Automated vehicle technology could greatly improve road safety and efficiency. Unfortunately, Senate Bill 395 would move Nevada in the wrong direction.
The only state to outlaw driverless trucks?
- SB 395 would prohibit the operation of an automated vehicle weighing more than 26,000 lbs or one capable of carrying more than eight passengers on public roads unless a human operator is seated within the vehicle.
- This would deter the introduction of safer automated trucks by preventing the realization of their business benefits.
- If enacted, Nevada would become the only state in the country to enshrine in statute a blanket, preemptive ban on driverless trucks and buses.
Embraces an approach rejected in California for being anti-business
- SB 395 reflects the legislative approach first proposed in California in 2023 (AB 316), which aims to ban driverless trucks.
- In 2023 and 2024 (AB 2286), California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the proposed ban on driverless trucks as being unnecessary and harmful to the state’s reputation for innovation.
- In 2011, Nevada became the first state to explicitly authorize automated vehicles (AB 511). SB 395 would move Nevada from first to last.
Driverless vehicles are already making roads safer
- Automated driving systems cannot drive while drunk, drugged, drowsy, or distracted, and are programmed to follow road rules. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, human error is a critical factor in more than 90% of vehicle crashes.
- According to the latest research by leading reinsurance company Swiss Re and automated vehicle technology developer Waymo, Waymo’s automated driving system is already significantly safer than a typical human driver, with an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims.
- According to Reason Foundation’s 28th Annual Highway Report, Nevada’s local road safety declined more than any other state year-over-year, with its rank falling from #7 to #37.
No new authorities are needed to prohibit unsafe driverless vehicles
Nevada law already prohibits operating driverless vehicles that fail to follow road rules or do not perform fail-safe procedures safely. Falsely certifying compliance with any of these provisions is a gross misdemeanor (NV Rev Stat § 482A.220).
Full Backgrounder: Nevada Senate Bill 395 Could Hinder Autonomous Vehicle Progress