West Virginia Code 17H-1-6 – Operation of a fully autonomous motor vehicle with an ADS by a human driver
(a) A person may operate a motor vehicle equipped with an ADS capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task (DDT) if:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17H-1-6
- ADS: means the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain. See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
- DDT: means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic, excluding the strategic functions such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints, and including without limitation:
(1) Lateral vehicle motion control via steering. See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
- Fully autonomous vehicle: means a motor vehicle equipped with an automated driving system (ADS) designed to function without a human driver as a level 4 or 5 system under SAE J3016. See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
- Human driver: means a natural person in the vehicle with a valid license to operate a motor vehicle who controls all or part of the dynamic driving task (DDT). See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
- Person: means a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, governmental agency, public corporation, or any legal or commercial entity. See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
- Request to intervene: means notification by an ADS to a human driver, that the human driver should promptly begin or resume performance of part or all of the DDT. See West Virginia Code 17H-1-3
(1) The ADS will issue a request to intervene whenever the ADS is not capable of performing the entire DDT, with the expectation that the person will respond appropriately to the request; and
(2) The ADS is capable of being operated in compliance with the applicable provisions of this article, unless an exemption has been granted by the Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(b) Nothing in this article prohibits or restricts a human driver from operating a fully autonomous vehicle equipped with controls that allow for the human driver to control all or part of the DDT.