Context:

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed removing the requirement for manual brake pedals in self-driving vehicles to ease their deployment, while preserving braking performance standards. The move targets fully autonomous models with human controls and complements the agency’s ongoing development of safety performance tests. It follows years of exemption petitions by automakers seeking to operate steering-wheel‑free vehicles on U.S. roads. At the same time, NHTSA withdrew a Biden-era voluntary framework for overseeing self-driving tech, amid concerns from automakers and safety advocates. The overall direction signals a push to accelerate rollout while balancing regulatory oversight and safety.

Dive Deeper:

• NHTSA would eliminate the brake pedal requirement for self-driving vehicles, but braking performance standards would remain intact and apply to those vehicles.

• The proposal targets autonomous designs that do not rely on human controls, and is part of a broader set of agency changes intended to facilitate on-road deployment.

• Separately, NHTSA is developing safety performance tests for self-driving vehicles as part of a distinct standard to standardize evaluation.

• Under current law, fully autonomous models can operate without NHTSA approval if they include human controls, and the agency can grant exemptions allowing up to 2,500 such vehicles per manufacturer annually; reviews have been slow despite petitions from automakers.

• GM has repeatedly petitioned for steering-wheel-free deployments since 2018, withdrawing a 2020 petition and again withdrawing a 2022 petition in October 2024; Zoox has a March petition seeking up to 2,500 purpose-built robotaxis without human controls.

• NHTSA also withdrew a Biden-era proposal to adopt a voluntary national framework for evaluation and oversight, amid concerns from automakers about stringency and worries from safety advocates about oversight sufficiency.