Federal Automated Vehicles Policy |
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Nathaniel Beuse
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
7 November 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 215 (Monday, November 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78104-78106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26561]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Chapter V
[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0090], Notice 2
Federal Automated Vehicles Policy
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: NHTSA is announcing a public meeting to seek input on the
recently released Federal Automated Vehicles Policy (the Policy). The
Policy is guidance that seeks to speed the delivery of an initial
regulatory framework for highly automated vehicles (HAVs) as well as
encourage conformance with best practices to guide manufacturers and
other entities in the safe design, development, testing, and deployment
of HAVs.
The public meeting will be an open listening session to provide as
great an opportunity for comment as possible. All comments will be oral
and any presentations should be submitted to the docket for inclusion.
Additionally, all interested parties, either not in attendance or who
are unable to speak, are invited to share any views or information they
would like considered through the docket as well.
DATES: NHTSA will hold the public meeting on November 10, 2016, in
Washington, DC. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. and continue until 4
p.m. local time. Check-in (through security) will begin at 8 a.m.
Attendees should arrive early enough to enable them to go through
security by 9 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the United States General
Services Administration, Regional Office Building located at 301 7th
Street (7th & D Streets) SW., Washington, DC 20407. This facility is
accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Written Comments: Written statements and supporting information
submitted during the comment period will be considered with the same
weight as oral comments presented at the public meeting. Please submit
all written comments no later than November 22, 2016, by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. To submit comments on the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy,
please use docket NHTSA-2016-0090.
NHTSA issued a separate notice and created a separate docket for
the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection request related to
the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy (81 FR 65709). In that notice,
NHTSA estimated the potential burden associated with submitting
information to NHTSA as recommended by the Federal Automated Vehicles
Policy. To submit comments on the information collection request
related to the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, please use docket
NHTSA-2016-0091.
Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Fax: 202-366-1767.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
associated docket number. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act discussion
below.
Docket: For access to the docket go to http://www.regulations.gov
at any time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Telephone: 202-366-
9826.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78), you may visit
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit any
information under a claim of confidentiality, you should submit three
copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim
to be confidential business information to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at
the address given under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition,
you should submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed
confidential business information, to Docket Management at the address
given above. When you send a comment containing information claimed to
be confidential business information, you should submit a cover letter
setting forth the information specified in our confidential business
information regulation (49 CFR part 512).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about the public
meeting, please contact Ms. Yvonne Clarke, Program Assistant, Office of
Vehicle Safety Research at (202) 366-1845 or by email at
av_info_nhtsa@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 78105]]
Background
On September 20, 2016, DOT released the Federal Automated Vehicles
Policy. The Policy is intended to ensure automated vehicle technologies
are safely introduced and achieve their full safety potential by
removing potential roadblocks to the integration of innovative
automotive technology. The full Policy can be found at www.nhtsa.gov/AV.
On September 23, 2016, DOT published a notice requesting written
public comment regarding the contents of the Policy.\1\ Those comments
are due November 22, 2016. Concurrent with the notice requesting public
comment, DOT published a separate notice opening a separate docket for
commenters to respond to the proposed information collection request
for the Policy (81 FR 65709).
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\1\ 81 FR 65703 (September 23, 2016), NHTSA-2016-0090.
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Meeting
NHTSA has laid out four sections within the Policy that focus on
priority areas related to HAVs. During the morning session of the
meeting, the Agency will seek public input on those four sections to
include: Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles, Model
State Policy, NHTSA's Current Regulatory Tools, and Modern Regulatory
Tools. The focus will be to gather feedback regarding how manufacturers
and other entities have understood these four areas of interest, if
there are challenges foreseen, suggestions for clarification or more
thorough explanation, recommended improvements, or other input.
During the afternoon session of the meeting, the Agency will seek
specific input from the public on the safety assessment letter. The
intent of the policy is for manufacturers and other entities involved
in the design, development, validation, testing and deployment of
automated vehicles to voluntarily submit to the Agency a letter
describing how they are meeting the 15 safety areas in the vehicle
performance guidance outlined in the policy.
NHTSA is seeking input to refine the overall structure and content
of the safety assessment letter from the parties responsible for the
preparation and submission of these letters. This input will aid the
Agency in developing a template for entities to use as well as further
refine our anticipated internal processes necessary to review
submissions in a timely fashion.
The meeting announced by this notice is being held during the open
comment period for the Policy to provide an opportunity for individuals
to provide oral feedback regarding the four sections of the Policy.
Registration is necessary for all attendees. Attendees, including
those who do not plan to make any oral remarks at the meeting, should
register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12_tCd_PEWBiPCLnp1KmsSXV9vsoV6iAm1o_n736lbds/viewform?edit_requested=true by November 8, 2016. Please provide your
name, email address, and affiliation, indicate if you wish to offer
oral technical remarks, and please indicate whether you require
accommodations such as a sign language interpreter. Space is limited,
so advanced registration is highly encouraged.
Although attendees will be given the opportunity to offer technical
remarks, there will not be time for attendees to make audio-visual
presentations during the meeting. Additionally, NHTSA may not be able
to accommodate all attendees who wish to make oral remarks. All
interested parties, not in attendance, unable to comment verbally, or
otherwise, are invited to share any views or information they would
like considered in the docket.
NHTSA will conduct the public meeting informally, and technical
rules of evidence will not apply. We will arrange for a written
transcript of the meeting. You may make arrangements for copies of the
transcripts directly with the court reporter. The transcript will also
be posted in the docket when it becomes available.
Should it be necessary to cancel the meeting due to inclement
weather or other emergency, NHTSA will take all available measures to
notify registered participants.
Draft Meeting Agenda
8:00-9:00--Arrival/Check-In
9:00-12:00--Public Meeting Session on the Federal Automated Vehicles
Policy Document
12:00--Lunch (on your own)/Arrival/Check-In
13:00-15:30--Invited Technical Comments/Other Oral Remarks on Safety
Assessment Letter
15:30-16:00--Open Microphone
16:00--Adjourn
Morning Session Meeting Topics
The morning session of the meeting will provide an opportunity for
individuals to express feedback regarding the four sections of the
Policy. NHTSA has issued the Policy to ensure automated vehicle
technologies are safely introduced and achieve their full safety
potential by removing potential roadblocks to the integration of
innovative automotive technology.
Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles: This
section, which is addressed to manufacturers, developers, and other
organizations, outlines a 15 point ``Safety Assessment'' for the safe
design, development, validation, testing, and deployment of automated
vehicles.
Model State Policy: This section describes the separate
and distinct responsibilities of the Federal and State governments for
regulation of HAVs, and recommends policy areas for States to consider
with a goal of generating a consistent national framework for the
validation, testing, and deployment of highly automated vehicles.
Current Regulatory Tools: This section outlines DOT's
current regulatory tools that can be used in a more timely and
effective fashion to accelerate the safe development of HAVs, such as
interpreting current rules to allow for greater flexibility in design
and providing limited exemptions to allow manufacturers to gain
experience with nontraditional vehicle designs.
Modern Regulatory Tools: This section identifies potential
new regulatory tools and statutory authorities that may aid the safe
and efficient deployment of new lifesaving technologies.
Afternoon Session Meeting Topics
The afternoon session of the meeting provides an opportunity for
individuals to specifically comment on the Safety Assessment Letter to
NHTSA.\2\ As an example, the Agency is interested in how to structure a
letter such that it contains enough information to enable the public
and the Agency to understand how the submitter of the letter is meeting
the 15 safety areas, but avoids revealing confidential business
information or inadvertently creating a competitive disadvantage to
anyone submitting the letter. Concurrent with the Policy, DOT also
opened a docket for commenters to respond to this proposed information
collection request for the Policy (81 FR 65709).
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\2\ Ibid., 15.
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Specifically, commenters are asked to discuss the following topics
at the meeting:
Content and Structure
The Agency seeks comment on how much and what types of information
should be included in the letter to enable the public and the Agency to
understand the submitter's process, plan, approach, or other areas. In
the interest of achieving a reasonable degree
[[Page 78106]]
of consistency in the letters it receives, the Agency also seeks
comments on how the letters should be formatted. Finally, what is the
expected length of a well formatted letter?
Identification of Responsible Manufacturers and Other Entities
The Agency seeks comment on the entities that should be responsible
for the submission of these letters. Commenters should also consider
who should submit in these letters in the event that multiple parties
collaborate together.
Transparency
The Agency seeks to be as transparent as possible with these
letters, and expects to make them public to increase public
understanding and build consumer confidence. If commenters believe that
certain portions of the letter should not be made available to the
general public, please identify those portions and explain the reasons
for that belief and how withholding those portions might affect public
understanding and confidence. Commenters should discuss what format the
agency should use to present the public display of the information.
Agency Response Processes
The Agency will respond to persons who comment on safety assessment
letters received by the Agency. Commenters should focus on what form
this response should take, as well as what information the agency
should include. Commenters should also discuss their views on making
these responses available to the public.
Timing
The Agency seeks comments on the timing proposed in the Policy
document for the submission of the letters. Commenters should discuss
what types of changes or updates are important enough to trigger the
need to submit a new letter. In the event that changes or updates to
automated features make it necessary to submit a new letter, commenters
should discuss what time frame would be appropriate for re-submittal of
the assessment letters.
Nathaniel Beuse,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-26561 Filed 11-4-16; 8:45 am]
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