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Policy, Legislative & Regulatory Working Group

The focus of the Policy, Legislative, and Regulatory (PLR) Working Group was to create an open dialog and information sharing regarding policy, legislative, and regulatory topics related to cooperative automated transportation (CAT).  Membership included executives and senior staff from state and local departments of transportation (DOTs), automobile manufacturers and suppliers, private contractors, and associations.

CAT positions from AASHTO, ITS America, and ITE are available on the following pages:

Activities:

The PLR Working Groups met approximately every two months to conduct a forum for information sharing and to allow the working group to advance topics of interest.  Each webinar typically consisted of one to two presentations from outside entities on policy, legislative, or regulatory topics regarding automated vehicles (AVs).  Details of each webinar can be found in webinar summaries below.  The following bullets are examples of recent activities and products of this working group:

  • Definition of Research Needs for Multistate Coordination and Harmonization of Automated Vehicle (AV) Legislation. Culminating the discussions and research over the preceding years exploring AV and Automated Driving System (ADS) legislation, the PLR Working Group defined a research needs statement for multistate coordination and harmonization of AV legislation. This research, if funded, would propose a potential path for nationalization of AV laws. 
  • ADS Legislation – Presentations from Outside Research. The PLR Working Group members continued to explore ADS legislation advances by inviting presentations from several researchers. Descriptions of the presentations can be found in the webinar summaries below.  Examples of the research efforts presented include:
    • The University of Washington School of Law Research,
    • The UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy;
    • The Alliance for Automotive Innovation; and
    • The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficient Mobility Systems (EEMS) Program.
  • Automated Driving Systems (ADS) Common Terms Used in Legislation. The PLR Working Group completed research to review and assemble information about Automated Driving Systems (ADS) terms used in legislation throughout the United States. There was concern that different terms were being used interchangeably when referring to the same thing and/or that the same term was being used to describe different things. It is important to note that this research was an initial step in providing an understanding of ADS terms used among states and it is not intended to create any guidelines or recommendations for nomenclature. Based on the review of 12 agencies’ legislation regarding ADS, in general it was found that the legislation generally includes common definitions of key terms that are largely based on the earlier work of SAE and reinforcement from the USDOT AV 3.0 document. 
  • Clearinghouse of CAT Policy Frameworks. In August 2019, the PLR Working Group completed an activity to assemble a representative set of CAT Policy Frameworks.  This was not intended to be an all-inclusive list of CAT Policy Frameworks, but rather to capture as many as possible, organize them, and help other agencies benefit from them.
  • Funding Opportunities and Mechanisms for CAT Deployments.  In 2019, the PLR Working Group conducted a poll to understand how state and local transportation agencies are funding their respective CAT activities. 
  • Truck Platooning Regulatory Efforts.  In 2018 to 2019, the PLR Working Group benefited for several presentations and discussions about the regulations associated with truck platooning.  In February 1, 2019, the working group discussed and circulated a paper summarizing key topics. 

Webinar Summaries

Below are webinar/meeting summaries for the Policy, Legislative, Regulatory (PLR) Working Group:

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