California Imposes New Reporting Requirements for Self-Driving Cars

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has unveiled stricter reporting requirements for autonomous vehicle operators.

Under the new guidelines, companies must now document “stoppage events” – instances where driverless vehicles become immobilized during operation.

The requirements also mandate detailed trip-level incident reporting, covering both collisions and non-collision events such as traffic violations.

“These enhanced reporting requirements reflect our commitment to passenger safety as autonomous vehicles become more common on our roads,”

explained CPUC Commissioner Matthew Baker. He noted that the new rules build on lessons learned from millions of miles of autonomous vehicle operation.

The CPUC’s initiative, which began development in May 2023, comes in response to growing public and regulatory concerns.

This includes a notable incident from October 2023 involving a Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco. In that case, after a pedestrian was initially struck by a human-driven vehicle, a Cruise autonomous vehicle subsequently hit and dragged the pedestrian during its attempted emergency response maneuver.

The incident led to significant regulatory action. Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, faced multiple penalties: a $112,500 fine from CPUC for delayed incident reporting and a separate $1.5 million penalty from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for disclosure failures.

The new framework represents a collaborative effort between the CPUC, which focuses on passenger safety, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which oversees vehicle safety and operations.

Together, these agencies aim to create a more comprehensive and transparent regulatory environment for autonomous vehicles in California.