California - Weird Driverless Stuff at the Legislature

So, remember the proposed legislation in California to allow the driverless transit pilot in a Contra Costa office park?

Here was the scoop at the end of January:

AB 1592 - This proposed legislation will not satisfy Google, but it does expressly permit a planned pilot of driverless transit by the Contra Costa Transit Authority, presumably the one planned at the Bishop Ranch office park. The bill would permit for a Contra Costa transit vehicle to operate without a steering wheel or brakes.

Well, one week ago a hearing on the bill was cancelled at the request of its author, Assembly Member Bonilla.

Plot thickens

A new bill, AB 2682, was introduced a month ago (my apologies on being late here) by a different Assembly member. This one addresses all autonomous vehicle operations and testing as well as the role of the California state transportation agency, CalTrans. Lots of detail in this one, though it does conceive of a no-driver, no-steering-wheel, no-brakes scenario - but with tons of bureaucracy and waiting time. OMG! Does the California legislature really believe this complex legislation that puts the ball back in CalTrans' court will keep companies in the state to develop and test driverless vehicles?

I'm giving the California legislative assembly a giant teenage death stare right now. Are they kidding? A minimum of six months of wait time to test a hands-free vehicle on a public road?

Private vs. public and where can the transit shuttle go

Where does the Contra Costa transit pilot project stand now? It's on a private office park facility, so it can likely go ahead. I am not a member of the California bar and I've only been in the state a few times, BUT I believe that private roads are a different matter. However, the whole point of AB 1592 was that the shuttle would also be permitted to operate on public roads.

Oh well. Not sure that will happen. 

Better fly to Europe or Asia for a nice driverless transit shuttle ride.

Those Google guys have an uphill battle and that's just one state legislature. No wonder automated vehicle lobbyists are working on Congress to go full steam ahead.

When Congress, with its inability to come to agreement on major legislation, is your fallback position, that's not a good plan for quick action.