Automated vehicle (AV) policy development and assessment is a difficult and complicated process. Today’s road and vehicle policies are the product of a hundred years of lessons learned. They generally address five areas: safety, efficiency, mobility, convenience, and impact on the environment. Now the prospect-turned-reality of automated vehicles entering public roadways has opened up a number of new policy-related questions. Is it enough to simply modify current road and vehicle policies or will new policies need to be developed addressing much broader aspects of the transportation system? How can these policies be developed to accommodate technologies that either do not yet exist or are only now being tested on the road in constrained environments? Perhaps most importantly, how can policy influence technological design to safely operate with other road users and can we look ahead to have a better view of potential unintended consequences?

Key findings

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Recommendations may include the possible use of AV sensor systems and their connectivity in assisting enforcement of existing rules.

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Encourage non-users to follow existing rules involving right-of-way.

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As AVs begin participating in the transportation system alongside humans, policy must consider social norms and how humans communicate, reciprocate, and participate.

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