A bill introduced in the U.S. House would task the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with establishing minimum safety standards and protocols to improve how autonomous vehicles interact with safety personnel. 

The AV Emergency Response Coordination Act from Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.) comes after reports of autonomous vehicles blocking emergency responders from helping people in danger, driving through construction zones, and failing during power outages. 

“Seconds count during a crisis, and we’ve seen too many terrifying incidents of AVs interfering with police, fire fighters, and paramedics. Public officials have been asked to be guinea pigs in figuring out how to interact with this emerging technology. AV companies have to do better,” said Mullin. 

“Autonomous vehicles have tremendous potential to improve safety on our roads, but federal regulators need to make sure they’re not inadvertently getting in the way of emergency responders and that public officials are able to quickly work with AVs in an emergency,” he added.   

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison recently sent a letter to AV companies demanding that they address the issue of vehicles interfering with first responders and law enforcement. The House legislation would require AV companies to report safety data to NHTSA.

The bill would also establish a 24/7 hotline for public officials to communicate directly with AV companies during autonomous vehicle incidents and create a process for public officials to issue “geofence notices” so that AVs avoid certain areas during an emergency or while there is an ongoing safety hazard.