NHTSA Deputy Administrator: There's No Need to Regulate Autonomous Cars

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Heidi King, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, claims it’s too soon to begin imposing rules on self-driving vehicles. Thus far, the NHTSA as taken a supremely lax posture on handling autonomous vehicles in the hopes that a softer touch will assist in their swift development.

However, a cluster of fatal incidents involving advanced driving technology created fresh paranoia within the government.

While the argument could be made that those accidents demand a response from federal regulators, it’s also clear the government doesn’t have a firm grasp on the technology. Likewise, there’s little consensus among automakers that have only recently begun discussing how these vehicles should be standardized, and loads of conflicting opinions exist on the matter of safety. In the short term, advanced electronic aids allow motorists to become worse at driving. But, if fully autonomous vehicles function as intended, their long-term safety benefits could be immense.

The NHTSA claims the resulting confusion means it’s too early in the process to make any kind of definitive rulings.

“At this point the technology is so nascent I don’t think it is appropriate today to regulate this technology,” King said in an interview with Bloomberg. “It’s not there yet, but each and every day we are open to identifying when the time is right.”

Deciphering when the right time will be is going to be difficult, however. While automakers are likely appreciative of the agency’s hands-off approach, the industry won’t be pleased if the technology is allowed to progress unimpeded for years, then halted by new regulatory measures nobody saw coming.

As certain safety advocacy groups seek new rules, King said NHTSA is focused on dismantling old ones that could impede autonomous technology’s current progression. This year, the agency issued a request for comment from the industry to identify problematic vehicle standards while simultaneously holding roundtable talks to gain a clearer picture of where development is heading.

“In the grand scheme of things in saving lives, impaired drivers and flawed human choices are still the big problems we need to solve as a nation,” King said.

The NHTSA has held the assumption that self-driving cars will ultimately reduce the number of roadway fatalities. But we’ve seen an increase in life-ending accidents since advanced driving technologies became more prevalent. Data from the agency showed fatalities increasing by 10 percent in 2015 and 5.2 percent in 2016.

Figures from last year are inconclusive, but estimates from the National Safety Council claim little to no change. It accused distracted driving and higher speed limits as the primary culprits for the worsening situation and theorized that advanced driving aids may have helped offset the danger.

[Image: NHTSA]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Tylanner Tylanner on Jul 14, 2018

    The dawn of autonomous vehicles is literally the last chance for the NHTSA to make a real difference and protect Americans on the road from bad AI. Sensible regulation will save lives...this is criminal negligence...but luckily it is only temporary...

  • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Jul 15, 2018

    REGULATORS!!!! Munt Up! - Warren G

  • Probert They already have hybrids, but these won't ever be them as they are built on the modular E-GMP skateboard.
  • Justin You guys still looking for that sportbak? I just saw one on the Facebook marketplace in Arizona
  • 28-Cars-Later I cannot remember what happens now, but there are whiteblocks in this period which develop a "tick" like sound which indicates they are toast (maybe head gasket?). Ten or so years ago I looked at an '03 or '04 S60 (I forget why) and I brought my Volvo indy along to tell me if it was worth my time - it ticked and that's when I learned this. This XC90 is probably worth about $300 as it sits, not kidding, and it will cost you conservatively $2500 for an engine swap (all the ones I see on car-part.com have north of 130K miles starting at $1,100 and that's not including freight to a shop, shop labor, other internals to do such as timing belt while engine out etc).
  • 28-Cars-Later Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” [if they ever are recouped] Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fords-120000-loss-vehicle-shows-california-ev-goals-are-impossible Given these facts, how did Tesla ever produce anything in volume let alone profit?
  • AZFelix Let's forego all of this dilly-dallying with autonomous cars and cut right to the chase and the only real solution.
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