The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today each issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the removal of regulatory barriers to the safe introduction of automated driving systems (ADS) on public roads.

I. NHTSA’s ANPRM

NHTSA’s ANPRM focuses on how to amend its crash avoidance (100-series) federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) to account for Level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles (AV) that lack typical manual controls (e.g., steering wheels, foot-controlled accelerator, and brake pedals) but have traditional seating configurations.