286-108 and duly licensed by the examiner of drivers:

(1) Mopeds;

(2) Motorcycles and motor scooters;

(3) Passenger cars of any gross vehicle weight rating, buses designed to transport fifteen or fewer occupants, and trucks and vans having a gross vehicle weight rating of eighteen thousand pounds or less; [~~and~~]

(4) All of the motor vehicles in category (3) and any vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle[.]; and

(5) Autonomous motor vehicles as provided in rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1229
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII