H.R. 10033 · 119th Congress · Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Rules for Self-Driving Cars During Emergencies
AV Emergency Response Coordination Act
Deep dive August 7, 2026
This bill sets new rules for self-driving cars and emergency responders. Companies must share safety guides and rescue steps with police and firefighters. It also lets responders block self-driving cars from disaster areas for up to 72 hours.
What to know
- The bill is called the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act.
- Self-driving car companies must give responders a safety guide and a rescue sheet before operating in an area.
- A federal agency must post these safety guides online for the public.
- Companies must run a 24 hour phone line that answers emergency calls within 30 seconds.
- Companies must obey geofence orders, which block cars from an area, within two minutes.
- The bill defines key terms, like automation levels and unplanned stoppage events, to set clear ground rules.
Heads up
4 buried provisions
Provisions we flagged do not match the bill's stated purpose, or repeat language from bills that did not pass on their own.
Emergency data and video recovery from vehicles (Section 2(b)(2)(H))
Why we flagged this
This provision lets responders get data and video from companies. It is listed as one method among many. But it can pull in vehicle sensor and camera footage. That footage may include images of people near the scene. The bill does not set privacy limits here.
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preserve and recover data and video from a covered entity to investigate a covered vehicle’s involvement in a collision, unplanned stoppage event, or follow-up response involving a second responder or public official.
Standard tied to outside international group (Section 3(6) and 3(17))
Why we flagged this
The bill ties key documents to standards from a foreign-based standards group. It names the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Companies must follow templates like ISO 17840. This lets an outside body shape U.S. safety documents. The Administrator may pick another standard, but the default points abroad.
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The term emergency response guide means a document that is similar to templates established by the International Organization for Standardization in standard ISO 17840–3 (published in April 2019), or another standard established by the Administrator.
Definitions tied to a private group's document (Section 3(9), 3(10), 3(11))
Why we flagged this
The bill defines vehicle levels using a private group's document. It uses the SAE J3016 standard. This gives a private body a role in setting legal terms. The Administrator may revise the terms later. Until then, the private document controls the meaning.
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The term Level 3 system means the same as and is coterminous with the definition of Level or Category 3 - Conditional Driving Automation in SAE J3016 Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles § 5.4 (April 2021), but the Administrator may revise the definition based on updated versions of that or other relevant documents.
Geofence notice can be extended without a fixed end (Section 3(8))
Why we flagged this
A geofence notice tells vehicles to avoid an area for up to 72 hours. But the issuer can reissue it again and again. The rule for reissuing is a broad safety judgment. This could keep an area blocked for a long time. The bill sets no clear cap on total time.
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a request issued by a first responder or other Federal, State, Tribal, or local government or agency to a covered entity to have its covered vehicles avoid a geographic area for up to 72 hours ... but a request may be extended by the issuer of such request if the issuer determines that the operation of a covered vehicle in such a geographic area poses an ongoing safety hazard and reissues such request.
Section by section
Short title of the Act
This section gives the law its official name. It is called the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act. AV likely stands for autonomous vehicle. This section does not create any rules or programs. It just names the law so people can refer to it easily.
This section does not directly affect any group. It only sets the name used in later sections.
There is no real tradeoff, since naming a law has no practical effect on people or agencies.
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This Act may be cited as the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act .
Rules for self-driving cars and emergency responders
This section makes companies that run self-driving cars share safety information with police, firefighters, and other emergency workers. Each company must give an emergency response guide and a rescue sheet. These papers explain how to handle crashes, stops, and disasters involving self-driving cars. They must tell responders how to turn off the car, get people out, tow it, or talk to the company. Companies must send this to a federal agency and to local responders before they operate in an area. The agency must post these guides online for the public. Within two years, the agency must set minimum safety rules for how companies work with responders. Companies must also run a 24 hour emergency phone line that answers calls within 30 seconds. They must also obey "geofence" orders, which block self-driving cars from certain areas during emergencies, within two minutes.
Companies that make or run self-driving vehicles, federal regulators, and emergency responders like police, firefighters, and paramedics.
This section gives responders clearer tools and faster help during emergencies, but it adds new reporting, staffing, and compliance costs for companies that run self-driving cars.
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a covered entity shall— (1) maintain a telephone hotline that is available for emergency responders to communicate with the covered entity in the event of an emergency, including the ability to coordinate with remote human personnel; (2) ensure availability of such hotline at all times; and (3) respond to callers on such hotline within 30 seconds.
Key terms for self-driving vehicle rules
This section defines words used in the rest of the bill. It explains what counts as a self-driving car, called a covered vehicle. It sets levels of automation, from Level 3 to Level 5, based on how much a computer controls the driving. It also defines who counts as a manufacturer or operator. The section explains emergency terms too. These include first responder, second responder, and geofence notice. A geofence notice lets responders ask self-driving cars to avoid an area for up to 72 hours during an emergency. It also defines an unplanned stoppage event, which is when a self-driving car gets stuck or blocks traffic, transit, or emergency work. These definitions set the ground rules for the rest of the law.
Self-driving car makers and operators, emergency responders, and government agencies dealing with automated vehicles.
Clear definitions help everyone follow the same rules, but very detailed technical terms can be hard for the public to fully understand.
Show the exact bill text
The term geofence notice means a request issued by a first responder or other Federal, State, Tribal, or local government or agency to a covered entity to have its covered vehicles avoid a geographic area for up to 72 hours to address an emergency, disaster, or other safety hazard, until the issuer sends notice of the rescission of such a request
Citations
- Congress.gov bill text: link (retrieved 2026-08-07)
Public record
Below is the official voting record from Congress.gov. It is not our analysis.
Source: Congress.gov
This bill has no recorded roll-call vote yet. A roll-call vote records how each member voted by name.
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