Federal regulators are clearing the way for robotaxis to operate without manual controls like steering wheels or eventually even brake pedals as the rules start to catch up to the evolving technology. Amazon’s fully autonomous Zoox vehicles got approval to begin charging customers for rides in the specially designed cars that feature four inward-facing seats once they secure state and local approval.
Regulatory Update
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also proposed a rule last month to allow robotaxis to operate without brake pedals, but that proposal is still pending. Administrator Jonathan Morrison said his agency wants to update the regulations to fit these fully autonomous vehicles while still acting as the “cop on the beat to make sure that this is being done right.”
Most vehicle safety regulations were written decades ago, always with the assumption that there would be a human driver behind the wheel. But Morrison said that things like steering wheels, windshield wipers and side-view mirrors aren’t really needed in an autonomous vehicle.
The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety group raised concerns about Zoox’s plan to operate without a steering wheel or other standard controls because the company didn’t provide detailed evidence to show that its vehicles could operate safely on public roads.
Safety Concerns
Morrison said this technology does offer the promise of never driving distracted or drunk like human drivers do, but robotaxis have had some problems. Sometimes they’re just weird behaviors like stopping in the middle of the road or struggling to get out of a parking lot. But he said NHTSA responded to the incidents of autonomous cars passing school buses or interfering with first responders, with investigations, recalls and calls to action.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said recently that the limited crash data the government requires autonomous vehicle companies to submit makes it hard to assess the safety record of these robotaxis as they continue to expand across the country.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
