Traffic Stops in the Age of Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles have profound implications for laws governing police, searches and seizures, and privacy. Complicating matters, manufacturers are developing these vehicles at varying rates. Each level of vehicle automation, in turn, poses unique issues for law enforcement. Semi-autonomous (Levels 2 and 3) vehicles make it extremely difficult for police to distinguish between dangerous distracted driving and safe use of a vehicle’s autonomous capabilities. Fully autonomous (Level 4 and 5) vehicles solve this problem but create a new one: the ability of criminals to use these vehicles to break the law with a low risk of detection. How and whether we solve these legal and law enforcement issues depends on the willingness of nations to adapt legal doctrines. This article explores the implications of autonomous vehicle stops and six possible solutions including: (1) restrictions on visibility obstructions, (2) restrictions on the use and purchase of fully autonomous vehicles, (3) laws requiring that users provide implied consent for suspicion-less traffic stops and searches, (4) creation of government checkpoints or pull-offs requiring autonomous vehicles to submit to brief stops and dog sniffs, (5) surveillance of data generated by these vehicles, and (6) opting to do nothing and allowing the coming changes to recalibrate the existing balance between law enforcement and citizens.