NHTSA Removing Regulatory Barriers for Vehicles with Automated Driving Systems
Comment Deadline: 5 March 2018
Summary: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has requested comments related to current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that may affect development of automated driving system-equipped (ADS-equipped) vehicles. NHTSA would like commenters to identify FMVSS that would limit an entity’s ability to develop ADS-equipped vehicles without any manual controls (e.g., steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals), or designed with unconventional interiors (e.g., seats that slide or rotate). In addition, NHTSA has requested comments on whether the requirements or test procedures creating such barriers should be modified to eliminate the testing difficulties or amended to exempt certain ADS-equipped vehicles. NHTSA has also asked what kind of research must be completed in order to remove or mitigate such barriers. Click here to view the federal register notice.
FTA Research Program: Automated Transit Buses
Comment Deadline: 2 March 2018
Summary: Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has requested comments related to ADS-equipped transit buses for the purpose of informing FTA on the current state of transit bus automated technology, and to assist existing FTA in identifying potential areas of future research. FTA explicitly requested comments related to the following questions: (1) What transit bus automation and supplemental technologies currently exist, and/or are being developed? (2) What light-duty and commercial vehicle automation technologies currently on the market or in development could be transferred or applied to transit buses? (3) Are there any new business models or processes that may arise in response to or may accommodate transit bus automation, including, but not limited to, cross-organizational data management and exchange? Click here to view the federal register notice.
Contributors: Adam Aft & Miguel Naguit
