The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) extended the period for public comment on petitions from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors for exemption from some requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to allow the companies’ autonomous vehicles to drive on public roads.
The agency originally published the notice July 21, with the comment period extending to Aug. 22. NHTSA is extending the comment period for 30 days, to Sept. 21. A preliminary decision has been published, with the official announcement of extra time to be released Aug. 22.
Ford requested exemption from portions of seven standards relating to controls and displays, transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect, lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment, rear visibility, electronic stability control systems, light vehicle brake systems and tire pressure monitoring systems.
GM asked for exemption from six regulations, including transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect, windshield wiping and washing systems, lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment, rear visibility and occupant crash protection.
Each automaker requested permission to place as many as 2,500 self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads. The vehicles could potentially be driving without features required by the referenced regulations, such as transmission controls, windshield wipers, transparent glass, rear-view mirrors, or even no driver controls at all.
Why wait?
The reason for the extension is that NHTSA received several requests to extend the comment period, including a joint request from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Center for Auto Safety as well as individual requests from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the City of Oakland Department of Transportation, the National Association of City Transportation Officials, the League of American Bicyclists, and America Walks.
The various requests similarly state Ford and GM’s plans raise numerous complex technical and policy issues involving vehicle safety that need significant analysis, and the extra time for comment will allow the entities to provide “specific and thorough feedback in a timely manner.”
“The League’s perspective is that one in five fatalities on the road is someone outside of a car,” said Caron Whitaker, deputy executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “We believe that some of this new ADAS technology has a real potential for improving safety, but that potential can only be realized if those things are tested. Right now, there’s no standard. What we really want is for NHTSA to set a set of standards, and if NHTSA won’t do it, then we want Congress to do it.”
The San Francisco request included a notation that San Francisco is where the most testing of autonomous vehicles has been performed so far, and that it has the most experience with the issues raised by the testing. Oakland’s plea was founded on needing extra time to assess potential safety impacts.
How to comment
Anyone may submit comments on the automaker requests by referencing docket number NHTSA-2022-0066 for Ford’s request, or NHTSA-2022-0067 for the GM request. All submissions must include the agency name and docket number.
To submit comments online, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may be mailed or hand-carried to the Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590.
If hand-carried, the business hours are 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Call (202) 366-9332 to confirm before traveling. Comments may also be faxed to 202-493-2251.