The U.S. National Highway Traffic-Safety Administration stated Friday it is searching for input on how it can eliminate regulatory obstructions to self-driving cars.
The auto safety agency stated in a report that it wants to discover any “unnecessary regulatory barriers” to self-driving automobiles “particularly those that are not geared up with controls for a human driver.”
The firm also wants to discuss what research it needs to conduct before deciding whether to remove or rewrite policies. But it could take the firm years to finish the research and settle rule changes, and supporters are pushing Congress to act.
NHTSA stated it is preparing to issue a formal notice in the “near future asking for remark” on the obstacles. The firm wants to make the notice public by the end of November.
Automakers must meet nearly 75 auto security standards, many of which were written with the assumption that a licensed motorist will be in control of the automobile. The firm stated last year that present regulations pose “significant” regulatory difficulties to automobiles without human controls.
In early October, a U.S. Senate committee unanimously gave the green light to a bill focused on speeding the use of self-driving cars without human controls and would permit the agency to waive requirements.
General Motors, Alphabet, Ford and and more have lobbied for the landmark legislation, where as auto safety groups prompted more safeguards and have promised to keep defending changes.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill, and the United States House passed a similar procedure in previous weeks. Automakers would be able to win exemptions from NHTSA for safety rules for as much as 80,000 cars yearly within three years.
Under the Senate procedure, NHTSA would have to compose permanent rules on self-driving vehicles under a decade.
