Autonomous Vehicle Policy

In the Feb. 10, 2017 hearing memo prepared by the House Energy & Commerce Committee Majority Staff, it was reported that, in January, NHTSA released an addendum to the Federal Automated Vehicle Policy clarifying aspects of the vehicle performance guidance.  That addendum takes the form of a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that has been posted to NHTSA’s Automated Vehicle website.  The FAQ provides answers to the following questions:

Codification of Policy Components

Should Section I: Vehicle Performance Guidance and, specifically, the Safety Assessment Letter, be codified and required by States prior to permitting testing or deployment of highly automated vehicles (HAVs)?

Are entities required to comply with the Guidance and will the Safety Assessment Letter be used as an enforcement tool?

Four-Month Waiting Period Post Safety Assessment Letter Submission

Should the Safety Assessment Letter be submitted four months prior to testing or deployment of HAV? The four-month time frame has been interpreted by some as a mandatory waiting period during which an entity cannot put the vehicle or system on the road.

Signatures for Safety Assessment Letter

Which individual(s) are expected to sign for each of the 15 points in the Safety Assessment Letter?

Submission of a Revised Safety Assessment Letter

When is it appropriate for an entity to submit a revised Safety Assessment Letter?

Confidential Business Information

How will confidential business information (CBI) be submitted to NHTSA given that the Safety Assessment Letter is intended to be fully disclosed to the public?

Data Collection and Sharing

Clarify the definition of a “near miss” incident.

What type of data sharing is expected?

Creation of an Automated Safety Technology Committee

Are all States required to have an automated safety technology committee with representation from all the entities listed in Section II.C.1.b.?

Application to Test and Jurisdictional Permission to Test

Clarify the authority to grant application, and jurisdictional permission, to test, specifically in Section II. C. 2. G. and Section II. C. 3. G.

Driver Background Check

Is the Policy suggesting States require drivers to be subject to a background test prior to being permitted to participate in testing?

Scope of the Vehicle Performance Guidance

For which levels of automation is the Safety Assessment Letter appropriate?

What type of letter should a vehicle with a Level 2 system submit?

To which types of vehicles is the Guidance section of the Policy applicable?