The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed new changes to federal vehicle regulations that would allow companies to skip including brake pedals in “vehicles designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems.”
The proposal, if adopted, would remove a major regulatory barrier for companies like Tesla and Zoox, which are developing vehicles intended to be fully autonomous, without a steering wheel or pedals. The public will now have 30 days to comment on the proposal before the DOT decides whether to approve the changes.
This is the latest of a series of proposed changes to vehicle laws from the Trump DoT. Late last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed removing a number of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requirements around windshield wiping and defogging systems, and tire placards.
President Biden was also working in this direction while in office. During his administration, the NHTSA proposed and ultimately finalized a rule that allowed autonomous vehicles to operate without steering wheels.
Currently, any company developing an autonomous vehicle that is missing parts required by the FMVSS has to request an exemption from the federal government. Even if the exemption is granted, regulations restrict how many such exempted vehicles can be on the road.
Removing requirements for parts like brake pedals will theoretically allow companies to get autonomous vehicles on the road quicker, according to the NHTSA.
“We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in a statement. “If we want America to lead the way, we have to reimagine our regulatory framework. That’s why under Secretary Sean Duffy’s AV Framework, NHTSA is tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter and holding AV developers accountable for safe performance.”
Tesla has spent the last few years developing a two-seater car it calls the Cybercab that is intended to operate without a steering wheel or pedals. The company has never applied for an exemption t …