1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |NHTSA Proposes Rule on Safe Deployment of Self-Driving Vehicles

NHTSA Proposes Rule on Safe Deployment of Self-Driving Vehicles

Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.24.21

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.”

Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 09.23.25

The Other PFAS Shoe Drops: EPA Will Retain and Defend Its CERCLA PFAS Regulation

Responding to the D.C. Circuit’s deadline to inform the court how it wishes to proceed in litigation challenging the agency’s listing of two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stood behind its rule. In a September 17, 2025 filing, EPA told the court that the Trump administration had completed its review and would ultimately keep the Biden-era CERCLA final rule in place. The agency also requested that the court remove—i.e. pause—the abeyance placed on the proceedings, so that the lawsuit could move forward and be adjudicated....