Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology companies like Tesla, Waymo and Zoox will have to provide first responders with local on-the-ground support when their robotaxis cause problems under a new California law. Companies could also face penalties if a robotaxi blocks police or firefighters for more than 30 minutes.
Senate Bill 1246, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, establishes a series of new rules for autonomous vehicles designed to improve safety and response times when they become disabled or interfere with emergency services. The law also creates ways to hold these companies accountable if they fail to do so.
The law follows a series of high-profile incidents in California in which robotaxis broke down and disrupted traffic, entered crime scenes or impeded first responders.
Most of those incidents involved Waymo, the largest robotaxi operator in the US, which has approximately 4,000 autonomous vehicles in its commercial fleet throughout the country. About 1,200 of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area. A TechCrunch investigation earlier this year identified a series of incidents in which Waymo trusted the lifeguards manually drive their vehicles when they encountered problems.
Those incidents led state and federal lawmakers to call for stricter rules governing robotaxis, particularly how they behave toward first responders. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) even sent a letter to AV developers demanding that they find “solutions” to the problem.
This new California law attempts to address those concerns, at least in the state.
“California has embraced autonomous vehicles, but we cannot embrace innovation at the expense of public safety. When an autonomous vehicle crashes, breaks down, blocks a road in an emergency, or gets in the way of law enforcement or first responders, there must be clear accountability,” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, who introduced the bill.
Under the law, AV developers can only employ remote drivers who are based in the United States, and those drivers must have a U.S. driver’s license. The requirement is intended to address concerns about how companies use remote operations when autonomous vehicles have problems.
The term “remote operations” has been interpreted very broadly and little is still known about the methods used by audiovisual companies. The term “remote drivers” in the law is much more specific. It refers to a human who directly operates or drives the vehicle from afar. Tesla is the only company that has publicly stated that it has remote operators who can take direct control of its robotaxis.
Other companies, including Waymo, have said they use forms of remote assistance, in which the self-driving system maintains control and a human employee can provide guidance or send software commands if necessary. Waymo has a global network of remote support staff, including in the Philippines, and operates command centers in Arizona and Michigan. Zoox’s remote operations teams are based in the United States, according to the company.
The law will also require AV companies to notify cities, towns and other local jurisdictions of the location and status of vehicles during system-wide failures and provide “local incident technicians” who can assist with AV accidents and obstructions. Companies can also be fined if an AV blocks first responders during an emergency for more than 30 minutes.
Companies like Waymo and Zoox have said they will comply.
“We are grateful for the amendments made to the bill, which ensure that autonomous vehicle operators can still serve Californians,” a Waymo spokesperson said in an emailed company statement. “Waymo is committed to making California’s roads safer and continually improving our service.”
The law will take effect in July 2028. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, will set guidelines on certain aspects of the new law, including required response times.
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