Auto safety, consumer advocates push back on efforts to revive AV legislation

Previous legislative attempts have stalled in Congress, with lawmakers generally supportive of a federal framework but divided over various legal and consumer matters.

Ongoing pushback from groups representing consumers, trial lawyers and transportation unions also have impeded legislative efforts.

In an interview Tuesday with Automotive News, Dingell said she and Latta are committed to passing legislation this year, and Wednesday’s hearing is one step toward finding common ground.

“What we really want to do is we want to know what stakeholders like, what they don’t like, what’s missing and what should be struck,” she said. “We need to move this forward. Quite frankly, we are behind.”

Latta renewed efforts in 2020 to push legislation through Congress by reintroducing the Self Drive Act, which would establish a federal framework to ensure the safety of AVs while exempting them from certain national safety standards and preempting states from enacting laws regarding these vehicles.

The bill was passed unanimously by the House in 2017. A complementary bill — the AV Start Act — was later introduced in the Senate. Both bills stalled there in 2018.

NHTSA this year established the Office of Automation Safety to focus on automated driving systems and other advanced vehicle technologies.

“The office will be responsible for developing the next generation of safety standards, evaluating and processing petitions, managing exemptions, and developing and managing special programs for research, demonstrations and data,” NHTSA said in a statement.

The agency also is expected to issue a proposed rule-making this fall on the ADS-equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program, or AV STEP, that would provide an alternate regulatory avenue for deploying self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads.

While the exact number of vehicles allowed remains to be determined, industry experts expect it to be substantially more than the 2,500-vehicle maximum currently permitted through a process that allows companies to request an exemption from federal motor vehicle safety standards.

The new program could be a big help to General Motors in particular. The automaker submitted an exemption request for its Cruise Origin robotaxi in February 2022 and is awaiting a decision from U.S. Department of Transportation officials.

NHTSA said it will provide GM with an answer “soon.”

Pete Bigelow contributed to this report.