Autonomous vehicles driving on California roads will no longer be immune from traffic tickets starting July 1. New rules announced this week by the California DMV allow law enforcement to serve a “Notice of AV Noncompliance” to AV manufacturers when one of their cars commits a traffic violation, such as running a red light or failing to stop for school buses.
The updated rules come after years of viral traffic violations and numerous safety investigations involving robotaxis. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is also under investigation for running red lights and driving in the wrong direction. Now, driverless vehicle companies can be found guilty of those violations, at least in California.
California’s new rules could also help prevent driverless cars from getting in the way during emergencies, such as an incident in San Francisco last year when Vemos blocked traffic during a power outage. AV companies are now required to respond to first-responder calls within 30 seconds and allow emergency responders to “issue electronic geofencing instructions,” which will prevent AVs from entering active emergency areas. Any driverless cars already in the area would have to be abandoned.
The new rules also allow AV companies to test and deploy heavy-duty autonomous trucks and include “licensing qualifications and permitting and training requirements for remote drivers and assistants.”
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