Here are just a sample of public domain resources and documents related to the many and complex legal and liability questions surrounding automated vehicles. No legal opinion is provided nor implied, and the contents of the resources are those of the relevant contributors. As always, it is helpful to keep in mind the levels of driving automation, as laws and regulations often vary with those.
The USDOT/NHTSA Federal AV Policy, September 2017, supersedes the initial version from one year prior. The guidelines remain voluntary, the policy applies only to SAE Level 3+, it contains guidance for state regulators, and the (optional) safety elements were reduced from 15 to 12 (click to see a list of those).
- Governor’s Committee on AV/CV Testing and Deployment (link to WisDOT)
- Policy Strategies to Advance Automated and Connected Vehicles (brief)(NCHRP, September 2017)
- Legal Environment for Driverless Vehicles (slides) (NCHRP / Santa Clara U., May 2017)
- Legal Environment for Driverless Vehicles (report) (NCHRP / Santa Clara U., February 2016)
- Automated Vehicles and Public Policy (Eno, May 2017)
- AV Policy Preparation Guide (NLC, May 2017)
- One-page summary of the Wisconsin environment (UW CEE, January 2017)
- Autonomous Vehicle Technology, A Guide for Policymakers (RAND Corporation, 2016)
- How Governments Can Promote Automated Driving (Bryant Walker Smith, March 2016)
- State Laws on Autonomous Vehicles (Council of State Governments, September 2016)
- NewlyPossible.org (resources authored or curated by Bryant Walker Smith)
- National Conference of State Legislatures
The September 2016 NHTSA Policy is included here for reference but has been superseded by the above 2017 version.