WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said it was streamlining reviews of requests filed by automakers seeking to deploy self-driving vehicles without required human controls like steering wheels, brake pedals or mirrors.
NHTSA has authority to grant petitions to allow up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer to operate on U.S. roads without required human controls but the agency has spent years reviewing several exemption petitions without taking action.
Automakers have expressed frustration with the agency’s slow reviews of autonomous vehicles. Under the law, fully self-driving vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they have required human controls.
Manufacturers must demonstrate vehicles without human controls provide an equivalent safety level and exemptions are in the public interest.
In 2018, GM petitioned NHTSA to deploy up to 2,500 cars without steering wheels or brake pedals on U.S. roads. In 2020, GM withdrew the petition. GM in 2022 again sought NHTSA approval to deploy vehicles without human controls. GM withdrew the petition in October.
Ford in 2023 withdrew its self-driving petition filed in July 2021 with NHTSA, citing its decision to close its self-driving venture Argo AI in 2022.
Tesla tentatively plans to begin offering rides on its self-driving robotaxis to the public on June 22, CEO Elon Musk said this week, but those vehicles have required human controls.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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