The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said a multi-year, multi-phased look into 81 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards will need work in order to not create barriers for automated vehicles.
According to the NHTSA’s research, technical changes to safety standards would address conformity challenges posed by automated vehicles. Those changes and challenges will inform NHTSA’s modernization efforts, the agency said, which will in turn determine how those standards could be applied to innovative vehicle designs.
“The future of automated vehicles is right around the corner. Under President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s leadership, it’s our mission at NHTSA to design standards that enhance safety and support American innovation. This research will do just that by helping us better understand how our regulations can create barriers to new technologies that will improve safety on our roadways,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said.
Historically, the agency said, safety rules were developed under the assumption a human driver would be operating the vehicle. However, with vehicles that were never designed to be operated by a human, the agency must now explore different vehicle architectures, including the removal of traditional controls, alternative seating layouts and redesigned passenger interfaces.
The NHTSA said it had gathered data and evidence to inform safety-neutral technical translations to allow for innovative, ADS-specific designs that would identify adaptations to test procedures ensuring NHTSA can evaluate compliance with existing safety standards.
The agency issued a Request for Comment to gather public input on any industry changes, product plans, new concepts or emerging issues that may affect the scope of the automated vehicle safety standards.