Department of Transportation Releases Federal Automated Vehicles Policy

Staff posted 2016-09-20
A Toyota Prius modified by Google to operate as a driverless car. (Image courtesy of Steve Jurvetson.)
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) has released a new policy for the development of what it calls “highly automated vehicles (HAVs)” which are those capable of taking full control of driving in at least some circumstances.

One key component of the policy is a 15-point safety assessment for manufacturers to ensure the safe design, development, testing and deployment of HAVs. This assessment asks manufacturers to document how they are meeting each of the following 15 points.

  1. Operational Design Domain: How and where the HAV is supposed to function and operate
  2. Object and Event Detection and Response: Perception and response functionality of the HAV system
  3. Fall Back (Minimal Risk Condition): Response and robustness of the HAV upon system failure
  4. Validation Methods: Testing, validation and verification of an HAV system
  5. Registration and Certification: Registration and certification of an HAV system to the NHTSA
  6. Data Recording and Sharing: HAV system data recording for information sharing, knowledge building and for crash reconstruction purposes
  7. Post-Crash Behavior: Process for how an HAV should perform after a crash and how automation functions can be restored
  8. Privacy: Privacy considerations and protection for users
  9. System Safety: Engineering safety practices to support reasonable system safety
  10. Vehicle Cybersecurity: Approaches to guard against vehicle hacking risks
  11. Human Machine Interface: Approaches for communicating information to the driver, occupants and other road users
  12. Crashworthiness: Protection of occupants in crash situations
  13. Consumer Education and Training: Education and training requirements for HAV users
  14. Ethical Considerations: How vehicles are programmed to address conflict dilemmas on the road
  15. Federal, State and Local Laws: How vehicles are programmed to comply with all applicable traffic laws

In addition to this safety assessment, the new DoT policy includes distinctions between federal and state responsibilities for the regulations of HAVs as well as the current and future regulatory tools available for dealing with HAVs. The complete policy can be found here.

How did we get to this point in driverless car technology? Check out The Road to Driverless Cars: 1925 - 2025 to find out.