Federal Agency Announces Upcoming Changes to its AV Exemption Approval Process
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced changes to its exemption approval process for autonomous vehicles (AV), which it intends to implement in the near future.
Under current law, NHTSA must provide exemptions for vehicles that don't comply with certain safety requirements, such as having windshield wipers or steering wheels, in order to operate legally on roads in the United States. AVs not operable by a human physically present in the vehicle must obtain such exemptions due to the lack of certain traditional features. AV manufacturers have complained that the review process for granting exemptions is too slow and bureaucratic, with reviews usually taking years to complete.
With its newly announced policy change, NHTSA aims to streamline the approval process and reduce review times to just a few months. Most delays in the approval process stem from NHTSA requesting additional information throughout the process. The new process seeks to get ahead of that back-and-forth by requesting more details upfront.