Committee hears autonomous-vehicle update: state permitting, local safety limits and citation challenges

City transportation and public-safety staff told the Austin City Council Mobility Committee that autonomous-vehicle (AV) operations in Austin are expanding rapidly, and that a Texas law and DMV rulemaking due this winter will create a state-level permitting and first-responder plan process for commercial AV operations.

"Under Texas law, local governments cannot regulate or permit autonomous vehicles," Rachel Castanulis, the city’s AV subject-matter expert, told the committee, summarizing the current legal framework and the state’s recently passed statute that will require companies to file permits and first-responder plans with the Texas DMV.

Why it matters: Staff and public-safety agencies said larger AV deployments change how police, fire and EMS interact with vehicles at incidents and events and that the city must coordinate data-sharing, geofencing and emergency exclusion zones to protect responders and road users.

Key points from the update - Phases and fleet sizes: Castanulis described three operational phases — mapping, testing (often with a safety driver) and commercial deployment — and estimated Waymo has at least 100 vehicles in the Austin area; deployed robo-taxis number roughly 11–12; Tesla has about 100 testing vehicles; Volkswagen ADMT was testing 12; SYNCX Highlander about 20; AVbridal listed about 12 Hyundai Ioniqs. - State permitting and first-responder plans: Staff said Texas statute SB 2807 (as cited in the meeting) creates a DMV permitting program that will require commercial AV companies to submit operational plans and first-responder procedures; the law becomes effective Sept. 1 and staff said the DMV expects to publish draft rules this winter with enforcement anticipated in the spring after a statutory 90-day window following final rules. - Emergency exclusion zones and data sharing: TPW and public-safety staff said they currently send high-priority emergency location data directly to AV companies for a recommended exclusion radius of 1,000 feet for one hour around major incidents — a process the city coordinated with San Francisco and Phoenix — and that AV companies receive map layers showing critical infrastructure, schools and special events. - Citation process is cumbersome: Lieutenant Wei (Austin Police Department) described the difficulty of issuing traffic citations to vehicles with no human operator: officers must prepare an affidavit, identify the company’s Texas registered agent via Secretary of State filings, obtain a witness officer signature, and email the completed paperwork to municipal court. The city has issued only three AV citations to date because of that cumbersome process. - Safety issues: staff said early-generation AVs in 2023 struggled with lights-and-sirens responses; more recent deployments now commonly have trouble recognizing police hand signals and complex officer-directed traffic control during special events, which can cause AVs to freeze and require officers to intervene. - Crash reporting and safety data: TPW said Austin has reported about 64 AV-involved crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; many crash types are lower-speed rear-end collisions when AVs stop at intersections or in response to perceived hazards. Staff said AVs are frequently observed operating at posted speeds, which reduces crash severity but that rigorous, peer-reviewed comparative safety analyses are not yet available.

Committee questions and next steps Committee members asked about geofencing and special events (ACL, South By), camera-based enforcement options, local staffing and coordination with the airport. Staff said they regularly convene a safety working group with APD, fire, EMS, CapMetro and other stakeholders, run an AV public dashboard to collect incident reports, and participate in state and federal working groups. TPW said it will continue seeking state-level solutions to streamline citation processes and urged companies to provide local contacts to improve response times during flooding, closures and major events.

What to watch - DMV rulemaking and the statutory timeline (documents posted this winter; 90-day period after final rules before enforcement) and any state action to streamline citations to companies instead of the current affidavit process. - Local coordination for special events and continuing efforts to require AV operators to accept exclusion zones and local traffic plans.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report are listed in the article’s speaker roster below.