A new law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom will introduce penalties for autonomous vehicle (AV) operators whose robotaxis obstruct first responders for more than 30 minutes. Senate Bill 1246 aims to improve safety and response times when AVs become disabled or interfere with emergency services.
The legislation mandates that AV technology companies, including Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox, must provide local, on-the-ground support to first responders when their robotaxis encounter issues. It also requires AV developers to notify local jurisdictions about vehicle locations and status during system-wide failures and to supply "local incident technicians" for accidents and obstructions.
The law specifies that remote drivers for AVs must be based in the United States and possess a U.S. driver's license. This addresses concerns about how companies use remote operations when autonomous vehicles face problems. Tesla has publicly stated it uses remote operators who can directly control its robotaxis, while other companies like Waymo use remote assistance where human employees provide guidance.
The new rules follow several incidents in California where robotaxis reportedly disrupted traffic, entered crime scenes, or impeded emergency personnel. Waymo, which operates approximately 1,200 autonomous vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area, was involved in many of these incidents.