Preparing for Automated Vehicles in Virginia

About the project:

There have been several recent advances in the automation of vehicle control, particularly in adaptive cruise control and automated steering.

Some developers already are testing prototype automated vehicles on public roadways, and many manufacturers predict these limited-situation “self-driving” vehicles may be available for sale to the public as soon as 2020.

The deployment of automated vehicles onto public roads introduces several new near-term issues relevant to Virginia. These include: the legality of automated vehicles; their certification and licensing; insurance regulations; traffic impacts; litigation and liability; safety; and consistency with other states.

Based on a review of the literature and consultation with experts for government, academia and industry, this research will investigate the near-term potential issues of semi-automated traditional vehicles and low-speed fully-autonomous vehicles and provide recommendations that will address these concerns.

Project Team

Principal Investigators