Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution Act or the SELF DRIVE Act

This bill establishes the federal role in ensuring the safety of highly automated vehicles by encouraging the testing and deployment of such vehicles. A highly automated vehicle is a motor vehicle, other than a commercial motor vehicle, that is equipped with an automated driving system capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis.

The bill preempts states from enacting laws regarding the design, construction, or performance of highly automated vehicles or automated driving systems unless such laws enact standards identical to federal standards.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) must require safety assessment certifications for the development of a highly automated vehicle or an automated driving system.

Manufacturers of highly automated vehicles must develop written cybersecurity and privacy plans for such vehicles prior to offering them for sale.

The bill applies certain safety exemptions and testing standards to highly automated vehicles.

DOT must (1) inform prospective buyers of highly automated vehicles of the capabilities and limitations of such vehicles; (2) establish the Highly Automated Vehicle Advisory Council to, among other things, develop guidance regarding mobility access for the disabled, elderly, and underserved populations; (3) require all new passenger motor vehicles less than 10,000 pounds to be equipped with a rear seat occupant alert system; and (4) research updated safety standards for motor vehicle headlamps.