The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made the proposal on Friday. The new government framework steering wheels, It will make it easier for companies to deploy autonomous vehicles at scale without traditional manual driving controls such as pedals and mirrors.
The guidelines require AV companies to share more secure information with the agency.
The agency also introduced ADS-equipped vehicle safety, known as AV STEP; The AV industry was anticipating NHTSA's proposal when it first proposed a transparency and evaluation program. The goal of the program, among other things, is to allow NHTSA to greenlight sales and commercialization of autonomous vehicles that do not meet federal safety standards due to lack of controls.
Today, Autonomous vehicles with all their manual components are allowed to operate on public roads without oversight by NHTSA. But any AVs that can't be taken over by a human driver must get an exemption from the agency.
Otherwise, they're Zoox. The Amazon-owned company has “self-certified” the safety of its vehicles, insisting NHTSA does not need an exemption. Actively investigating..
Zoox, which recently launched its kitchen model Cars in San FranciscoIt's not the only AV company looking to ditch the steering wheel and pedals. cruise before falling down It is planned to spread. originits purpose-built robot; measure. Einride, an electric and autonomous truck company, is aiming for commercialization. AV cargo pod There aren't even taxis for drivers, let alone pedals. versus Tesla has unveiled its two-door robot prototype. It plans to start production in 2025 or 2026, CEO Elon Musk said in October.
NHTSA's proposed program is voluntary, which would give participants “an opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to transparency about their vehicles and operations” by regularly reporting on safety issues.
The AV STEP program has two tiers — one for vehicles built with human control; It has a reverse design that can be managed by humans. Another is for vehicles built without such controls. As public roads are subsequently flooded, NHTSA hopes that the program and data reporting will better equip the agency to “address the emerging risks associated with their deployment.”
To qualify for the program, companies are required to submit safety data on the “design, development and operations” of their AVs. Once admitted, Participants will be required to submit periodic and incident-initiated reports to NHTSA — such as crash reports — that all agencies will be free to publish in a transparent manner.
NHTSA's request for more information comes as President-elect Donald Trump's transition team signals a desire. Repeal the Biden-era requirement for car crash reporting. Musk and Tesla object. Tesla has the largest market share of vehicles with self-driving features in the US, which is why the majority of the total number of complaints are from Teslas. Tesla has been the target of several NHTSA investigations, some stemming from roughly 1,500 crashes reported by the automaker to federal safety regulators.
It's too early to say whether crash-reporting AVs will be phased out under Trump's administration, but NHTSA has said it wants to collect such data so that it can keep up with the fast-moving industry as it hopes to one day set minimum standards for AV performance.
Some industry advocates say the proposed framework is premature. Cathy Chase, president of Highway and Auto Safety, pointed out that the proposal was released shortly after a series of studies by NHTSA that showed the impact of federal safety standards on 860,000 fatalities from 1968 to 2019.
“Expanding ADS deployment — without the safety protections provided by the FMVSSs — appears premature at this time and lacks independent research and data to support the action,” Chase said. Statement.