West Virginia Code 17H-1-7 – Operation of fully autonomous commercial and motor carrier vehicles
(a) A fully autonomous vehicle that is also a commercial vehicle under West Virginia law may operate pursuant to state laws governing the operation of commercial motor vehicles, except that any provision that by its nature reasonably applies only to a human driver does not apply to a vehicle operating with the ADS engaged.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17H-1-7
- 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
- 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
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) A fully autonomous vehicle that is also a motor carrier vehicle requiring a commercial driver’s license pursuant to federal or state law may operate pursuant to Federal and State laws governing commercial drivers and the operation of commercial motor vehicles, except any provision which by its nature reasonably applies only to a human driver shall not apply to a fully autonomous vehicle operating with the ADS engaged. This section shall not apply to a school bus.