AV Regulations: Feds Ready to Get Their Claws Back?

On October 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation released the long-awaited “Autonomous Vehicles 3.0: Preparing for the Future of Transportation” guidelines—otherwise known as AV 3.0.

These guidelines (https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/us-department-transportation-releases-preparing-future-transportation-automated) build upon the voluntary guidance issued in the DOT’s 2017 “Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety” and incorporate comments from autonomy stakeholders that include auto manufacturers, suppliers, state and local governments and infrastructure owners and operators.

These federal guidelines create a conceptual challenge, as they remind states of the limits of their power while being—controversially—non-binding on automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

Potentially restrictive, yet simultaneously optional. How can the industry navigate this recent DOT release?

Click here to read the complete article in Autonomous Vehicle Engineering.