NHTSA announced today that they are developing a new federal safety standard specifically for autonomous driving system performance to prepare for larger-scale Robotaxi deployments in the U.S. Instead of regulations saying a car must have this particular physical control or design, NHTSA says it wants more regulations focused on whether the autonomous vehicle can actually perform safely. Morrison (the head of NHTSA) specifically says the standards should include measurable driving competencies and repeatable ways of testing them. NHTSA also announced that it: • Is launching the ASCEND consortium with SAE to accelerate development of AV performance standards • Is developing a national AV “competency standard” • Is updating federal safety rules to accommodate vehicles designed without human drivers or traditional controls • Has proposed changes to five major federal vehicle safety standards, with “many more coming” • Is developing new AV guidance aimed at helping the industry transition from testing to “mid-scale driverless deployments” • Is working on standards covering emergency responders, remote assistance and safety management systems • Plans to prioritize safety performance over specific vehicle designs • Will continue investigations, enforcement and recalls when AVs pose unreasonable safety risks NHTSA says the goal is to create a national framework for determining whether an autonomous vehicle is a safe driver. Great to finally see the government taking autonomous vehicles seriously and trying to make changes to old laws that were intended for manual driven vehicles.