An automotive coalition including the likes of Ford and Volvo is calling on U.S. regulators to amend federal safety standards on the testing of autonomous vehicles.
The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, which also includes Google, Uber and Lyft, has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to change standards that essentially requiring them to have a driver on board and, in their opinion, adversely affect fully self-driving cars. The U.S. Congress has also been asked to introduce legislation to help the deployment of autonomous vehicles.
In a statement, the Coalition said: “The federal government should take additional steps to enable safe and rapid deployment. It is now time for NHTSA to pursue targeted rulemakings to amend key safety standards that limit L4/L5 vehicles by currently mandating human operation, and we call on Congress to enact legislation to facilitate deployment of fully self-driving technology.”
In September, the U.S. government issued the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy aimed at providing nationwide guidance for the introduction of self-driving technologies. Although there is no such law yet, carmakers and technology firms alike are clearly eager for key changes to be made.
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