Overview
- Rep. Kevin Mullin introduced the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act in San Francisco on Tuesday, July 28, to force AV companies to provide written emergency protocols and a 24-hour hotline for public officials.
- The bill would give local officials a formal process to geofence areas so robotaxis avoid active emergency zones and would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to set minimum national standards for AV emergency response.
- NHTSA earlier this month said it had identified a pattern of driverless vehicles interfering with law enforcement and first responders and set an end-of-July deadline for companies to propose fixes that has passed without public remedies.
- San Francisco officials cited high-profile failures — including Fourth of July gridlock when Waymo cars ran out of battery and vehicles stranded during a December power outage — as evidence companies have not reliably handled abnormal or emergency traffic conditions.
- If passed the bill could force faster federal rulemaking or permit changes that affect where and how robotaxis operate, change how first responders contact companies in real time, and shape city testing of AVs in dense urban areas.