This article was written for Law.com and was published February 14, 2025.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a new set of proposed rules and guidelines for motor vehicles with automated driving systems (ADS), or put differently, self-driving vehicles. These new rules will "provide a valuable national framework at a pivotal time in the development of ADS technology. Safe, transparent, and responsible development is critical for this technology to be trusted by the public and reach its full potential. This proposal lays the foundation for those goals and supports NHTSA's safety mission," said NHTSA Chief Counsel Adam Raviv in a statement discussing the overarching goals of the new proposed rules and guidelines. Importantly, the new rules seek to further advance the goals of the DOT's Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicles 4.0 (AV 4.0) by promoting safety, security, privacy and equitable access in the global autonomous vehicle market.
Currently, the federal government has opted to defer most of the legislative and regulatory oversight concerning ADS-equipped vehicle to the states, who are in better positions to tailor their own policies, guidelines, and statutes in response to the unique and evolving technological, infrastructural and socio-economic landscape that these vehicles present. Under NHTSA's existing regulatory framework, which implements the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, motor vehicle manufacturers may already deploy ADS-equipped vehicles on public roads, as long as they comply with existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMCSS) and state/local laws. Some states have decided to constrict the ability of these vehicles to operate on its roadways, while others, like Florida and Arizona, are more progressive and permissive with their frameworks. Arizona is often cited as having one of the most permissive frameworks for autonomous vehicles (AV). It does not require a human safety operator in the vehicle for testing, which has made it a hub for AV testing and deployment. Companies only need to notify the Arizona Department of Transportation before testing, and the state has actively courted AV companies through executive orders. Similarly, Florida's laws have developed to actively encourage AV innovation within the state by limiting manufacturer liability (see Fla. Stat. Section 316.86), while setting baselines of safety and insurance requirements. See Fla. Stat. Section 627.749.
AV STEP Participation Program
While still maintaining this deference to the states, NHTSA has
proposed a national program titled, the "ADS-equipped Vehicle
Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program" (AV STEP), which
would establish a national framework for the federal
government's oversight and evaluation of compliant ADS-equipped
vehicles on public roadways. Critical to ADS-equipped vehicle data
development and public trust, AV STEP creates a voluntary process
for entities (or individuals) with operational control over
ADS-equipped vehicles to apply and participate at one of two
levels: Step 1 and Step 2.
Generally, Step 1 would apply to ADS-equipped vehicles that rely on fallback personnel, which the proposed rules define in § 597.102 as "specially trained individuals that continuously supervise the performance of prototype ADS-operated vehicles and intervene whenever necessary to prevent a hazardous event by exercising any means of vehicle control." Step 2 would apply to vehicles that do not rely on fallback personnel. The goal of these two categories of testing groups would be to promote greater transparency into participating operations to help NHTSA study and oversee these newer technologies as they are being implemented in real time. This enhanced transparency should promote more responsible development of ADS technology, as well as offer a way for vehicle manufacturers, operators, municipalities, researchers, and policymakers to benefit from greater opportunities for public awareness and accelerated learning into the technology.
AV STEP Exemption Pathways for ADS-Equipped
Vehicles
In addition to the voluntary review process, NHTSA also proposes to
streamline the "special exemption" process for
ADS-equipped vehicles under 49 U.S.C. 30114(a), which allows
exemptions for vehicles used in specific contexts, like research,
investigations, demonstratives, training or shows. These exemptions
for ADS-equipped vehicles and manufacturers in the later or final
stages of development will be vital for efficient industry growth
as ADS-equipped vehicles continue engaging in commercial operations
(so long as the commercial purposes do not undermine the public
purposes for which the exemption is issued, e.g., for research,
investigation, training, etc.).
These exemptions would still require independent assessments, specific reporting requirements to manage scaled operations, and scrutiny from both DOT and NHTSA as the technologies develop. But as these newer ADS-equipped vehicles continue to rapidly develop and emerge as realistic options for public use, AV STEP's new guidelines governing these special exemptions aim to create a much needed comprehensive and efficient process for NHTSA and DOT to oversee the expected larger operations in the future. Quoted from the proposed rule, Section (II)(B)(2)(a): "NHTSA believes that the current ADS landscape warrants the availability of a dedicated exemption process for ADS-equipped vehicles, and the existence of this process would also better equip NHTSA for the potential growth of ADS technology in the future."
Future Goals
The framework of NHTSA's new rules and guidelines create
clearer goal posts for the autonomous vehicle industry to target as
these technologies continue to rapidly develop and become
implemented on public roadways. The voluntary application and
oversight process will create much needed transparency for the
public's perception of these vehicles as state legislators
continue to encourage development of ADS technology and implemented
use of these vehicles on public roads. And AV STEP's
supplementation to the "special exemptions" for
ADS-equipped vehicles will create a more efficient operation for
NHTSA to manage compliance for the players involved in getting
these vehicles on public roadways, while still ensuring that the
broader safety goals can be met as efficiently as possible.
The public may comment on these new rules by May 17, 2025, and can be found at docket No. NHTSA-2024-0100.
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