If the head of the nation’s auto safety watchdog has his way, self-driving cars won’t need brake pedals or steering wheels in the near future.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday, Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said he supports innovation in autonomous vehicles, including removing some currently required features.
“If you are developing a vehicle that is designed to never be driven by a human operator, does it make sense to require manual control of the vehicle?” » said Morrison. “I think the answer is pretty clear.”
Some self-driving cars, like models aimed at ride-sharing fleets from companies like Uber and Tesla, are already moving in this direction because they are not designed for human driving. Some, like the cars used by Waymocan be supported by remote human drivers.
However, removing brake pedals and steering wheels would mean a human couldn’t take over if a self-driving car stalls or a dangerous situation arises requiring intervention.
Autonomous vehicle makers have been calling for action to change requirements for driverless cars since at least 2019. In 2022, NHTSA revised rules for certain types of autonomous vehicles on how they should be designed. Morrison’s comments and recent action on brake pedal requirements suggest this is now the case.
Morrison said NHTSA is responsible for monitoring the industry, but doesn’t want to stand in the way of progress.
“The promise that these technologies offer is really undeniable,” he said. “We want to see it succeed, we want to see it grow. That said, it has to be done well.”
Other NHTSA Concerns About Driverless Cars
In the interview, Morrison also discussed a letter sent to self-driving car makers about incidents in which those vehicles stalled or were slow to get out of the way. emergency responders.
Morrison said these incidents are rare, “but each of these circumstances goes too far.”
He also responded to questions about whether his agency was concerned about the prevalence of Chinese lidar sensor technology, which is used by nearly 90% of the world’s autonomous vehicles. CNBC recently investigated the risks of this type of technology, much of it made in China.
Morrison did not specifically mention what action NHTSA was taking on the matter, but said: “It’s an area of concern, I think, within government.”
