Trump Administration Streamlines Regulations to Promote Development of Autonomous Vehicles

The Trump Administration is streamlining some regulations to support the development of autonomous vehicles (AVs), Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Thursday (April 24).

“This Administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Duffy said in a Thursday press release. “As part of DOT’s [Department of Transportation] innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”

Duffy announced two actions that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is taking now, and said more will follow.

In one change, NHTSA will streamline the reporting that is required by its Standing General Order (SGO) on Crash Reporting for vehicles equipped with certain advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems (ADS), aiming to remove unnecessary requirements and sharpen the focus on critical safety information, according to the release.

NHTSA will also expand the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program (AVEP), which was previously open only to imported AVs, to include domestically produced AVs, per the release. AVEP makes it easier for companies to operate non-compliant vehicles on U.S. roads.

In the future, the regulator will take additional actions to prioritize the safety of AVs, remove regulatory barriers to innovation and enable commercial deployment of AVs, according to the release.

NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in the release that the actions announced Thursday will enable AV manufacturers to “develop faster and spend less time on unnecessary process, while still advancing safety.”

“These are the first steps toward making America a more welcoming environment for the next generation of automotive technology,” Simshauser said.

Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, whose members include Gatik, Lyft, Uber and Waymo, said in a Thursday press release that the actions announced by Duffy are “a bold and necessary step in developing a federal policy framework for autonomous vehicles.”

Uber said April 15 that customers based in Atlanta can sign up for a wait list for riders wishing to use its robotaxi service in that city and boost their chances of getting matched with an AV operated by Waymo.