Transportation Department re-evaluating driverless car guidelines

The head of the Transportation Department said that the new administration is reviewing federal guidelines for driverless cars, which were released for the first time under former President Obama.

“This administration is evaluating this guidance and will consult with you and other stakeholders as we update it and amend it, to ensure that it strikes the right balance,” Secretary Elaine Chao said Sunday at the National Governors Association, according to Reuters.

The industry has searched for clues about how President Trump will approach autonomous vehicle regulations since his November election. Tech companies and automakers have specifically wondered whether the administration will scrap, tweak or move ahead with the flexible guidelines.

There have been no overarching federal laws specifically governing self-driving cars, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the first-ever federal guidance on the issue last fall.

{mosads}The framework includes a 15-point safety assessment for automakers that is meant to be subjected to the formal rulemaking process. The guidelines also include model policy for states in an effort to avoid a messy patchwork of regulations across the country.

But while most industry representatives have called the guidance a good first step, many have said that more improvements need to be made. The NHTSA has said it intends to update the blueprint annually.

Driverless car developers have urged federal regulators to provide even greater clarity on the state versus federal role, raising concerns that some states are trying to make the voluntary safety checklist mandatory.

Anders Karrberg, vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group, urged lawmakers to update the guidance “with an explicit request that states refrain from legislation and regulation of [autonomous] vehicles” during a House hearing earlier this month.

The industry has also called on Congress to help ease certain safety standards that don’t apply to traditional automobiles, which could hamper innovation and testing.

Chao on Sunday recognized that “there’s a lot at stake in getting this technology right” and promised governors that the administration will be “a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not an impediment.”

“In particular, I want to challenge Silicon Valley, Detroit and all other auto industry hubs to step up and help educate a skeptical public about the benefits of automated technology,” she said, according to Reuters.