The Autonomous Vehicles Act of 2012 was amended in 2020 to establish an Autonomous Vehicles Testing Program to be administered by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), to authorize and restrict testing under certain conditions, to establish operational standards for autonomous vehicles (AVs), to require an autonomous vehicle testing entity to report certain data and crash information, and to require DDOT to provide a report with recommendations and a timeline to safely accommodate the full deployment of autonomous vehicles.
A proposed rulemaking by DDOT is being established for an AV testing program in the District of Columbia. This will create a process by which an AV testing entity may apply for a public right-of-way occupancy permit to test AVs in the District of Columbia and establish a framework under which AVs can be tested. Notably, these rules would allow for important safety and operational oversight of AVs in a testing framework. They do not propose full commercial deployment of AVs at this stage.
Procedures & Services
DDOT is the lead agency in regulating autonomous vehicle testing in the District. Proposed rules are currently being finalized.