Virginia’s Autonomous Driving Work Group has agreed to send draft legislation to the 2027 General Assembly that would create a pilot programme for self-driving vehicles, run by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Companies would be evaluated individually against safety standards, and those that pass would eventually be allowed to move from the supervised pilot to full driverless operation.
The recommendation matters because Virginia has no statute or regulation covering the testing, permitting or deployment of autonomous vehicles.
They are not prohibited, but nothing establishes who oversees them, whether a licensed driver must be present, what insurance applies or what police do at a traffic stop.
The work group was created by the General Assembly in 2025 and held its final meeting on August 28. It is preparing its report, including the recommended draft legislation, which is due by November 1.
The Framework Taking Shape
The group has settled on a commercial framework rather than one covering private vehicles, aimed at ride-hailing, delivery and buses.
Operators would have to file safety data, first-responder interaction plans and the conditions under which their vehicles can run, including limits by location, road type and weather.
Rules would be statewide, with local authorities retaining power mainly over autonomous vehicles operating as taxis.
Class 7 and 8 heavy trucks were discussed and excluded from the broader motion after members split over whether the first framework should reach the heaviest vehicles.
Someone Is Already Preparing
Waymo has been mapping streets in Northern Virginia since May, which is legal precisely because nothing governs it.
Its vehicles began in Alexandria on May 20, running Old Town from east to west in human-driven Jaguar I-PACEs, before moving to Arlington. Rich Harrington, a policy adviser at the company, told the work group on May 22 and emailed Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins on May 13 that the work would begin.
Company spokesperson Ethan Teicher described it to WIRED as an “important preparatory step should the Commonwealth authorize fully autonomous ride-hailing”, adding that “we do not currently have plans for a commercial service there.”
Harrington has said mapping to launch typically takes twelve to eighteen months at the company. Waymo says it has no current commercial plans in Virginia, and Senator Saddam Salim has put the earliest realistic date for commercial operation at 2028.
Where They Did Not Agree
Members disagreed over how much latitude the Department of Motor Vehicles should have to suspend or revoke permits, against writing standards into statute.
They split over safety measurement, between setting benchmarks in advance and letting the department judge each pilot on its operating conditions and distance covered.
Data reporting divided them between comprehensive real-time operational and location tracking and the non-real-time model already used federally and in California.
They also disagreed over whether legislation should protect customers from forced arbitration, and over whether operator fees should fund retraining for displaced drivers.
There was agreement that agencies should recover administrative costs, and that police and first responders need specific training, but not on whether that training should be mandatory, statewide and fee-funded.
Senate Transportation Committee Chair Lamont Bagby, a Henrico Democrat, described the exercise as setting out a legislative skeleton, with amendments to follow before and during the session.
Industry and Labour
Representatives from Uber, Tesla, Stack AV, Torc Robotics and Volkswagen addressed the August meeting, alongside unions and driver groups.
“Without a legislative framework that offers a clear path to commercial deployment, companies will simply not be able to enter the market,” said Renee Gibson, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.
Kevin O’Neill, a steering committee member of the DMV Drivers Alliance, put the other case. “Before Virginia gives companies a predictable path into this market, drivers do deserve to know what happens when autonomous fleets begin taking trips and income out of the existing workforce,” he said.
Failed // Passed
A commercial framework came close in the 2026 session. Senate Bill 670, from Senator Saddam Salim, passed the Senate 35 to 4 before being continued to 2027 in the House Transportation Committee. Its companion, House Bill 1125 from Delegate David Reid, was left in committee.
The bill would have required an autonomous operation licence from the Department of Motor Vehicles, cybersecurity and fleet-support requirements, a law-enforcement interaction plan and insurance of $1 million combined single limit while the automated driving system was engaged. It would have required a human safety driver on vehicles over 62,000 pounds until July 2028.
One measure did become law. The Department of Transportation may run a pilot using autonomous truck-mounted attenuators in mobile work zones, operating driverless inside an active zone in a leader-follower configuration with remote monitoring, with a human driver required travelling to and from the site. It expires on December 31, 2031.
Lawmakers cited an average of 77 strikes a year on non-automated attenuators in Virginia over four years, and more than 50 operator injuries since 2020.
The Federal Backdrop
The Department of Transportation released its America Leads strategy on September 3, restating that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration governs vehicle and equipment safety while states retain authority over licensing, registration and traffic enforcement.
That division is why a Virginia framework matters regardless of what Congress does. A federal bill, the SELF DRIVE Act, was forwarded by a House subcommittee on a 12 to 11 vote in February and has not moved since.
Other states have gone further. Nevada’s Transportation Authority authorised Tesla Robotaxi for up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County on August 20, alongside 1,000 each for Waymo and Aviari-Uber.
Tesla had held an interim permit since late July capped at 10 vehicles on a limited Strip corridor.
