Some safety rules for self-driving cars waived
(Reuters) — The U.S. Transportation Department may waive some vehicle safety rules to speed up development of self-driving vehicles.Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled the new policy guidance for self-driving vehicle testing in Detroit.
Major automakers and technology are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves, but they have complained that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and ultimate deployment of such vehicles.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told automakers it is willing to exempt up to 2,500 vehicles industry-wide from some auto safety standards for up to two years.
Safety regulators will write best practices guidelines for self-driving cars within six months, Foxx said.Regulators will set as a condition that companies demonstrate that their autonomous cars can operate safely.
NHTSA is encouraging automakers to seek exemptions from safety rules if needed to get driverless cars on the road. NHTSA also plans to work with states to develop uniform state regulations on driverless cars.
