CHAPTER 17H. FULLY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ACT.

ARTICLE 1. FULLY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

§17H-1-3. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this article shall have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them in this section.

 “Automated driving system” or “ADS” means the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain.

 “Dynamic driving task” or “DDT” means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic, excluding the strategic functions such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints, and including without limitation:

(1) Lateral vehicle motion control via steering;

(2) Longitudinal motion control via acceleration and deceleration;

(3) Monitoring the driver environment via object and event detection, recognition, classification, and response preparation;

(4) Object and event response execution;

(5) Maneuver planning; and

(6) Enhanced conspicuity via lighting, signaling, and gesturing.

 “DDT fallback” means the response by the person or human driver to either perform the DDT or achieve a minimal risk condition after occurrence of a DDT performance-relevant system failure or upon operational design domain exit, or the response by an automated driving system to achieve minimal risk condition given the same circumstances.

“Fully autonomous vehicle” means a motor vehicle equipped with an automated driving system (ADS) designed to function without a human driver as a level 4 or 5 system under SAE J3016.

“Human driver” means a natural person in the vehicle with a valid license to operate a motor vehicle who controls all or part of the dynamic driving task (DDT).

“Minimal risk condition” means a condition in which a person, human driver, or an ADS may bring a vehicle after performing the DDT fallback in order to reduce the risk of a crash when a given trip cannot or should not be completed.

“On-demand autonomous vehicle network” means a transportation service network that uses a software application or other digital means to dispatch or otherwise enable the pre-arrangement of transportation with fully autonomous vehicles for purposes of transporting passengers or goods, including for-hire transportation and transportation of goods or passengers for compensation.

“Operational design domain” or “ODD” means operating conditions under which a given ADS is specifically designed to function, including, but not limited to, environmental, geographical, and time-of-day restrictions, and/or the requisite presence or absence of certain traffic or roadway characteristics.

“Person” means a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, governmental agency, public corporation, or any legal or commercial entity.

“Platooning” means a situation when no more than three fully autonomous vehicles are traveling in concert, pursuant to a pre-determined written travel plan that identifies the vehicles and proposed route.   

“Request to intervene” means notification by an ADS to a human driver, that the human driver should promptly begin or resume performance of part or all of the DDT.

 “SAE J3016” means the Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International in April, 2021.