The United States (US) government announced measures to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles by relaxing some safety requirements designed for human drivers and simplifying safety incident reporting rules.
The US Transportation Secretary, Sean Total, was quoted as saying by Reuters on Friday, April 25, stating that this new framework aims to help US automakers compete with rivals from China.
"Our government is racing with China to innovate more and the stakes cannot be even higher. With a new framework we will cut the bureaucracy," saidLAd.
The move allows some autonomous vehicles that do not fully comply with federal safety standards, such as rearview mirror requirements, to operate on US roads. Revised rules also allow automakers to report light accidents every month and set property damage thresholds for reporting minor accidents involving autonomous vehicles.
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However, this decision drew mixed reactions. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety expressed disappointment because the US Department of Transportation chose to reduce, instead of improving, reporting requirements. They also raised concerns about safety exemptions, stating that without protection, safety regulations, transparency, and accountability, the success of the most banned AV (autonomous vehicles) would result in deadly consequences.
On the other hand, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trading group representing almost all major automakers, praised USDOT's move. They stated that the industry had been hampered by the government's inaction.
"This industry is hampered by the government's inaction. This announcement shows that the government is now acting with a sense of urgency, so we are not handing over AV leadership to China and other countries," they said in a statement.
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is also expanding its automatic vehicle exemption program to include domestically produced vehicles. The current program only allows companies to operate inappropriate imported automatic vehicles on US roads.
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