The feds are paving the way for a robot without steering wheels and pedals

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed on Friday new national framework this could make it easier for companies to deploy autonomous vehicles at scale without traditional mechanical controls such as steering wheels, pedals and side-view mirrors.

The guidelines also require AV companies to share more security information with the agency.

The AV industry has been waiting for NHTSA’s proposal since last year, when the agency first proposed the ADS-equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program, known as AV STEP. The purpose of the program was, among other things, to allow NHTSA to authorize the sale and commercialization of autonomous vehicles that do not meet federal safety standards due to the lack of manual controls.

Today, autonomous vehicles with all their mechanical parts are allowed to operate on public roads without NHTSA oversight. But any AV that cannot be received by a human driver must be agency free.

Unless they’re Zoox, of course. Amazon-owned company claims it doesn’t need exemption from NHTSA because it ‘self-proves’ vehicle safety – agency claims is actively investigating.

Zoox, which recently started manufacturing as a toaster Cars in San Franciscoisn’t the only AV company looking to ditch the steering wheel and pedals. cruise, before falling under was planning to place Originpurpose-built robotaxis to scale. Electric and autonomous freight company Einride intends to commercialize the company AV cargo pod it has no driver’s cabin, let alone pedals. And Tesla presented a two-door robotaxi prototype In October, when it plans to start production in 2025 or 2026, according to CEO Elon Musk.

NHTSA’s proposed program is voluntary and would allow participants to “demonstrate their commitment to transparency for their vehicles and operations” by submitting regular safety reports.

The AV STEP program has two tiers – one for vehicles with human-driven backup designs; and another for vehicles built without such controls. As more of the latter begin to flood public streets, NHTSA hopes the program and data reporting will better equip the agency to “address the risks associated with their deployment.”

To qualify for the program, companies must provide information on the security of their AVs’ “design, development and operations.” Once accepted, participants will be required to submit both periodic and incident reports to NHTSA, such as accident reports — all of which the agency is free to publish in the name of transparency.

NHTSA’s call for more information comes as President-elect Donald Trump has made his transition team’s wishes known. repeal the Biden-era requirement for car accident reporting Musk and Tesla are against it. Tesla has the largest market share of cars with automated driving features in the US, and thus the majority of total accidents come from Teslas. Tesla has been targeted in several NHTSA investigations, some stemming from about 1,500 crashes the automaker has reported to federal safety regulators.

It’s too early to say whether crash reporting for AVs will be eliminated under the Trump regime, but NHTSA says it wants to collect such data to keep up with the fast-growing industry ahead of a day when it will set minimum standards for AV performance.

Some industry advocates say the proposed framework is premature. Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Vehicle Safety, noted that the proposal comes shortly after NHTSA released a series of studies showing the impact of federal safety standards in saving more than 860,000 lives from 1968 to 2019.

“Expanding ADS enforcement — and without the safety protections provided by the FMVSS — seems premature at this time and lacks independent research and data to support such action,” Chase said. statement.