BUILD America 250 Act

31140. ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle operation

(a) Safety standard

(1) In general. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the BUILD America 250 Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are necessary to establish and maintain a performance-based safety standard for ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles to operate in interstate commerce.

(2) Applicability. In issuing the regulations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine how such standard applies to Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles.

(3) Operating requirement. After the effective date of regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1), an ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle may not be operated in interstate commerce unless—

(A) the manufacturer has certified to the Secretary that such vehicle has met the safety standard established in paragraph (1);

(B) the manufacturer and operator of such vehicle meet the applicable regulations issued pursuant to this chapter; and

(C) such vehicle has not been materially altered in such a manner that the vehicle does not comply with such safety standard.

(b) Requirements for safety standard

(1) Safety case. The safety standard established under subsection (a)(1) shall require a manufacturer of an ADS or ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle to meet the standard through a safety case, which shall be updated prior to making any significant material changes to the ADS or ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle that—

(A) provides claims, supported by arguments and evidence, that support the conclusion of the manufacturer that the design, construction, and performance of the ADS or ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle will provide an equivalent or greater level of safety as a non-ADS -equipped commercial motor vehicle subject to the requirements of this title; and

(B) includes the following components:

(i) A description of each hardware and software element of the ADS required for—

(I) braking, steering, propulsion, and computing capability;

(II) redundancies;

(III) each capability of the suite of sensors of the ADS; and

(IV) the integration of the ADS into the vehicle platform.

(ii) A complete description of the ODD of the ADS, including how the ADS performs each element within such ODD.

(iii) An explanation of each engineering methodology used to design and assess the performance of the ADS and ensure commercial motor vehicle safety, including—

(I) each hazard analysis and associated verification and validation process;

(II) the credibility and limitations of the tools, simulations, and test environments employed for such methodology, and the measures taken to mitigate such limitations; and

(III) the acceptance criteria used by the manufacturer to assess competencies in normal driving and crash avoidance capability.

(iv) An explanation of how the ADS anticipates and responds to potential crashes.

(v) A description of any vehicle-integrated system that provides visual or digital hazard alerting to a nearby road user when the vehicle executes or enters a minimal risk condition, including any system that automatically activates high-conspicuity lighting patterns or transmits digital hazard messages to connected vehicles and roadway infrastructure.

(vi) A description of the cybersecurity plan that includes—

(I) a written cybersecurity policy with respect to the practices of the manufacturer to detect and respond to cyber attacks, unauthorized intrusions, and false vehicle control commands;

(II) a process to identify, assess, and mitigate reasonably foreseeable cyber risks related to commercial motor vehicle safety from cyber attacks or unauthorized intrusions, including false and malicious vehicle control commands;

(III) a process to take preventive and corrective action to mitigate against reasonably foreseeable cyber risks related to commercial motor vehicle safety in the ADS or ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle, including incident response plans, unauthorized intrusion detection and prevention systems that safeguard key controls, systems, and procedures through testing or monitoring, and updates to such process based on changed circumstances;

(IV) the identification of an officer or other individual of the manufacturer as the point of contact with responsibility for the management of cybersecurity; and

(V) a process for employee training and supervision for implementation and maintenance of the policies and procedures required by this section, including controls on employee access to the ADS.

(vii) A description of the manufacturer’s safety management system, including organizational roles and responsibilities, and the processes used to systematically address and audit safety throughout the design, testing, deployment, and operation of the ADS.

(viii) A description of the in-use safety monitoring processes utilized by the manufacturer, including safety performance indicators, thresholds for intervention, and procedures for investigating and addressing safety-relevant incidents and near-misses.

(ix) A description of how the manufacturer incorporates operational data from in-service operations, including feedback loops from incidents and safety-critical scenarios into the design and validation of the ADS, to ensure continuous improvement of commercial motor vehicle safety.

(x) An explanation of how the ADS-equipped vehicle meets each of the following competencies:

(I) The ADS performs the entire DDT within the ODD of the ADS and is able to recognize the boundaries of the ODD.

(II) The ADS detects and responds appropriately to any vulnerable road user in proximity to the ADS in the relevant ODD.

(III) In the case of a Level 3 ADS, the ability of the ADS to clearly and unambiguously communicate ADS status and user role to the DDT fallback-ready user and, during any transfer of control to the DDT fallback-ready user, provide sufficient lead time for the DDT fallback-ready user to safely assume the DDT, and safely maintain vehicle control until the ADS fallback user has assumed control and the transfer is completed.

(IV) The ability of the ADS to safely achieve a MRC and safely allow any occupants inside the vehicle to exit the vehicle.

(V) The ADS detects the limits of the ODD of the ADS and respond appropriately when 1 or more conditions of the ODD are no longer met by achieving an MRC.

(VI) The ADS detects and responds to relevant objects or events, including emergency vehicles and personnel, and school buses in proximity to the ADS in the relevant ODD and relevant to the driving decisions of the ADS.

(VII) The ADS can comply with applicable local traffic laws and laws relevant to the performance of the DDT.

(xi) Any additional information the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(2) Incident reporting

(A) In general. The Secretary shall prescribe reporting requirements for ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles that align with reporting requirements issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under such Administration’s Third Amended Standing General Order 2021–01 (signed April 24, 2025), and at a minimum, require the reporting of any crash that resulted in a—

(i) fatality;

(ii) serious injury;

(iii) strike of a vulnerable road user;

(iv) air bag deployment; or

(v) vehicle tow-away.

(B) Additional requirements. The Secretary may require additional reporting requirements if the Secretary determines such requirements are necessary to effectively evaluate or improve the safety of ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles.

(C) Revisions. The Secretary—

(i) may periodically revise the reporting requirements prescribed under subparagraph (A); and

(ii) shall update such requirements if the Secretary establishes a single Federal database for autonomous vehicle-related incidents.

(3) Roles and responsibilities

(A) In general. The safety standard established under subsection (a)(1) shall require the manufacturer of a Level 4 or Level 5 ADS to assume and observe duties otherwise applicable to a human driver to the extent such duties relate to the real-time operation of such vehicle and the performance of the DDT when—

(i) the ADS is engaged and the vehicle is operating within its ODD; or

(ii) the ADS is engaged and such ADS—

(I) fails to detect that 1 or more conditions of its ODD are no longer met; or

(II) after detecting that 1 or more conditions of its ODD are no longer met, fails to achieve an MRC.

(B) Rule of construction. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to—

(i) create, expand, or limit strict liability under Federal or State law;

(ii) create a cause of action; or

(iii) affect the availability of any defense or doctrine under otherwise applicable law, including comparative fault, contributory negligence, product liability principles, or proximate causation.

(4) Operator on board. The safety standard established under subsection (a)(1) shall require a human operator to be located within the vehicle during the operation of any ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle transporting—

(A) primarily minors, such as school bus transportation; or

(B) placarded hazardous materials, as described in part 397 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

(5) Additional standards for integrated service operations. In establishing the safety standard under subsection (a)(1), if the Secretary determines additional standards are necessary to maintain the existing level of safety following the introduction of ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles within integrated service operations, the Secretary may apply additional requirements to such vehicles, including ensuring that remote assistants performing covered aspects of the dynamic driving task, DDT fallback-ready users, or remote drivers have the appropriate endorsement on their commercial drivers’ license or have received relevant training necessary for operation.

(c) Operator qualifications

(1) In general. The Secretary shall require a DDT fallback-ready user, remote driver, or remote assistant who is performing covered aspects of the dynamic driving task, as described in paragraph (5), of an ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle be properly qualified and licensed to operate a commercial motor vehicle, subject to the requirements of parts 350 through 399 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) Level 3 requirements. The Secretary shall require a DDT fallback-ready user to be physically located within the driver’s seat of the vehicle for Level 3 ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles.

(3) Location. The Secretary shall require all remote assistants, driverless operations dispatchers, and remote drivers to be physically located within the United States or any territory of the United States.

(4) Driving time. Any period in which a remote assistant performing covered aspects of the DDT, DDT fallback-ready user, or remote driver must monitor 1 or more ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles shall be considered driving time under part 395 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

(5) Covered aspects of the DDT. A remote assistant is subject to the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (4) when conducting any of the following aspects of the DDT:

(A) Lateral vehicle motion control via steering.

(B) Longitudinal vehicle motion control via acceleration and deceleration.

(C) Object and event response execution, when the ADS cannot override an ordered response in reaction to real-time conditions at its location.

(D) Maneuver planning, when the ADS cannot override a plan in reaction to real-time conditions at its location.

(E) Enhancing conspicuity including via lighting, sounding, the horn, signaling, and gesturing.

(d) Rules of construction

(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a State from maintaining, enforcing, prescribing, or continuing in effect any law or regulation regarding cybersecurity or privacy.

(2) Nothing in this section, including meeting the requirements of subsection (a)(1) or any rules implementing this section, shall be construed to relieve a person or manufacturer from liability which may exist under another Federal or State law or supplant, displace, preempt another Federal or State law relating to remedies for civil relief, including Federal or State laws for civil damage, or penalties for criminal actions.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Secretary to require a commercial motor vehicle to be equipped with an ADS.

31140. ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle operation.