As a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School (CIS) and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), Bryant focuses on the law and policy of autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles. His research interests include administrative law, efficiency, and public/private coordination. Prior to joining Stanford, Bryant served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Evan J. Wallach of the U.S. Court of International Trade and as a fellow at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 2009.
As an Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar at New York University School of Law, Bryant received his LL.M. in International Legal Studies in 2009 and his J.D. (cum laude) in 2008. During law school, he was president of NYU’s International Law Society, a managing editor of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, a summer associate in project finance at Linklaters LLP, and a summer fellow at the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation, and Technology. Prior to law school, Bryant worked as a transportation engineer at Strand Associates, Inc. In this position, he advised governments and developers on the design of transportation plans, policies, programs, and facilities. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
On Blind Drivers and Base Maps
By Bryant Walker Smith • March 30, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Google has posted an inspiring video (with audio captions) of a legally blind individual riding in the front left seat of one of its self-driving cars as that car travels along a “carefully programmed route.” As the company prudently notes, the video is “a promising look at what autonomous technology may one day deliver if rigorous technology and safety standards can be met.” Both Google and a local police officer who assisted with the demo believe it to be legal. Read more » about On Blind Drivers and Base Maps
Driving at Perfection
By Bryant Walker Smith • March 11, 2012 at 3:20 pm
• “Nothing is going to catch this car by surprise…. It’s going to see hundreds of feet in all directions. [You’re] not going to have a pedestrian ‘come out of nowhere’ or the ball coming to the middle of the street. This car senses a lot.”
• “Our cars are designed to avoid the kinds of situations that force people to make last-minute value judgments while driving.”
• “[Our car] always does the right thing.” Read more » about Driving at Perfection
Florida Autonomous Driving Bill Heads to Governor
By Bryant Walker Smith • March 11, 2012 at 1:35 am
On the final day of its regular scheduled session, Florida's Senate moved rapidly to unanimously pass CB/HB 1207, the autonomous driving bill that Florida's House had also passed unanimously a week Read more » about Florida Autonomous Driving Bill Heads to Governor
Apply Today!* Nevada's Autonomous Driving Regulation Takes Effect
By Bryant Walker Smith • March 1, 2012 at 9:37 pm
*Note: Apply only if you have an autonomous vehicle with 10,000 miles under its belt and a million dollars (cash or bond) in its glove compartment.... Read more » about Apply Today!* Nevada's Autonomous Driving Regulation Takes Effect
Autonomous Driving Bill Introduced in California (Plus Other State Developments)
By Bryant Walker Smith • February 24, 2012 at 9:05 am
California SB 1298 would expressly establish that California "presently does not prohibit or specifically regulate the operation of autonomous vehicles," direct the Department of the California Highway Patrol to "adopt regulations" regarding "specific safety requirements for the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles," and "not prohibit" such operation and testing prior to those regulations. The bill does not say who (if anyone) drives an autonomous vehicle in the legal sense, a question I asked about California's motor vehicle code in a post last month.
The bill's autonomous-driving-is-already-legal approach is similar to a proposed amendment to Florida HB 1207, though that amendment does state that "a person shall be deemed to be the operator of an autonomous vehicle operating in autonomous mode when the person causes the vehicle's autonomous technology to engage, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the vehicle while the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode." (But what if an automated system engages the autonomous technology?) Another such amendment would address liability following conversion of a vehicle to an autonomous vehicle.
Meanwhile, Arizona's bill failed in the House Transportation Committee after members expressed concern that it was too much too soon -- that is, the technology was not ready and the rulemaking burden on the state's Department of Transportation would be too great.
For a summary of all legislative and regulatory developments, see my wiki. Read more » about Autonomous Driving Bill Introduced in California (Plus Other State Developments)
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Water as a Public Good: The Status of Water Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
Is water a "product" subject to the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)? I argue that it is not, because the established, widespread, and consistent assertion by states of public ownership over their water resources through both municipal and international law (the "public-ownership consensus") precludes any reading of GATT that would fundamentally alter the unique status of those resources. Read more » about Water as a Public Good: The Status of Water Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
Meaningful Participation in a Global Climate Regime
An effective climate regime must be global rather than merely international and must recognize the significant involvement of actors other than states. This Article first examines the role of statism in the existing international climate regime and challenges several assumptions that underlie the demand for the global South’s "meaningful participation" in that regime. It then demonstrates how the global South is already participating in a global climate regime through the activities of private economic actors from around the world. Read more » about Meaningful Participation in a Global Climate Regime
Stakeholder Reaction to Emissions Trading in the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands
As a contribution to the debate over market-based environmental regulation, this article examines the reaction of stakeholders to cap-and-trade programs proposed and/or implemented in the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands for industrial emissions of certain pollutants. Those pollutants include nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), mercury (Hg), and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Read more » about Stakeholder Reaction to Emissions Trading in the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands
Nevada Gives the Green Light to Google's Driverless Cars
Bryant Walker Smith: By automating driving, cars may someday be able to be lighter, smaller, use less space, travel closer together, generally use the existing roadway infrastructure more efficiently. Now that's very long-term. In the short term, we may actually see something very different, which is self-driving cars behaving more cautiously, keeping more space, taking longer at stop signs. Read more » about Nevada Gives the Green Light to Google's Driverless Cars
The Real Problem with Driverless Cars
When a company sells a car that truly drives itself, the responsibility will fall on its maker. “It’s accepted in our world that there will be a shift,” says Bryant Walker Smith, a legal fellow at Stanford University’s law school and engineering school who studies autonomous-vehicle law. “If there’s not a driver, there can’t be driver negligence. The result is a greater share of liability moving to manufacturers.”
Read the full story at the original publication link below. Read more » about The Real Problem with Driverless Cars
Who Is To Blame When A Robotic Car Crashes?
The other leap that society has to make is from driver liability to manufacturer liability. When a company sells a car that truly drives itself, the responsibility will fall on its maker. “It’s accepted in our world that there will be a shift,” says Bryant Walker Smith, a legal fellow at Stanford University’s law school and engineering school who studies autonomous-vehicle law. “If there’s not a driver, there can’t be driver negligence. The result is a greater share of liability moving to manufacturers.”
Read full story at the original publication link below. Read more » about Who Is To Blame When A Robotic Car Crashes?
Robotic Cars Get Boost from Alex Padilla's Bill
Google Driverless Cars Get Boost in California
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Connected and Driverless Vehicles - What are the Safety, Liability, and Operational Impacts
51st Annual Workshop on Transportation Law - Transportation Research Board (TRB) Read more » about Connected and Driverless Vehicles - What are the Safety, Liability, and Operational Impacts
The Law and Policy of Self-Driving Cars (Past Event)
Are we ready for cars and trucks that don't need us? Automakers, universities, and others are researching a range of advanced automation technologies that may make so-called autonomous driving possible. This class asks whether driverless vehicles are street legal, who is responsible when they crash, what trade-offs they require -- and, in each case, who gets to decide. Read more » about The Law and Policy of Self-Driving Cars
Understanding the Legal Issues of Driverless Car Integration - Driverless Car Summit
CIS Resident Fellow Bryant Walker Smith will be participating in a panel session on "Understanding the Legal Issues of Driverless Car Integration" with Dorothy Glancy, Professor of Law, Santa Clara Law and Stephen S. Wu, Partner, Cooke Kobrick & Wu LLP. Read more » about Understanding the Legal Issues of Driverless Car Integration - Driverless Car Summit
Meet the Center for Internet and Society (Past Event)
Learn about the Center for Internet and Society. Come meet CIS and hear about our exciting work and ways to get involved. Learn about the Fair Use Project, Consumer Privacy Project, and more. Lunch will be provided. RSVP for this free event today. Read more » about Meet the Center for Internet and Society