The US Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Thursday a revision to existing regulations aimed at speeding up the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles, while granting a temporary exemption to Amazon's robotaxi operator, Zoox, allowing it to commercially operate driverless vehicles.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in an official statement, directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement a series of new policy adjustments to "accelerate autonomous vehicle (AV) innovation in the United States." The policy guidance includes a temporary exemption permit for Zoox, allowing it to deploy up to 2,500 driverless taxis per year for two years, subject to relevant regulatory mechanisms.
Zoox currently operates in Las Vegas and has completed 500,000 paid rides. The company recently unveiled an upgraded van-style driverless taxi and stated that its production facility in California can produce 100 of these vehicles per week. This vehicle is equipped with a lidar-based autonomous driving system, features a bidirectional design, and can accommodate up to four passengers.
NHTSA also launched a new three-year, $5 million collaborative project called "A2SCEND." The agency says this marks its first collaboration with the SAE Industry Technologies Alliance on autonomous vehicle performance standards. The agency stated that the project will promote the establishment of a unified national autonomous safety standard, thereby "eliminating the fragmented regulatory landscape that has hindered innovation for years."
The statement also noted that the NHTSA Administrator has the discretion to grant exemptions to autonomous vehicle developers, allowing them to include vehicles produced before the exemption took effect in the autonomous fleet that begins operations after the exemption is approved. NHTSA will also revise Section 555 exemption rules, which allow automakers to sell a limited number of vehicles that do not comply with certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for new technology research.
Additionally, NHTSA updated guidance for the deployment of autonomous vehicles, establishing a federal docket covering topics such as emergency responder coordination, safety management systems, remote assistance, and vehicle handling after an incident. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison stated, "While developing performance standards, NHTSA is taking a balanced regulatory approach to autonomous vehicles by removing unnecessary barriers to innovation, setting industry guidance, and implementing robust regulatory enforcement."
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