NHTSA and SAE Launch Initiative for Autonomous-Vehicle Safety Standards

Autonomous-vehicle developers, regulators and the public still lack a standard way to determine when self-driving technology is safe enough for roads. Companies currently answer that question largely through their own testing, while automated driving systems have no equivalent to the licensing test required for human drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it is developing a federal framework for automated vehicles. Existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) were designed for conventional vehicles and do not fully address vehicles such as the Tesla Cybercab and Zoox robotaxi, which lack equipment including pedals, steering wheels and traditional mirrors.

NHTSA has reached an agreement with SAE to launch ASCEND, a government-industry initiative intended to accelerate data-driven performance standards for automated driving systems. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the consortium’s priority is determining ADS competency, which could inform a future federal motor vehicle safety standard.

Morrison said the framework should establish safety as its foundation without stifling innovation. He also said a national competency standard could address the patchwork of inconsistent state and local requirements while supporting the safe development and deployment of autonomous vehicles. The initiative has not yet announced a timeline for producing ADS standards.