COLORADO NEEDS WAY MORE 'WAYMO' TRAFFIC RULES

By Colorado Newsline

Last month, as vendors were setting up booths at a farmers market on South Pearl Street in Denver, a car drove down the closed road. It evaded barricades, ignored signs and came precariously close to market participants, who eventually were able to guide it out of the danger zone.

The behavior would likely be considered a traffic violation had the car been driven by a human. But this was a Waymo, an autonomous passenger service vehicle. No people were inside it. There was no one to ticket.

The incident was not the only time since the beginning of September when Waymo started operating in Denver that its cars have performed in a way that might have earned a fine for a human driver. But Colorado law does not account for misbehaved autonomous vehicles, and local police have no way to issue tickets when the cars violate traffic laws.

That’s got to change.

At least one Colorado lawmaker is thinking about how to address this regulatory gap. Rep. Jenny Willford, a Democrat who represents Northglenn and north Thornton, plans to introduce a bill in the next legislative session, which starts in January, that would regulate autonomous vehicles and establish a way for police to enforce laws when Waymos run afoul of them.

One of the main provisions in the bill would create and define a new oversight category for autonomous vehicles within the state’s Public Utilities Commission. They’re licensed under the luxury limousine carrier type, Willford said.

“Obviously they’re not luxury limousines,” she said. Her bill would create a category that reflects Waymo’s business model, includes appropriate safety provisions and clarifies the commission’s oversight authority, such as its ability to investigate complaints. 

The bill would also establish how law enforcement could issue tickets when autonomous vehicles break the law.

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[Photo: Waymo]