Large-Area Emergency Lockdowns with Automated Driving Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.1.22Keywords:
travel restriction, automated vehicle, autonomous vehicle, self-driving, robotaxiAbstract
Region-wide restrictions on personal vehicle travel have a long history in the United States, from riot curfews in the late 1960s to travel bans during snow events to the 2013 shelter-in-place “lockdown” during the search for the perpetrator of the Boston Marathon bombing. Because lockdowns require a tremendous amount of resources to enforce, they are often limited in duration or scope. The introduction of automated driving systems may enable governments to quickly and cost-effectively implement large-scale lockdowns by disrupting wireless communications, inserting road closures into digital maps, exploiting a vehicle’s programming to obey all traffic control devices, or coordinating with vehicle manufacturers. Future vehicles may lack conventional controls, rendering them undrivable by the public. As travel restrictions become easier to implement, governments may enforce them more frequently, over longer durations and wider areas. This article examines the practical, legal, and ethical implications of lockdowns in scenarios where most driving is highly automated and offers guidance on the development of lockdown policies.
Downloads
References
1. ACLU of Massachusetts. (2023, April 5). Looking Back at the FY2023 Boston Police Department Budget. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from The Data for Justice Project website: https://data.aclum.org/2023/04/05/fy2023-boston-police-department-budget/
2. Amador, O., Aramrattana, M., & Vinel, A. (2022). A Survey on Remote Operation of Road Vehicles. IEEE Access, 10, 130135–130154. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3229168
3. American Jurisprudence 2d. (2006a). Constitutional Law. In American Jurisprudence 2d. Eagan, MN: Thomson West.
4. American Jurisprudence 2d. (2006b). Mobs and Riots. In American Jurisprudence 2d. Eagan, MN: Thomson West.
5. American Red Cross. (2003, February). Fact Sheet on Shelter in Place. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from American Red Cross website: https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/Preparedness___Disaster_Recovery/Disaster_Preparedness/Terrorism/shelterinplace.pdf
6. Arjoune, Y., & Faruque, S. (2020). Smart Jamming Attacks in 5G New Radio: A Review. 2020 10th Annual Computing and Communication Workshop and Conference (CCWC), 1010–1015. doi: 10.1109/CCWC47524.2020.9031175
7. Bray, C. (2013). Street Legal: The national security state comes home. The Baffler, (23), 84–91.
8. Bricka, S., Reuscher, T., Schroeder, P., Fisher, M., Beard, J., & Sun, L. (2024). Summary of Travel Trends: 2022 National Household Travel Survey (No. FHWA-HPL-24-009). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved from Federal Highway Administration website: https://nhts.ornl.gov/assets/2022/pub/2022_NHTS_Summary_Travel_Trends.pdf
9. California Department of Motor Vehicles. (2018, December 19). Order to Adopt, Title 13, Division 1, Chapter 1, Article 3.7 – Testing of Autonomous Vehicles. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/Adopted-Regulatory-Text-2019.pdf
10. California Department of Motor Vehicles. (2025, February 4). 2024 Autonomous Vehicle Disengagement Reports (CSV)(driverless). Retrieved July 15, 2024, from California DMV website: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/autonomous-vehicles/disengagement-reports/
11. Chan, K. (2019, March 15). Tech companies scramble to remove New Zealand shooting video. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Associated Press website: https://apnews.com/bcf83a4990bb4904a6addc7ded329075
12. Dano, M. (2023, August 28). Waymo keeps 5G way in the background. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from Light Reading website: https://www.lightreading.com/iot/waymo-keeps-5g-way-in-the-background
13. Davies, A. (2019, March 26). The War to Remotely Control Self-Driving Cars Heats Up. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Wired website: https://www.wired.com/story/designated-driver-teleoperations-self-driving-cars/
14. DeBlasio, A., Regan, T. J., Zirker, M. E., Day, F. B., Crowder, M., Bagdonas, K., … Morin, D. (2002). Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: New York City, September 11, 2001. Washington, DC: United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved from United States Department of Transportation website: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/4339
15. Dennis, E. P., & Brugeman, V. S. (2019). Automated and Connected Vehicle Deployment Efforts: A Primer for Transportation Planners. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Automotive Research. Retrieved from Center for Automotive Research website: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vs7jcaLnyNX5qO_3rtGVb-65YgyrQCzN/view
16. Ducey, D. (2015, August 25). Executive Order 2015-09: Self-Driving Vehicle Testing and Piloting in the State of Arizona; Self-Driving Vehicle Oversight Committee. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://azgovernor.gov/file/2660/download?token=nLkPLRi1
17. Duncan, I., & Thadani, T. (2025, March 11). Robotaxis without a brake pedal or mirrors? Not so fast, feds say. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/11/zoox-autonomous-nhtsa-safety/
18. Escritt, T., & Macdonald, A. (2015, November 26). Brussels lockdown ends but manhunt goes on. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Reuters website: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/brussels-lockdown-ends-but-manhunt-goes-on-idUSKBN0TE26H/
19. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016). Massachusetts. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting website: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/table-26/table-26-state-cuts/table-26-massachusetts.xls
20. Federal Highway Administration. (2017). National Household Travel Survey. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from U.S. Department of Transportation website: https://nhts.ornl.gov/
21. Feldman, J. (2013, April 19). BREAKING: Watertown Suspect Alive And In Police Custody. Retrieved June 25, 2019, from Mediaite website: https://www.mediaite.com/online/breaking-shots-fired-in-watertown/
22. Friedersdorf, C. (2015, April 24). The Mistake Authorities Made After the Boston Marathon Bombing. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from The Atlantic website: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/shutting-down-boston-was-the-wrong-decision/391388/
23. Goodall, N. (2020). Non-technological challenges for the remote operation of automated vehicles. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 142, 14–26. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2020.09.024
24. Goodall, N., & Lee, E. (2019). Comparison of Waze crash and disabled vehicle records with video ground truth. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 1, 100019. doi: 10.1016/j.trip.2019.100019
25. Green, J., & Winter, C. (2013, April 19). It Costs $333 Million to Shut Down Boston for a Day. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Bloomberg Businesswek website: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-19/it-costs-333-million-to-shut-down-boston-for-a-day
26. Grover, K., Lim, A., & Yang, Q. (2014). Jamming and anti-jamming techniques in wireless networks: A survey. International Journal of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing, 17(4), 197–215. doi: 10.1504/IJAHUC.2014.066419
27. Harris, R., Edwards, D., Homel, P., & Fuller, G. (2015). An empirical basis for the ratio of crowd controllers to patrons (No. Monograph Series No. 54). Canberra, Australia: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund. Retrieved from National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund website: https://www.gkstill.com/Support/Links/Documents/crowd-controller-ratios.pdf
28. Hsu, S. S. (2009, February 1). Police agencies seek right to jam cell signals. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from NBC News website: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28956016
29. Jennings, B., & Arras, J. (2008). Ethical Guidance for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response: Highlighting Ethics and Values in a Vital Public Health Service. Washington, DC: Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
30. Kerr, D. (2023, August 28). Protesters, armed with traffic cones, are immobilizing driverless cars. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from NPR website: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1196283050/protesters-armed-with-traffic-cones-are-immobilizing-driverless-cars
31. Kinnard, M. (2019, March 28). Federal bills would let state prisons jam cellphone signals. Retrieved February 3, 2020, from Associated Press website: https://apnews.com/3d96a498f3d24bd68311839f9973defd
32. Klungle, R. (1997). The Role of Simulation in Call Center Management. Proceedings of the 1997 MUSG Conference. Presented at the MUSG Conference.
33. Kusano, K. D., Scanlon, J. M., Chen, Y.-H., McMurry, T. L., Gode, T., & Victor, T. (2025, May 2). Comparison of Waymo Rider-Only Crash Rates by Crash Type to Human Benchmarks at 56.7 Million Miles. arXiv. doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2505.01515
34. Liu, R., Wang, J., & Zhang, B. (2020). High Definition Map for Automated Driving: Overview and Analysis. The Journal of Navigation, 73(2), 324–341. doi: 10.1017/S0373463319000638
35. McCone, J. A., Christopher, W. M., Broady, E. S., Call, A. V., Cassasa, C. S., Jones, J. E.,Neumann, R. G. (1965, December 2). Violence in the City—An End or a Beginning? Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Internet Archive website: https://archive.org/details/ViolenceInCity
36. McGinty, M. D. (2015). Evacuate or Shelter-in-Place? Decision-making for Hospistals during Hurricane Sandy (Thesis, Johns Hopkins University). Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved from http://dspace-prod.mse.jhu.edu:8080/handle/1774.2/39659
37. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Lockdown. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Merriam-Webster.com website: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lockdown
38. Metz, R. (2018, January 9). Baidu thinks autonomous-car maps could be bigger business than search in China. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from MIT Technology Review website: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609936/baidu-sees-maps-for-self-driving-cars-as-bigger-business-than-web-search/
39. Mueller, A. S., Cicchino, J. B., & Calvanelli, J. V. (2024). Habits, attitudes, and expectations of regular users of partial driving automation systems. Journal of Safety Research, 88, 125–134. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.10.015
40. National Conference of State Legislatures. (2020, February 18). Autonomous Vehicles | Self-Driving Vehicles Enacted Legislation. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from National Conference of State Legislatures website: https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/autonomous-vehicles
41. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2018, January 18). Removing Regulatory Barriers for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Federal Register website: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00671/removing-regulatory-barriers-for-vehicles-with-automated-driving-systems
42. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2022, March 10). NHTSA Finalizes First Occupant Protection Safety Standards for Vehicles Without Driving Controls. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website: https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-finalizes-first-occupant-protection-safety-standards-vehicles-without-driving
43. National Transportation Safety Board. (2019). Highway Accident Brief: Low-Speed Collision Between Truck-Tractor and Autonomous Shuttle, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 8, 2017 (No. NTSB/HAB-19/06). Washington, DC: National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved from National Transportation Safety Board website: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/hab1906.pdf
44. Neumeier, S., Gay, N., Dannheim, C., & Facchi, C. (2018). On the Way to Autonomous Vehicles Teleoperated Driving. AmE 2018 - Automotive Meets Electronics; 9th GMM-Symposium, 1–6.
45. New Canaan Advertiser. (2023, April 19). Trains stopped in Norwalk, Darien in search for Boston suspect [New Canaan Advertiser]. Retrieved July 12, 2024, from https://www.ncadvertiser.com/news/article/trains-stopped-in-norwalk-darien-in-search-for-4447489.php
46. Papathanassiou, A. (Tolis), & Khoryaev, A. (2017). Cellular V2X as the Essential Enabler of Superior Global Connected Transportation Services. IEEE 5G Tech Focus, 1(2). Retrieved from https://futurenetworks.ieee.org/tech-focus/june-2017/cellular-v2x
47. Quinn, G. (2013, April 23). Civil Libertarians Appalled by Tsarnaev Manhunt, Boston Residents Thrilled. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from Reason.com website: https://reason.com/archives/2013/04/23/mass-civil-libertarians-react-to-fridays
48. Riley, K. (2020, October 21). The Businesses Where Google Is Biggest (and the Ones Where It Isn’t). Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-businesses-where-google-is-biggest-and-the-ones-where-it-isnt-11603293145
49. SAE International. (2021). Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles (No. J3016_202104). Retrieved from https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/
50. Scholtes, J., & Margetta, R. (2013, May 6). After Boston, Expect More Lockdowns. CQ Magazine, 800–801.
51. Stoeltje, G., Antonio, A. J., & Goodin, G. (2017). Policy Brief: How Does Texas law Change the Legal Landscape for Automated Vehicles. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Retrieved from Texas A&M Transportation Institute website: https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/PRC-2017-5.pdf
52. Struck, D., & Sullivan, K. (2013, April 19). In Boston and suburbs, shutdown is surreal. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from The Washington Post website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-boston-and-suburbs-shutdown-is-surreal/2013/04/19/1a5c93a4-a90a-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2f7563f2ec8d
53. Sylvester, C. (2014). TerrorWars: Boston, Iraq. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 7(1), 11–23. doi: 10.1080/17539153.2014.881202
54. Tenhundfeld, N. L., de Visser, E. J., Ries, A. J., Finomore, V. S., & Tossell, C. C. (2020). Trust and Distrust of Automated Parking in a Tesla Model X. Human Factors, 62(2), 194–210. doi: 10.1177/0018720819865412
55. The Washington Post. (2013, April 19). Washington Post Poll. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from The Washington Post website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_20130418.html
56. United Nations. (1948, December 10). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
57. United States. Cong. House. Committee on Homeland Security. (2014). Boston Marathon Bombings, One Year On: A Look Back to Look Forward, Hearings, April 9, 2014 (No. 113th Congress. 2nd Session; pp. i–48). Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.cbhear/fdsysaaym0001&i=1
58. U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. (2014). The Boston Marathon Bombings, One Year On: A Look Back to Look Forward. Washington, DC: United States House Of Representatives. Retrieved from United States House Of Representatives website: https://www.congress.gov/113/chrg/CHRG-113hhrg88783/CHRG-113hhrg88783.pdf
59. Waymo. (2020, September 21). The Waymo Driver Handbook: How our highly-detailed maps help unlock new locations for autonomous driving. Retrieved July 15, 2024, from Waymo Blog website: https://waymo.com/blog/2020/09/the-waymo-driver-handbook-mapping
60. Waze. (2022). Waze for Cities Data Program. Retrieved May 6, 2025, from Waze website: https://web-assets.waze.com/cms/Waze%20for%20Cities-Two-Pager_DIGITAL_Final.pdf
61. Wilhelm, K. E. (2010). Freedom of Movement at a Standstill—Toward the Establishment of a Fundamental Right to Intrastate Travel. Boston University Law Review, 90, 2461.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Disaster Risk Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal operates under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, adaptation, and transformation in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
Authors retain the copyright of their articles.
The International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) encourages and permits authors to:
-
Post pre-print (submitted version), post-print (accepted version), and publisher’s version/PDF of their articles on personal websites, institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and academic networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or departmental websites,
-
Do so at any time, including before or after publication,
-
Provided that appropriate credit is given to the original publication in this journal, including:
-
Full bibliographic details
-
A clear mention of the journal name
-
A direct link to the article’s DOI (as an HTML link)
-
No prior permission is required from the publisher or editors for such actions, as long as the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license are followed.
