California SB 1398 (Consumer notices of automated vehicles)

Proposed 2022-02-18 | Enacted 2022-09-13 | Official source

Summary

Requires dealers and manufacturers to provide distinct notices of partial driving automation feature functions and limitations at time of sale or upgrade, and prohibits misleading marketing language implying full autonomous vehicle functionality.

This summary is awaiting validation (peer review by a second AGORA editor).

Key facts

🏛️ This document has been enacted by the State of California. For authoritative text and metadata, visit the official source.

🎯 This document primarily applies to the private sector, rather than the government.

📜 This document's name is California (2021-2022) SB 1398. AGORA also tracks this document under the name California SB 1398 (Consumer notices of automated vehicles).

Themes AI risks, applications, governance strategies, and other themes addressed in AGORA documents.

Thematic tags for this document are awaiting validation (peer review by a second AGORA editor).

Risk factors (1)

Transparency This tag applies to documents that govern whether, how, and/or to what extent people who are affected by or otherwise have an interest in an AI system have access to relevant information about the system.

Harms (1)

Detrimental content This tag applies to documents addressing detrimental content involving AI, such as deepfakes or AI-generated spam.

Governance strategies (2)

AI application areas (1)

Transportation

Full text

This is an unofficial copy. The document has been archived and reformatted in plaintext for AGORA. Footnotes, tables, and similar material may be omitted. For the official text, visit the original source.
Thematic tags for this document are awaiting validation (peer review by a second AGORA editor).

The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 24011.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read: 24011.5. (a) A dealer or manufacturer shall not sell any new passenger vehicle that is equipped with any partial driving automation feature, or provide any software update or other vehicle upgrade that adds any partial driving automation feature, without, at the time of delivering or upgrading the vehicle, providing the buyer or owner with a distinct notice that provides the name of the feature and clearly describes the functions and limitations of the feature. (b) A manufacturer or dealer shall not name any partial driving automation feature, or describe any partial driving automation feature in marketing materials, using language that implies or would otherwise lead a reasonable person to believe, that the feature allows the vehicle to function as an autonomous vehicle, as defined in Section 38750, or otherwise has functionality not actually included in the feature. A violation of this subdivision shall be considered a misleading advertisement for the purposes of Section 11713. (c) As used in this section, “partial driving automation feature” has the same meaning as “Level 2 partial driving automation” in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J3016 (April 2021). (d) Compliance with this section shall not alter any existing duty of care or limit the civil liability of a manufacturer or dealer, including, but not limited to, claims for negligence or product defect. (e) Before delivering a passenger vehicle equipped with a partial driving automation feature to a dealer, a manufacturer shall provide information to enable the dealer to comply with subdivision (a). This information shall include specific language recommended for the notice required in that subdivision. A dealer may reasonably rely on the information provided by the manufacturer and a dealer shall not be held in violation of subdivision (a) if the manufacturer fails to provide this information to the dealer or if the information provided is deemed to be not in compliance with this section. (f) A manufacturer shall not be held in violation of subdivision (a) if the manufacturer provides a dealer with the information required under subdivision (e) and the dealer fails to provide the required notice to the buyer or owner.

AI-focused summary

Requires dealers and manufacturers to provide distinct notices describing the functions and limitations of partial driving automation features at the time of sale or software upgrade, and prohibits naming or describing these features in marketing materials in ways that imply full autonomous vehicle functionality, with liability allocated between manufacturers and dealers based on information provision.

SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.