The U.S. government has announced new regulations aimed at changing safety standards for car passengers that could be a hindrance to self-driving cars.
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government will announce new regulations aimed at changing automobile passenger safety standards that could hinder self-driving cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking comment on proposed rule changes to account for vehicles that don’t have manual controls like a steering wheel or brake pedals, and that may not have a driver in a traditional driver’s seat.
The agency said in a statement Tuesday that the proposal would revise requirements and testing procedures and clarify that passenger protection standards do not apply to vehicles built specifically to carry cargo rather than people.
“We do not want regulations to be enacted so far before automated technologies are well developed that they create unintended and unnecessary barriers to innovation and improved highway safety,” NHTSA Acting Administrator James Owens said in a statement.
The proposed rule would apply passenger protection standards to the traditional driver’s seat in an autonomous vehicle, rather than safety requirements specific to the driver’s seat, the agency said. “The rationale discussed in this notice is that if a vehicle does not have a steering control system, then occupants should not need protection from a steering control system,” the rule states.
According to NHTSA, the regulations apply not only to autonomous vehicles but also to vehicles that can still be controlled by a human in the driver’s seat.
NHTSA said in the rule that many of the safety potential of autonomous systems are “unproven and of unknown impact,” but it still believes removing barriers is the best path forward.
Read more: US allows self-driving cars to ignore safety rules for human drivers
Jason Levine, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety Advocates, said NHTSA should not roll back regulatory safeguards for technology that is “unproven and may actually be unsafe.” In a statement, he said the government should focus on existing safety measures “rather than corporate pandering that lobbyists want and experts question.”
The public has about 60 days to comment on the proposal, and NHTSA said it will implement the rules based on the comments.
The regulations target self-driving cars and do not address several recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board last month regarding partially automated vehicles with driver assistance systems.
Following several fatal crashes involving electric vehicles equipped with Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assistance system, the NTSB recommended that NHTSA expand testing of whether partially self-driving systems can avoid crashing into common obstacles such as highway barriers. The NTSB also asked NHTSA to evaluate autonomy to determine where the systems can operate safely, and to develop and enforce standards for monitoring drivers to ensure they are paying attention while using the systems.
NHTSA said at the time it would review the NTSB report and said all commercially available vehicles are required to have a human driver maintain control at all times.
Left: The U.S. government is announcing new regulations aimed at changing safety standards for car passengers that could be a hindrance to self-driving cars.
