Review of Automated Vehicle Technology: Policy and Implementation Implications

Abstract

The goals of this project were to undergo a systematic review of automated vehicle technologies with a focus on policy implications, methods of implementation, regulation by states, and developments occurring on legal fronts, ultimately creating a set of policy recommendations and questions for further research. This report provides the following recommendations for the state of Iowa over the next five years: (1) Encouraging automation by preparing government agencies, infrastructure, leveraging procurement, and advocating for safety mandates; (2) Adjusting long range planning processes by identifying and incorporating a wide range of new automation scenarios; (3) Beginning to analyze and, as necessary, clarify existing law as it apples to automated driving; (4) Auditing existing law; (5) Enforcing existing laws; (6) Ensuring vehicle owners and operators bear the true cost of driving; (7) Embracing flexibility by giving agencies the statutory authority to achieve regulatory goals through different means, allowing them to make small-scale exemptions to statutory regimes and clarifying their enforcement discretion; (9) Thinking locally and preparing publicly; (10) Sharing the steps being taken to promote (as well as to anticipate and regulate) automated driving; and (11) Instituting public education about automated vehicle technologies.