The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently updated its Federal Automated Vehicles Policy for the first time since 2013. In her Daily Journal article “Long-Awaited Federal Driverless Car Policy,” Attorney Patice Gore discusses the three parts of the policy—Vehicle Performance Guidance, Model State Policy and summary of regulatory tools.
The Vehicle Performance Guidance (VPG) outlines the Department of Transportation’s expectations for manufacturers when it comes to pre-deployment design, development and testing of autonomous vehicles (AVs). “Under the VPG, manufacturers and other entities are to develop a process for the testing, validation and collection of event, incident and crash data to determine the cause of malfunctions, failures, or degradations,” said Gore. Data pertaining to positive autonomous technology outcomes, such as avoiding collision, must also be analyzed.
In her previous Daily Journal article “Long Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicle Laws,” Gore urged manufacturers to develop a process to minimize risks and outline what to do in the case of a cybersecurity breach; however, the VPG has not addressed this issue, nor the question of how to handle privacy issues stemming from the use of data.
In the second part of the policy—the Model State Policy—the NHTSA encourages states to allow the Department of Transportation to be the sole agency that regulates AVs and AV technology. This would create consistency in AV laws between states. The final part of the policy discusses the regulatory tools that can be used to help manufacturers develop AV testing. “There is still a long road ahead for autonomous vehicle laws, but the Federal government is finally beginning its journey,” said Gore.
Read the full article here.