Automated Vehicles: NHTSA Has Spoken

Not surprisingly, NHTSA’s regulatory stance on automated vehicles is simple: improve vehicle safety by preventing driving errors. As automated vehicles begin to populate the roads, two themes arising from this stance have emerged:

1) The need to introduce automated technologies safely.

2) Public acceptance of these potentially life-saving technologies.

To tackle safety regulations as these types of cars become available in the marketplace, the U.S. Department of Transportation and NHTSA jointly issued a federal policy statement, titled Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, Accelerating the Next Revolution in Roadway Safety. This policy recommends that automated vehicle manufacturers develop a description of the Operational Design Domain (ODD), Object and Event Detection and Response (OEDR), and the fall-back minimum risk condition for their vehicles.

In addition, NHTSA is monitoring highly automated vehicles by requesting that manufacturers and other involved entities provide reports regarding how they are following the guidance. This “Safety Assessment Letter” should cover the following items:

Data recording and sharing
Privacy
System safety
Vehicle cybersecurity
Human-machine interface
Crashworthiness
Consumer education and training
Registration and certification
Post-crash behavior
Federal, state and local laws
Ethical considerations
Operational design domain
Object and event detection and response
Fall back (minimal risk condition)
Validation methods

NHTSA has also issued enforcement guidelines related to automated technologies in motor vehicles. These guidelines emphasize NHTSA’s view that such systems and their components (hardware and software) fall under NHTSA’s regulatory authority. These guidelines are especially important as they relate to cybersecurity threats in motor vehicles and NHTSA’s intent to exercise its authority with respect to such threats.

For Additional Information About These Developments and More

Foley’s experienced Automotive Industry Team has prepared a full report, entitled Top Legal Issues Facing the Automotive Industry in 2017, that examines the road ahead regarding antitrust, security, labor and employment, M&A, and more. Download it today.

This blog is made available by Foley & Lardner LLP (“Foley” or “the Firm”) for informational purposes only. It is not meant to convey the Firm’s legal position on behalf of any client, nor is it intended to convey specific legal advice. Any opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Foley & Lardner LLP, its partners, or its clients. Accordingly, do not act upon this information without seeking counsel from a licensed attorney. This blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Communicating with Foley through this website by email, blog post, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship for any legal matter. Therefore, any communication or material you transmit to Foley through this blog, whether by email, blog post or any other manner, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The information on this blog is published “AS IS” and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, and or up-to-date. Foley makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation or content of the site. Foley expressly disclaims all other guarantees, warranties, conditions and representations of any kind, either express or implied, whether arising under any statute, law, commercial use or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Foley or any of its partners, officers, employees, agents or affiliates be liable, directly or indirectly, under any theory of law (contract, tort, negligence or otherwise), to you or anyone else, for any claims, losses or damages, direct, indirect special, incidental, punitive or consequential, resulting from or occasioned by the creation, use of or reliance on this site (including information and other content) or any third party websites or the information, resources or material accessed through any such websites. In some jurisdictions, the contents of this blog may be considered Attorney Advertising. If applicable, please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Photographs are for dramatization purposes only and may include models. Likenesses do not necessarily imply current client, partnership or employee status.