The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday said its four-part Federal Vehicle Automated Policy “sets a proactive approach” to ensure safety and innovation as automated cars become more prevalent on city streets.
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Former NHTSA Administrator Joan Claybrook, an advocate of tougher oversight of vehicle safety, said on Tuesday the agency should not just issue voluntary guidance to govern self-driving cars. While these technologies have the potential to save lives, there must be strong federal standards to protect all drivers.
“There are huge upsides and significant challenges that come with automated vehicle technology, and we will continue the conversation with the public over the coming months and years as this technology develops”, said DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx in an address announcing the policy proposal.
“There has never been a moment like this”.
Automakers should also be allowed to self-certify the safety of autonomous vehicles by following a 15-point checklist for safe design, development, testing and deployment, said officials who briefed reporters.
The NHTSA said it plans to propose a requirement that automakers report to regulators on the results of their testing of self-driving vehicle systems. Though companies are not required to follow the guidance – it is voluntary and does not carry the force of formal regulation – Foxx said he expects compliance. MADD’s national president, Colleen Sheehey-Church, said self-driving cars have the potential to greatly reduce the more than 10,000 fatalities a year caused by drunk driving.
“The absence of something like this policy creates a bit of a vacuum and makes it hard for safety to be addressed properly”, Foxx said.
In that instance, NHTSA said self-driving cars should obey all traffic laws, including speed limits.
Among other items, the guidelines propose more government involvement in the design of these systems, and calls on manufacturers to share more information on the details of these systems, including why they sometimes fail.
The NHTSA also urged states not to require a licensed driver for the most highly automated vehicles.
“If a self-driving auto isn’t safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road”.
“Ninety-four percent of crashes on US roadways are caused by a human choice or error”, says NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “But we think this is a really critical step toward imposing and working toward the level of safety that’s needed in this arena”. It will document whether they are meeting or complying with 15 factors or areas. Other elements will go into effect after public comments are received and analyzed.
In an unusual step, the President offered his thoughts in a column published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the hometown newspaper for a city that finds itself the unexpected center of the self-driving vehicle movement thanks to a partnership between Uber and Carnegie Melon University.
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Automakers can now apply for an exemption that would allow them to deploy test vehicles with designs not compliant with federal standards.
