Skip to main content

NHTSA seeking comments on self-driving vehicle regulations

The National Highway Traffic-Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking for comments on how best to test and deploy self-driving vehicles in the Department of Transportation's October 2017 Significant Rulemaking Report. In the report, NHSTA seeks comments to identify any unnecessary regulatory barriers to Automated Safety Technologies, and for the testing and compliance certification of motor vehicles with unconventional automated vehicles designs. In addition, particularly those that are not equipped with
November 6, 2017 Read time: 1 min

The National Highway Traffic-Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking for comments on how best to test and deploy self-driving vehicles in the Department of Transportation's October 2017 Significant Rulemaking Report.

In the report, NHSTA seeks comments to identify any unnecessary regulatory barriers to Automated Safety Technologies, and for the testing and compliance certification of motor vehicles with unconventional automated vehicles designs. In addition, particularly those that are not equipped with controls for a human driver; e.g., steering wheel, brake or accelerator pedal. Further, NHTSA seeks comments on the research that would be required to remove such barriers. This action will inform subsequent steps in the regulatory process to amend Federal motor vehicle safety standards and other motor vehicle regulations in order to safely lay a path for innovative automated vehicle designs and technology.

NHTSA will consider submitted comments in future amendments to federal motor vehicle safety standards and other rules related to self-driving technologies.

Related Content

  • Observing driver behaviour in real traffic condition
    March 16, 2016
    The EU’s UDRIVE project will investigate driver behaviour in terms of road safety and the decarbonisation of road transport, as Nicole van Nes and Silvia Curbelo explain. There were nearly 25,700 fatalities on European Union (EU) roads in 2014 or, to look it another way, roughly 70 people are killed in traffic accidents on European roads every day - and many more are injured. Around 22% of the fatalities are pedestrians, 15% will be motorcycle riders and 8% cyclists. So despite the improvements in road safe
  • AV trucks now operating in $8.8m pilot between Ohio and Indiana
    April 16, 2025
    Two tractor-trailers are travelling on I-70 between Columbus and Indianapolis
  • Bigger role for data protection and privacy policies in transportation
    June 11, 2015
    Dr Caitlin Cottrill, lecturer at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Geosciences, examines the impact of privacy legislation on the transportation sector. Growing reliance on big data, underscored by the increasing ubiquity of smart infrastructure and the ‘Internet of Things’, has profoundly impacted the regulatory environment experienced by transportation professionals. This is particularly the case in relation to the privacy of personally identifying information (PII). There has been increased attenti
  • V2V technologies expected to offer safety benefits, but challenges exist
    November 4, 2013
    A new report by the US Government Accountability office (GAO) expects vehicle to vehicle (V2V) technologies to offer safety benefits, but says that a variety of deployment challenges exist. The report finds that development of V2V technologies has progressed to the point of real world testing, and if broadly deployed, they are anticipated to offer significant safety benefits.