Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety |
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Nathaniel Beuse
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
15 September 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43321-43323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19637]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Chapter V
[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0082]
Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of public availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NHTSA is releasing new voluntary guidance on automated driving
systems--Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety. The new
voluntary guidance is based on public comments received on the Federal
Automated Vehicles Policy (FAVP) released in September 2016. The
purpose of this new voluntary guidance is to support industry
innovators, States and other key stakeholders as they consider and
design best practices relative to the testing and deployment of
automated vehicle technologies, while informing and educating the
public and improving roadway safety. NHTSA invites public comment on
the voluntary guidance and additional ways to improve its usefulness.
This new voluntary guidance is an important part of DOT's multi-
modal efforts to support the introduction of automation technologies
that hold the promise of fulfilling NHTSA's mission of reducing the
number of injuries and fatalities on our roads. As an update to the
FAVP this new voluntary guidance serves as NHTSA's current operating
guidance for Automated Driving Systems (ADSs--SAE International
Automation Levels 3-5). NHTSA intends to continue to revise and refine
the guidance periodically to reflect continued public input,
experience, research, and innovation, and will address significant
comments in preparing future iterations of the guidance. This guidance
supports that effort.
DATES: You should submit your comments early enough to ensure that
Docket Management receives them no later than November 14, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket number above and be
submitted by one of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Portal: Please submit one copy to
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Mail: Please submit two copies to 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: Please submit two copies to 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the
Public Participation heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided.
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 (65 FR 19477-78) or at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to
the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for
accessing the dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For technical issues related to the Voluntary Guidance: Ms. Dee
Williams of NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Research at (202) 366-8537
or by email at av_info_nhtsa@dot.gov.
For legal issues: Mr. Steve Wood of NHTSA's Office of Chief
Counsel, at (202) 366-2992 or by email at steve.wood@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under
the U.S. Department of Transportation, was established by the Highway
Safety Act of 1970, to carry out safety programs under the National
Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act
of 1966. NHTSA is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries, and
economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on our nation's
roadways. It accomplishes these tasks by conducting research, setting
and enforcing safety performance standards for motor vehicles and motor
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vehicle equipment, generating and disseminating comparative safety
performance information to encourage the production and purchase of
advanced safety features, requiring the recalling and remedying of
defective and noncompliant vehicles and equipment, and by distributing
highway safety formula grants to state governments to enable them to
conduct effective highway safety programs. Additionally, NHTSA issues
guidance regarding motor vehicle safety issues.
On September 20, 2016, NHTSA developed and published for comment
the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy (FAVP). The comment period
officially closed on November 22, 2016, but NHTSA continued to receive
and consider comments through February 16, 2017. The public docket
received 160 unique comments in response to the FAVP representing the
traditional motor vehicle industry, the technology sector, public
agencies, special interest groups, and private citizens. The agency
also held public meetings to seek additional comment.
NHTSA analyzed the docket comments, public meeting proceedings and
other stakeholder discussions, recent Congressional hearings, and State
activities and used this analysis as the foundation for improvements
and refinements to develop NHTSA's new voluntary guidance--Automated
Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety.
In Section 1: Voluntary Guidance for Automated Driving Systems
(Voluntary Guidance), NHTSA offers a nonregulatory approach to
Automated Driving System (ADS) safety. This Voluntary Guidance supports
the automotive industry and other key stakeholders as they consider and
design best practices for the testing and safe deployment of ADSs (SAE
International Automation Levels 3 through 5--Conditional, High, and
Full Automation Systems). Section 1 contains 12 priority safety design
elements for consideration, including vehicle cybersecurity, human
machine interface, crashworthiness, consumer education and training,
and post-crash ADS behavior. Given the developing state of the
technology, this Voluntary Guidance provides a flexible framework for
industry to use in choosing how to address a given safety design
element. In addition, to help support public trust and confidence, the
Voluntary Guidance encourages entities engaged in testing to publicly
disclose Voluntary Safety Self-Assessments of their systems
demonstrating their varied approaches to achieving safety.
Vehicles operating on public roads are subject to both Federal and
State jurisdictions, and States are continuing to draft legislation to
safely deploy emerging ADSs. To support the State work, NHTSA offers
Section 2: Technical Assistance to States, Best Practices for
Legislatures Regarding Automated Driving Systems (Best Practices). The
section clarifies and delineates Federal and State roles in the
regulation of ADSs. NHTSA remains responsible for regulating the safety
design and performance aspects of motor vehicles and motor vehicle
equipment; States continue to be responsible for regulating the human
driver and vehicle operations.
The section also provides Best Practices for Legislatures, which
incorporates common safety-related components and significant elements
regarding ADSs that States should consider incorporating in
legislation. In addition, the section provides Best Practices for State
Highway Safety Officials, which offers a framework for States to
develop procedures and conditions for ADS' safe operation on public
roadways. It includes considerations in such areas as applications and
permissions to test, registration and titling, working with public
safety officials, and liability and insurance.
NHTSA emphasizes the importance of Automated Driving Systems: A
Vision for Safety as new voluntary guidance in its entirety--a cohesive
package that represents the Agency's current position on Automated
Driving Systems. As the new voluntary guidance is a result of
improvements based on public comments and new information, in the
future, it too will be updated to reflect input by the public, advances
in technology, increased presence of ADSs on public roadways, new
research, and any regulatory action or statutory changes that could
occur at both the Federal and State levels. NHTSA encourages
collaboration and communication between all government entities and the
private sector as the technology evolves, and the Agency will continue
to coordinate dialogue among all stakeholders. The Department and NHTSA
recognize that regulatory efforts in this arena must promote safety,
remove any existing unnecessary barriers, remain technology neutral,
and enable a pathway for innovation that has the potential to save
lives. Any initiative in the regulatory realm will seek to remove
regulatory barriers and burdens that could unnecessarily hinder the
safe and efficient implementation of ADSs.
The new guidance is available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles, which will also serve as a central
repository of associated references to this and other NHTSA ADS
resources, including new frequently asked questions. Additionally, to
support manufacturers and other entities looking to request regulatory
action from NHTSA, companies can find an informational resource,
Understanding NHTSA's Regulatory Tools: Instructions, Practical
Guidance, and Assistance for Entities Seeking to Employ NHTSA's
Regulatory Tools. The new guidance is also available in the public
docket at http://www.regulations.gov (search Docket No. NHTSA-2017-
0082).
Public Comment
NHTSA is seeking written public comments on the new voluntary
guidance--Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety and additional
ways to improve its usefulness. The Agency expects and intends the
voluntary guidance to continue to be updated based on public comment;
the experience of the agency, manufacturers, suppliers, consumers, and
others; and further research findings and technological innovations. To
inform the next iteration of the voluntary guidance, the Agency may
hold public meetings and workshops associated with specific items
relevant to the guidance. Once the timing of those meetings has been
finalized, the Agency will publish Federal Register notices for those
meetings. Given that not all interested persons may have an opportunity
to attend such meetings, the Agency's solicitation of written comments
will ensure that all persons have a chance to participate. When
possible, NHTSA will also arrange for the meetings to be webcast and
for written transcripts of the meetings. When available, webcast videos
and transcripts will be at https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles.
Public Participation
How do I prepare and submit comments?
Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your
comments are filed correctly in the docket, please include the docket
number of this document in your comments.
Your comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21).
NHTSA established this limit to encourage you to write your primary
comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary
additional documents to your
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comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
Please submit one copy (two copies if submitting by mail or hand
delivery) of your comments, including the attachments, to the docket
following the instructions given above under ADDRESSES. Please note, if
you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we
ask that the documents submitted be scanned using an Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agency to search and copy
certain portions of your submissions.
How do I submit 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 Office of the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the
address given above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition,
you may submit a copy (two copies if submitting by mail or hand
delivery), from which you have deleted the claimed confidential
business information, to the docket by one of the methods given above
under ADDRESSES. When you send a comment containing information claimed
to be confidential business information, you should include a cover
letter setting forth the information specified in NHTSA's confidential
business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).
Will the agency consider late comments?
NHTSA will consider all comments received before the close of
business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To
the extent possible, the Agency will also consider comments received
after that date. Given that we intend for the policy document to be a
living document and to be developed in an iterative fashion, subsequent
opportunities to comment will also be provided periodically.
How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
You may read the comments received at the address given above under
COMMENTS. The hours of the docket are indicated above in the same
location. You may also see the comments on the Internet, identified by
the docket number at the heading of this notice, at http://www.regulations.gov.
Please note that, even after the comment closing date, NHTSA will
continue to file relevant information in the docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly,
the agency recommends that you periodically check the docket for new
material.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated by 49 CFR
1.95.
Nathaniel Beuse,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2017-19637 Filed 9-14-17; 8:45 am]
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