The Trump administration said on Thursday it aims to speed up deployment of self-driving vehicles by exempting some from certain safety requirements designed for human drivers and easing rules that require the reporting of safety incidents.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the new framework to boost autonomous vehicles would help US automakers compete with Chinese rivals.
We’ve already reported on the dubious self-driving abilities of the Tesla and the cover-up its CEO is trying to orchestrate, but now the US government is endorsing this lack of safety.
The revised rules will allow some autonomous vehicles that do not comply with federal safety standards such as having rearview mirrors to operate on US roads. The rules will also allow carmakers to report less severe crashes monthly, and add a property damage reporting threshold for less severe crashes involving self-driving vehicles.
“This administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Duffy said. “Our new framework will slash red tape.”
As part of the revision, NHTSA said it would expand a programme to exempt some self-driving vehicles from safety requirements and streamline the reporting of safety incidents for advanced driver assistance and self-driving systems.
Advocates for highway and auto safety said it was disappointed that the US department of transportation “chose to dilute, instead of enhance, the reporting requirements.”
The group also raised concerns about the safety exemptions saying “without safeguards, safety regulations, transparency and accountability, the success of AV deployment is imperiled at best and could result in deadly consequences at worst.”
You know the saying, you can’t fry an omelette without cracking a few eggs? But we’re talking about putting the safety of passengers and other road users in danger for half-baked self-driving vehicles.
While the administration may say it’s doing this to compete with China, read between the lines and you’ll see the unelected megalomaniac pulling the strings.
