University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Connected Vehicles (CV), Automated Vehicles (AV) and their combination as Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) have beenamong the most important developments in surface transportation within the past few years. California has been a nationalleader in the development of these technologies and their predecessors for several decades, but that leadership position is injeopardy as other states court CAV development and testing outside of California. The paper suggests Californiaactively engages in CAV through a number of different outlets; encouraging the development of state-of- the-art testing facilities where a wider range of vehicles can be tested, building on existing DMV regulatory frameworks, and convening open public discussions about the safety for CAV systems. Public sector engagement and action on this topic are needed in order for California to capitalize on the potential safety, efficiency and productivity benefits for connected and automated vehicles.