Guest commentary: The evolving landscape of U.S. autonomous vehicle regulations

Reports suggest that members of Congress are preparing to introduce a new autonomous vehicle safety regulation bill that primarily focuses on requiring manufacturers to submit self-conducted safety assessments and mandating the Department of Transportation to create and maintain a comprehensive safety framework for autonomous vehicles.

This action would mark the seventh consecutive year in which federal autonomous vehicle legislation would be introduced in Congress after the last six failed to reach the president's desk.

This bill is considered to be significant as different players in the autonomous vehicle industry are attempting to create their safety frameworks. In particular, Waymo published a paper in March that presents a blueprint for a safety case for its autonomous vehicles and is inviting industry competitors and regulators to join the effort in this initiative. Aurora, a Pittsburgh-based AV company, presented a similar safety framework in 2021 that addresses the safety of both autonomous trucks and passenger vehicles. The attempts suggest that the AV value chain is searching for a safety framework that addresses key issues such as liability, cybersecurity, safety, ethics and consumer trust. Several federal agencies have made recent efforts to enhance the regulation of the autonomous vehicle industry.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a notice in February that seeks opinions, comments and answers from stakeholders on issues bordering on the safe deployment and usage of autonomous driving systems in commercial motor vehicles.

The DOT recently expanded on its voluntary AV guidance, known as "Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicles 4.0," which emphasizes prioritizing the safety and security of AVs, promoting innovation by being technology neutral and ensuring a consistent regulatory approach on the federal level. This policy is being thrust as the blueprint of the upcoming federal AV safety framework.

NHTSA in 2021 issued a standing general order on crash reporting for ADS in which it mandated vehicle manufacturers and operators to report any crashes related to ADS in a timely and transparent manner. Consequently, NHTSA released a report on ADS crash data in June 2022, which detailed the reporting entity, incident scene, crash description and post-crash analysis. Such efforts on policy creation from federal agencies shows that they are feeling the pressure from stakeholders to evolve regulation and handle the question of safety in a more comprehensive way.

Arizona and Michigan have implemented the most innovative and supportive policies in the recent past for testing and deployment of AV technology.

Arizona: It was one of the states with the toughest AV regulations up until 2015, when the state government decided to completely overhaul its policy. In 2022, the state passed a new law that allows a new vehicle type on its public roads called "neighborhood occupantless electric vehicles" that will not have passengers or drivers. The state currently has more than 700 AVs being operated on its roads with quite a few AV startups and research facilities moving to the state.

Michigan: It introduced its first AV policy in 2013, which was pinned to be the most reformative policy in the U.S. at the time in which it outlined a regulatory framework that was industry-friendly and allowed new players to have equal access to resources such as AV testing and license plates. In 2016, Safe Autonomous Vehicle was passed by state legislators, which allowed AV companies to test and deploy automated vehicle fleets for public transportation in the state. As recently as January 2022, the state also announced a smart-road corridor between Detroit and Ann Arbor, which will allow stakeholders to test and deploy AVs at all levels in a safe way.

One of the main challenges for policymakers is to strike the right balance between regulating the technology to ensure safety and promoting innovation in the industry. Over-regulation could stifle innovation and slow down progress, while too little regulation could result in safety risks and a lack of public trust. Disconnected and uncoordinated policies from states are not helping the blooming autonomous vehicle technology industry, which is slated to be a $500 billion industry by 2030. A comprehensive federal safety framework legislation is required to address key issues including liability, privacy, the extent of safety evidence required, and passenger and pedestrian safety.