Autonomous vehicles.

Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle being operated if specified requirements are met. Existing law defines an "autonomous vehicle" for this purpose as any vehicle equipped with autonomous technology, as defined, that has been integrated into the vehicle. This bill would expand the definition of the term "autonomous vehicle" to also include a remotely operated vehicle, defined as a specified type of vehicle that is capable of being operated by a driver or operator that is not inside of the vehicle. Existing law specifies that a vehicle equipped with a collision avoidance system that is not capable of driving the vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a human operator is not an autonomous vehicle. The bill would instead specify that a vehicle is not an autonomous vehicle if it is equipped with a collision avoidance system that is not capable of driving the vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a human operator that is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle.