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A country wants to enable autonomous cars without brake pedals or steering wheels
🇦🇷 Argentina /Technology

A country wants to enable autonomous cars without brake pedals or steering wheels

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed removing the requirement for fully autonomous vehicles to have manual brake pedals.
  • This change could facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles designed without traditional driver controls, such as Tesla's Cybercab.
  • The proposal is part of a broader review of U.S. federal motor vehicle safety standards.

The United States is moving towards adapting its regulations for autonomous vehicles, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposing to eliminate the requirement for manual brake pedals in fully autonomous cars. This potential change aims to streamline the integration of vehicles designed from the ground up without traditional driving interfaces.

The change, if advanced, could facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles conceived from scratch without a traditional driving position.

— La NacionReporting on the potential impact of the NHTSA's proposed regulatory change.

While the safety standards for braking performance will remain in effect, including stopping distance requirements, the removal of the manual brake pedal mandate could accelerate the deployment of vehicles like Tesla's Cybercab, a two-seater electric vehicle lacking a steering wheel or pedals, and similar projects from Waymo and Zoox. Currently, vehicles with mandatory human controls like steering wheels and brake pedals do not require specific NHTSA approval, whereas models designed without these features must seek exemptions, a process that has reportedly caused frustration due to its slow pace.

Autonomous vehicles that maintain mandatory human controls, such as steering wheels, brake pedals, or mirrors, do not require specific NHTSA approval to circulate.

— La NacionExplaining the current regulatory difference between vehicles with and without traditional controls.

This proposal is part of a larger review of federal motor vehicle safety standards. The NHTSA is also developing separate regulations for autonomous vehicle safety performance testing. The automotive industry has long called for a clearer federal framework for autonomous vehicles, as regulators grapple with adapting rules originally intended for human-driven cars. Previous proposals, like a voluntary national framework for assessing autonomous vehicles, faced pushback from manufacturers for being too strict and from safety advocates for insufficient oversight capabilities by the NHTSA.

The North American automotive industry has been demanding a clearer federal framework for autonomous cars for years, while regulators try to define how to adapt rules designed for vehicles with human drivers.

— La NacionDescribing the ongoing debate and industry demands regarding autonomous vehicle regulation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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