Nevada Senate Bill 395 could hinder autonomous vehicle progress

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

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