Autonomous Vehicle Permit Holders Report 5.7 Million Test Miles in California

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2023

Sacramento – Companies with a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California reported their technologies drove more than 5.7 million miles during the latest reporting period (December 1, 2021-November 30, 2022), according to disengagement reports recently submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The annual reports summarize when vehicles disengaged from autonomous mode during tests and reveal test vehicles traveled a record 5.7 million miles in autonomous mode on California’s public roads during the reporting period – 5.1 million miles with a safety driver and 622,257 miles of driverless testing. The total is an increase of more than 1 million miles from the previous reporting period.

The reports include the total number of disengagements, the circumstances or testing conditions, the location, and the total miles traveled in autonomous mode on public roads for each permit holder. Disengagements can occur when a failure of the technology is detected or when the safety driver needs to take immediate control of the vehicle. The reports provide insights on a company’s testing activities in California but are not intended to compare one company with another or reach broad conclusions on technological capabilities.

Twenty-two permit holders reported they did not test autonomous vehicles on California public roads during the reporting period. The DMV is suspending two companies for failing to file the annual report. Another company let its testing permit lapse and failed to file a report.

Under California’s regulations, companies are not required to report testing on private roads/test tracks, testing that occurs out of state, testing below SAE Level 3, or testing done in simulation. The regulations require submitting an annual report to the DMV every January 1. The first report a company provides covers the period from when the permit was issued to November 30 of the following year. Subsequent reports provide 12-month details starting December 1 each year.

Currently, 43 companies have valid permits to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver, seven companies have a permit for driverless testing and three manufacturers are authorized to deploy autonomous vehicles. All active testing permit holders that received authorization prior to 2022 were required to submit a disengagement report by January 1, 2023. The four companies that received a permit to test with a safety driver in 2022 will submit their first report by January 1, 2024.

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