New Jersey lawmakers have introduced legislation that would, ifenacted, require owners of driverless cars to maintain liabilityinsurance coverage.

If the legislation does become law, New Jersey could become thethird state in the nation, after Nevada and Florida, to requirethat owners of autonomous vehicles maintain liability insurancecoverage.

At present, liability coverage attaches to the driver of a car,and it remains an open question as to who would beheld liable in the event that an autonomouscar causes an accident.

State laws evolving

Since 2011, at least nine states — Nevada, Florida, California,Michigan, North Dakota, Hawaii, Washington, Tennessee and Utah —along with the District of Columbia, have enacted laws permittingsome form of testing of autonomous vehicles. Additionally,governors in Arizona and Massachusetts issued executive orders onautonomous vehicles, according to the National Conference of StateLegislatures.

Nevada, in 2013, and Florida, last year, enacted legislationthat allowed for the general use of autonomous vehicles. Both nowrequire owners and operators to maintain insurance coverage.

Most testing, however, is being done in California, where Googlewas the pioneer in the autonomous-vehicle industry. Uber, theride-hailing service, is attempting to start autonomous vehicle service inSan Francisco and Pittsburgh. The legality of that service,however, remains unresolved as regulators continue to considerwhether driverless services should be permitted.

Uber, engaged in a clash with California regulators, saidlast month that it would end its autonomous-vehicle program in SanFrancisco and relocate the self-driving service to Arizona. Alsolast month, Uber asked the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to delayguidelines for driverless cars pending legislation in the state,according to sibling publication The Legal Intelligencer.

Jessica González, a spokeswoman for the CaliforniaDepartment of Motor Vehicles, said 20 automakers have beengranted permits to test autonomous vehicles, and must post $5million in insurance or bond or self-insurance. At present, shesaid, regulations regarding insurance requirements for the generaluse of autonomous vehicles have not been written in the state.

Anticipation NJ will permit driverless vehicles

The New Jersey Assembly bill, A4504, is sponsored by Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden, and Assemblyman Arthur Barclay, D-Camden. The Senatebill, S2895, is sponsored by Sen. Nia Gill, D-Essex. No hearings have beenscheduled for the bills.

Lampitt said she introduced the legislation in anticipationthat, at some point in the future, New Jersey will permit thegeneral use of driverless vehicles. Gill did not return a telephonecall seeking comment.

Gov. Chris Christie's office generally does not comment onlegislation until it reaches his desk.

New Jersey currently requires a minimum of $15,000 coverage perperson and $30,000 per accident.

"It [the general use of autonomous vehicles] will happeneventually, but there are a lot of questions that have to beanswered," Lampitt said. The central question, she said, is whethersomeone who is riding in an autonomous vehicle, who may own thevehicle but is not at the controls, should be held responsible inthe event of an accident.

Legal landscape uncertain

Currently, she said, it appears that the manufacturer of thevehicle would be held liable, but the legal landscape isuncertain.

"We're looking to make sure that insurance is available if noone is behind the wheel," Lampitt said. "We're looking to whocoverage should go back to, and creating a process formanufacturers to follow."

State and federal rulemaking on autonomous vehicles is expectedto accelerate this year, as carmakers andothers push for more consistency, as reported insibling publication Legaltech News.

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill that would requireowners of driverless cars to maintain liability insurance coverage,instead of operators.

Related: Driverless cars: What are the insuranceimplications?

Michael Booth is the Trenton Bureau Chief for the NewJersey Law Journal. You can contact him at [email protected].