Like It or Not, Driverless Vehicles Are Coming to a Municipality Near You

Last month, Governor Rauner approved a bill concerning local government regulation of “Automated Driving Systems equipped vehicles” (i.e. driverless cars). As driverless vehicles are no longer mere science fiction, the Illinois Legislature has made a preemptory move to maintain a uniform regulation of these vehicles.

Under the new law, units of local government, including home rule units, “may not enact an ordinance prohibiting the use of Automated Driving System equipped vehicles on [their] roadways.” Furthermore, “[n]o unit of local government, including a home rule unit, may regulate Automated Driving System equipped vehicles in a manner inconsistent with [the Illinois Vehicle Code].”

However, the law does give units of local government the ability to regulate Automated Driving Systems equipped vehicles for “traffic control purposes.”

The law defines an “Automated Driving System equipped vehicle” as “any vehicle equipped with an Automated Driving System of hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational domain.”