Author | Liu Yan
NHTSA said the new regulation is a "historic" step in ensuring the same high level of occupant crash protection is maintained for passengers in vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems. This can be seen as a milestone in the regulation of autonomous driving in the United States.
InfoQ March 11 news, according to Reuters report, on March 10, the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the first Occupant Protection Safety Standards for Vehicles Without Driving Controls, Self-driving car manufacturers are no longer required to equip fully autonomous vehicles with manual driving controls to meet the needs of collision standards.
At present, the regulation has not disclosed the specific time of entry into force. The rule states that the effective date is inserted 180 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register. If in effect, this means that fully autonomous vehicles will no longer need to be equipped with manual controls such as traditional steering wheels, brakes or accelerator pedals to meet the requirements of occupant safety protection standards in a collision.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said: "In the 2020s, an important part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's safety mission will be to ensure that safety standards keep pace with the development of autonomous driving and driver assistance systems." "This new regulation is an important step in establishing strong safety standards for vehicles equipped with ADS (Autonomous Driving Systems)."
Safety standards developed decades ago argue that self-driving systems are controlled by humans. As a result, automakers and technology companies often face significant hurdles when deploying driverless autonomous driving system (ADS) vehicles.
Last month, General Motors and its self-driving technology subsidiary Cruise submitted an application to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to build and deploy self-driving cars that don't require human control (no steering wheels or brake pedals).
Previously, occupant protection standards were written for common legacy automotive functions, including steering wheels and other manual controls. The new rules revise the standard so that the requirements of previous guidelines such as "assuming that the vehicle will always have a driver's seat, steering wheel and included steering column, or only one seat for the outside of the front row" will no longer be required.
"For vehicles that are fully ADS-controlled, manual driving control is logically unnecessary," NHTSA said.
First introduced in March 2020, the new rules make it clear that, despite innovative designs, vehicles with ADS technology must continue to offer the same high level of occupant protection as current passenger cars.
Steven Cliff, deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said: "In vehicles equipped with ADS, when the driver changes from a human to a machine, the need to ensure human safety has not changed and must be integrated from the beginning." "With this rule in place, we make sure that manufacturers put safety first."
The NHTSA rules state that children should not occupy the position of "driver" in the traditional sense because the driver's seat position is not designed to protect the child in a collision. But if the child sits in that seat, the car will not stop moving (state) immediately.
NHTSA said existing regulations do not currently prohibit the deployment of self-driving cars as long as they have manual driving control capabilities. As NHTSA continues to consider changing other safety standards, manufacturers may still need to apply to NHTSA for exemptions from selling their ADS-equipped vehicles.
The rule is part of NHTSA's ongoing efforts to ensure public safety as vehicle automation evolves. NHTSA said the agency is involved in overseeing and overseeing the safety testing and deployment of these vehicles. NHTSA's approach to vehicle technology prioritizes safety across multiple areas, including data collection and analysis, research, human factors, rulemaking and enforcement.
Last summer, NHTSA issued a general order requiring crash and accident reports for vehicles equipped with ADS or some advanced driver assistance systems. The report will help NHTSA investigators quickly identify trends in defects that may be present in these automated systems.
In addition, NHTSA began developing safety standards for automatic emergency braking last year. Automatic emergency braking is a driver assistance technology that can help avoid collisions with other road users, including pedestrians.
See the full version of the new regulations:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-03/Final-Rule-Occupant-Protection-Amendment-Automated-Vehicles.pdf
Reference Links:
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-eliminates-human-controls-requirement-fully-automated-vehicles-2022-03-11