Will New Regulations Cause Changes to Driver Assistance Technology?

The new head of the NHTSA is working to address the issues involving crashes that include vehicles with advanced driver assistance technology.

These systems, which are meant to help avoid crashes and protect vehicle occupants, could be problematic and linked to some crashes. Right now, there aren’t any federal regulations to cover any of the self-driving systems or those with a partially automated system. Before long, Steven Cliff, the head of the NHTSA, could impose some regulations that might create less turmoil in the auto industry and help drive more consistency.

The Missing Data is Shocking

Self-driving vehicles have been tested on public roads for a few years, but the NHTSA didn’t have any data regarding crashes involving these types of vehicles. When Cliff first joined the NHTSA, he challenged the agency to require this reporting and tracked the data backward to July 2021. This tracking showed that automated vehicles were involved in nearly 400 crashes. While that number pales in comparison to the cars that aren’t automated, its an alarming number considering how few self-driving cars are on the road. Something needs to be done to quell the number of crashes involving cars made to be much safer.

A Controlled Approach

It may sound like Steven Cliff intends to take our safety features and push them backward a few years, but that’s not the case. He fully understands the benefits of driver assistance technology, which is designed to avoid crashes and protect the occupants inside the vehicle. Because of this understanding, he is not in a rush to add new rules or regulations that could compromise the safety of the vehicles on the road. Instead, the goal is to understand how these systems work and what’s needed to improve them.

Performance Standards Will Lead the Way to Technology Regulations

The NHTSA intends to work on performance standards for some of the most common safety features that are typically packaged into the driver assistance technology packages. The most common item is automatic emergency braking which will be required as a part of every vehicle sold. This system detects objects and people in the path of a vehicle to slow or stop the car as needed. This item can certainly increase the likelihood of fewer crashes out on the road. Some of the other features will be studied a little longer.

Developing Metrics to Measure Performance

Any standards put in place by the NHTSA will require performance metrics and ways to measure how the systems work. The first feature will be the automatic emergency braking system, which will have specific performance requirements going forward.

Improved Enforcement Efforts

Tesla has been the target of some of the changes to automated systems, but Cliff reports the company has worked well with the NHTSA and addressed all issues when brought to their attention. Tesla vehicles have more of the driver assistance technology features than any other automotive brand. That said, we might see more Tesla recalls going forward, but expect the car company to respond appropriately and address any issues that arise.