Autonomous cars have new rules in the United States, this is why it matters
The new rules that have reduced crash reporting requirements and expand access to tests for American robotaxis are praised as an innovation advantage and criticized to erode safety monitoring
On April 24, with a brief video and a few tens of pages, the driver-free car rules book of the United States obtained a restart. In the video, the Secretary of Transports Sean Duffy, appearing in a net jacket, invokes the Wright Brothers and the Apollo Moon Landing and declares that “America is in the middle of an innovation race with China, and the issues could not be higher”. The new rules reduce accident data that companies must send to regulators and seek to help Robo-Construit Taxis in the United States in competition with those of foreign companies.
The order of rules, also dated April 24, was published by the National Highway Transportation Security Administration (NHTSA) and will take effect on June 16. It will affect vehicle automation levels (listed at the bottom of this article): level 2, which requires driver intervention and levels of 3 to 5, which use an automated driving system (ADS) which requires little or no intervention of this type. The order preserves the previous rules according to which manufacturers and operators using levels 2 to 5 have five days to report accidents that involve any death, hospital transport, strike on a pedestrian or cyclist, or a deployment of air bags. For ADS vehicles, towing must also be reported within five days. Reports are still required in a month for accidents in which the vehicle strikes another vehicle, property or stationary object (such as a railings) and for any incident with damage over $ 1,000. For level 2 systems, minor real estate damage incidents – including door numbers, sidewalk kisses and garden variety wings – will now be generally excluded from declaration requirements. Level 2 systems, such as Tesla’s full-free-knee and Bluecruise from Ford, constitute the vast majority of these systems used.
According to the order, this will reduce the “unnecessary charges” on companies, reducing expenses while retaining “benefits”. But criticisms argue that the reduction of an engineer’s documents can be the dead angle of an analyst – and that when you delete the little things, you lose the breadcrumbs that allow researchers to identify the models from the start. “The transparency and responsibility for the execution of these vehicles on public roads are essential,” explains Cathy Chase, president of the defenders of motorways and automatic security.
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The order describes its next change as protecting “confidential commercial information”. This change allows manufacturers to request the shielding of three data points on an accident that has been disclosed before: the answer to the question of whether the car had been motivated under conditions under which it was designed to operate; a simple language description of the circumstances of the accident; And the version of automated autonomous software that was used. (The versions of this software is regularly updated.) Security researchers have called this information one of the few windows that the public has in the actual performance of autonomous technology, helping independent researchers or local managers to find emerging models.
The final change of order intends to make American manufacturers more competitive. Although vehicles on American roads must comply with the rules covering lighting, brakes, mirrors, safety belts, etc., a legal size leaves foreign manufacturers import a small number of non -compliant vehicles – those lacking in mirrors or pedals or which use experimental characteristics – for public street tests. The national factories fell outside this import program because their vehicles were supposed to go to the sale. They could request a different exemption, but the process could take years. This has often led American companies to build experimental Robo cars abroad, then ship them, a process that can be expensive for start-ups without high budget. A note included with the prescription of April 24 indicates that giving local prototypes of the same exemption route will cultivate “automotive innovation”. It can also create national jobs and speed up Tesla cybercab and similar Robo taxis.
Supporters of the new rules reflect them as an accelerator which will mean less low signal data to process, faster iteration for safety fixes and equal footing for American factories. The exemption route remains limited to research and demonstration, so that commercial fleets will face a more complete examination later. In a statement to support new changes, John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, blamed the previous absence of a regulatory framework for the incapacity of ” [autonomous vehicle] Developers, investors, car manufacturers and consumers to reach their full potential. The skeptics have only the deletion of routine crash data will darken an early alert system and that large requests for confidentiality could classify a crucial context when something goes wrong.
The bet behind the change of rule is that fewer reporting requirements and more design latitude will help national companies win the driverless future. Although Democrats generally promote stronger report standards, the order relates to a bipartite interest for the association of the autonomous vehicle industry called “a clear federal framework” rather than by a patchwork of state laws. Duffy frames these changes as a movement towards a national standard to cause “the golden age of transport”. What remains deeply felt in its video is that China is looming in the background – with the country with a large manufacturing machine which dominates the electric cars market and now aims to master autonomous vehicles – and that the United States cannot lift the foot of the accelerator.
Automated driving levels
Level 1: driving assistance. The vehicle can maintain the speed or stay on a track but not both. You keep your hands on the steering wheel.
Level 2: Partial automation. The vehicle can direct and control speed on the marked roads when you supervise.
Level 3: Conditional automation. The vehicle manages most of the driving, but may ask you to take over.
Level 4: High automation. The vehicle drives in certain mapped areas while you relax.
Level 5: Complete automation. The vehicle runs anywhere in all time. You are just a passenger.
