U.S. Updates Self-Driving Car Guidelines

Published on

ANN ARBOR, Mich. –  The Trump administration is updating safety guidelines for self-driving cars in an attempt to clear barriers for automakers and tech companies who want to get test vehicles on the road.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the new voluntary guidelines Tuesday during a visit to an autonomous vehicle testing facility at the University of Michigan.

The new guidelines update policies issued last fall by the Obama administration, which were also largely voluntary. Under Obama, automakers were asked to follow a 15-point safety assessment before putting test vehicles on the road. The new guidelines reduce that to a 12-point voluntary assessment, and no longer require automakers to consider ethical or privacy issues.

The guidelines also make clear that the federal government — not states — determine whether autonomous vehicles are safe. That is the same guidance the Obama administration gave.

Chao emphasized that the guidelines aren’t meant to force automakers to use certain technology or meet stringent requirements; instead, they’re designed to clarify what autonomous vehicle developers should be considering before they put test cars on the road.

“This is a guidance document,” Chao said. “We want to make sure those who are involved understand how important safety is. We also want to ensure that the innovation and the creativity of our country remain.”

But critics say the voluntary nature of the guidelines gives the government no authority to prevent dangerous experimental vehicles.

“This isn’t a vision for safety,” said John M. Simpson, head of privacy for a nonprofit progressive group called Consumer Watchdog. “It’s a roadmap that allows manufacturers to do whatever they want, wherever and whenever they want, turning our roads into private laboratories for robot cars with no regard for our safety.”

Regulators and lawmakers have been struggling to keep up with the pace of self-driving technology. They are wary of burdening automakers and tech companies with regulations that would slow innovation, but they need to ensure that the vehicles are safely deployed. There are no fully self-driving vehicles for sale, but autonomous cars with backup drivers are being tested in numerous states, including California, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

Autonomous vehicle developers, including automakers and tech companies like Google and Uber, say autonomous vehicles could dramatically reduce crashes but complain that the patchwork of state laws passed in recent years could hamper their deployment. Early estimates indicate there were more than 40,000 traffic fatalities in the U.S. last year; government says 94 percent of crashes involve human error.

But safety advocates say that experimental cars could get on public roads too soon, and accidents could undermine public acceptance of the technology.

The new guidelines encourage companies to have processes in place for broad safety goals, such as making sure drivers are paying attention while using advanced assist systems. The systems are expected to detect and respond to people and objects both in and out of its travel path “including pedestrians, bicyclists, animals, and objects that could affect safe operation of the vehicle,” the guidelines say.

Chao said the guidelines will be updated again next year.

“The technology in this field is accelerating at a much faster pace than I think many people expected,” she said. “We want to make sure stakeholders who are developing this have the best information.”

Chao’s appearance came at a time of increased government focus on highly automated cars.

Earlier Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board was debating whether Tesla Inc.’s partially self-driving Autopilot system shared the blame for the 2016 death of a driver in Florida. The board ultimately said the driver’s inattention and a truck driver who made a left-hand turn in front of the Tesla were at fault for the crash, but it said automakers should incorporate safeguards that limit the use of automated vehicle control systems so drivers don’t rely on them too much.

Last week, the U.S. House voted to give the federal government the authority to exempt automakers from safety standards that don’t apply to the technology. If a company can prove it can make a safe vehicle with no steering wheel, for example, the federal government could approve that. The bill permits the deployment of up to 25,000 vehicles in its first year and 100,000 annually after that.

The Senate is now considering a similar bill.

Latest Privacy Videos
Video thumbnail
KCAL-LA - Los Angeles, CA: Personal Data Used To Target Shoppers
06:36
Video thumbnail
KCBA (FOX) - Monterey, CA: CA Bill Aims To Put An End To Surveillance Price Gouging
00:55
Video thumbnail
KLAS-LV (CBS) - Las Vegas, NV: Surveillance Pricing
00:46
Video thumbnail
KIRO-SEA (CBS) - Seattle, WA: CA Lawmakers Consider Bill On Price Gouging
00:51
Video thumbnail
AB 446 Press Conference
13:52
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Surveillance Pricing
02:07
Video thumbnail
KTTV-LA (FOX) - Los Angeles, CA: Prices Are being Adjusted Based On Your Shopping Habits
03:42
Video thumbnail
KTVU-SF (FOX) - San Francisco, CA: Surveillance Price Gouging
05:49
Video thumbnail
KCAL-LA - Los Angeles, CA: Surveilance Price Gouging
03:17
Video thumbnail
KBCW 44 Cable 12 - San Francisco, CA: Meta Holiday Hack
03:25
Video thumbnail
KTVU-SF (FOX) - San Francisco, CA: Several Tech Bills Head To Governor's Desk
06:12
Video thumbnail
Al Jazeera: Google antitrust law trial US court says google is a monopolist, violated law
02:16
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert — National Data Breach
01:24
Video thumbnail
KTVU-SF (FOX) - San Francisco, CA: Calm App, Doordash Software Sued For Data Sharing
05:40
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: No Opt Out
00:49
Video thumbnail
KCAL-LA - Los Angeles, CA: Investigation Into California's Newborn DNA Database
03:39
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Data Parasites
02:07
Video thumbnail
KCBS - Los Angeles, CA: California Biobank Stores Every Baby's DNA; Parents Had No Idea
04:26
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Wall Street using AI
01:48
Video thumbnail
KCBA (FOX) CA: Clearview AI Is Creating An AI Facial Recognition Software That Violates Privacy Laws
00:35
Video thumbnail
KGO CA: Consumer Watchdog Calls Attorney General to Investigate Clearview AI For Violating State Law
03:06
Video thumbnail
KNTV-SF (NBC) - San Francisco, CA: Tesla Recalls Millions of Cars
02:29
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Clearview AI
01:19
Video thumbnail
Californians Now Have More Power Over Their Data
01:07
Video thumbnail
KPIX CBS TV-5 San Francisco, CA: Your Car's Computer Could Be Tracking And Reporting Your Every Move
00:48
Video thumbnail
California Votes YES on Privacy- Prop 24
13:14
Video thumbnail
Rage For Justice Report Podcast- Prop 24 For Your Privacy
19:18
Video thumbnail
Consumer Watchdog Hacks Tesla
02:00
Video thumbnail
FOX KSWB: New Internet-Connected Cars Could Get Hacked
01:05
Video thumbnail
ABC: Kill Switch Report Highlights Widespread Hacking Vulnerability of Connected Cars
02:12
Video thumbnail
KTTV FOX: Consumer Watchdog Report Warns That Hackers Can Take Over Your Car
05:02
Video thumbnail
SPECNEWS1: Watchdog Warns Cars With Internet Connection Vulnerable to Hacking
00:37
Video thumbnail
KBCW: Connected Cars Pose Risk to Driver Safety Due to Hacking Vulnerability
02:31
Video thumbnail
ABC KGO: Whistleblower Engineers Warn Connected Cars Need A Kill Switch to Stop Hacking
02:10
Video thumbnail
KCAL: Alarming Watchdog Report Shows Connected Cars Are Vulnerable to Hacking
02:51
Video thumbnail
ABC KGTV: Report Says Internet-Linked Cars Are Vulnerable To Hackers
00:30
Video thumbnail
KTTV Fox 11: Consumer Watchdog Report Shows How Vulnerable Connected Cars Are To Dangerous Hacking
01:05
Video thumbnail
NBC: Watchdog Report Show Connected Cars Lack of Cybersecurity Put Drivers at Risk
03:38
Video thumbnail
CBS KGPE: Connected Cars Pose A Cybersecurity Risk
03:05
Video thumbnail
Fox WDAF: High-Tech Cars Put Drivers At Risk Of Hacking Interference
00:47
Video thumbnail
ABC WXYZ: Connected Cars Can Be Hacked Says Kill Switch Report
01:36
Video thumbnail
KTTV GDLA: US Senators Write NHTSA About Connected Car Concerns
01:17
Video thumbnail
FOX KPTV: Kill Switch Report Details Cybersecurity Issues With Internet Connected Cars
02:28
Video thumbnail
CBS LA: Kill Switch Study Finds Connected Cars Are Vulnerable to Hacking
01:41
Video thumbnail
FOX KTTV: Consumer Watchdog on Privacy Issues, Hacking Risks With Internet-Connected Toys
03:00
Video thumbnail
CBS Evening News With Norah O'Donnell: Jamie Court Explains the Value of CA's Consumer Privacy Act
02:04
Video thumbnail
WAFF TV-48 Alabama: Watchdog Report Highlights Car-Hacking Risks
03:16
Video thumbnail
ABC KFSN: Internet-Connected Vehicles At Risk Of Being Hacked Says New Watchdog Report
00:33
Video thumbnail
KPIX CBS: Connected Cars Need A Kill Switch To Stop Dangerous Hacking
02:31
Video thumbnail
KCAL: Kill Switch Report Warns of Hacking Risk For Connected Cars
01:29

Privacy In The News

Latest Privacy Report

Support Consumer Watchdog

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, press releases and special reports.