Legal Watch: Autonomous Vehicles | Georgia SB 165 | 2021-2022

A bill to entitled An act to amend Chapter 8 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, effective July 1^st of 2022, is now law. The Georgia legislator has passed a bill that removes certain requirements from autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles. For instance, cars that can fully navigate by themselves no longer need a strobe light while moving slowly, or provide for manual operation of brakes, and some other minor issues.

Revised Code Sections of interest:

• • 40-8-8, relating to speedometer, “40-8-8.12: Every motor vehicle, other than a fully autonomous vehicle, operated upon a public street or highway shall be equipped with a speedometer in good working order.”
  • 40-8-11.a.1 of Code Section 40-8-8, it removes requirements for certified manufacturer’s requirements to be in compliance with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.
  • 40-8-35, the need for a strobe light when operating at low speeds on Georgia state highways is removed as a requirement for autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, a foot brake is not required on autonomous vehicles.
  • 40-8-71, relating to exhaust system, makes more specific that certain pollution and noise provisions only apply to vehicles with internal combustion engines.
  • 40-8-72, relating to mirrors, are no longer required to comply with applicable federal laws.

For more information see; announcement, summary, full text

Obviously, if a vehicle is not to be driven by people, many of these changes should not affect other drivers on the road. We like to keep an eye on changes to any laws that might affect our clients.

DISCLAIMER: The information herein is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For any legal matters, we urge you to take the advice of an attorney familiar with your case.