Safety first

Administration support of self-driving car guidelines seen as win for the industry

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Trump administration has established its support for self-driving car deployment following the U.S. Department of Transportation’s release Tuesday of new federal guidelines for automobile manufacturers and technology companies vying to create fully automated systems.

The new guidelines are seen as a win for the automated vehicles industry, allowing the private sector’s innovation to progress without much formal regulation.

At the University of Michigan on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao introduced the department’s voluntary guidance, “Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2.0” — a set of suggestions for states and industry intended to encourage, not hamper, autonomous vehicle development.

Ms. Chao said the goal is to “usher in this new era of transportation, innovation and safety,” noting the U.S. is a global leader in automated vehicles technology that could save countless lives later down the road.

The new guidance, formulated in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the past year, is partially based on 160 replies that the NHTSA received during a public comment period in response to earlier guidelines — the “Federal Automated Vehicles Policy” — issued last September.

The new guidance puts the focus on 12 safety elements the agency believes are pivotal in design considerations, including vehicle cybersecurity, crashworthiness, data collection, and consumer education and training.

The document also outlines federal and state roles in automated driving systems. NHTSA remains responsible for regulating safety design, performance aspects and equipment in motor vehicles. States must regulate the human driver and licensing.

Players in the autonomous vehicle landscape are encouraged to regularly submit safety self-assessments, but it’s not a requirement.

The NHTSA said it “strongly encourages states not to codify” the guidance, incorporating it into state statutes, to avoid any impediment of technological advancement in self-driving cars.

Ms. Chao referred to the guidelines as a “living document” that will allow public