Federal safety regulators Thursday issued final rules allowing autonomous vehicles without manual driving controls like a steering wheel and pedals to meet traditional safety standards, paving the way for a driverless future.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) updated the occupant protection Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to account for vehicles with automated driving systems (ADS) that are not equipped with conventional controls a human driver would use.
Prior to the change, federal safety standards were written only for traditional vehicles that include steering wheels and other manual controls. NHTSA said the new rule clarifies what is required of car makers when applying safety standards to vehicles with ADS technology.
The move will allow vehicle manufacturers to produce self-driving vehicles without human controls if they meet safety regulations.
“Through the 2020s, an important part of USDOT’s safety mission will be to ensure safety standards keep pace with the development of automated driving and driver assistance systems,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
“This new rule is an important step, establishing robust safety standards for ADS-equipped vehicles.”
The rule comes several years after NHTSA began allowing companies to test self-driving vehicles in a limited capacity on U.S. roads, including requiring a human backup driver behind the wheel for safety.
Companies like Waymo and Cruise are testing fully autonomous taxis in some U.S. cities. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car venture, just recently announced it’s partnering with truck fleet operator C.H. Robinson to test commercial autonomous trucking technology in Texas in the coming months.
While the auto industry has made strides in autonomous driving, there are no fully self-driving cars available to consumers on the market at this time, although Tesla offers driver assistance capabilities that require an attentive driver at the wheel.
Cruise, a self-driving subsidiary of General Motors, last month petitioned the NHTSA for permission to build and deploy its Cruise Origin into commercial service. The vehicle is designed to operate without a human driver, so it has no “human-centered features.” Proponents of the autonomous technology say it could significantly avoid fatal traffic accidents.
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