NHTSA Proposes Rule on Safe Deployment of Self-Driving Vehicles

In a recently published RAIL, The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law article, “NHTSA Proposes Rule on Safe Deployment of Self-Driving Vehicles,” Crowell & Moring’s Rebecca Baden Chaney and Rukiya Mohamed discuss the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) advance notice of proposed rulemaking that marks a departure from the way in which the agency has previously addressed automated driving systems (ADS), and automotive safety more generally. Although NHTSA does not intend to issue any Federal standards around ADS yet, the agency is considering how it can use regulatory authority to place a focus on safety measures as ADS technology develops. This article outlines NHTSA’s proposed safety framework and possible implementation of that framework.

The authors note that NHTSA is seeking comments from the public through April 1, 2021 with the goal of developing a “safety framework” to “define, assess, and manage the safety of ADS performance while ensuring the needed flexibility to enable further innovation.”