U.S. proposes to drop brake pedal requirements for self-driving vehicles

A Zoox autonomous robotaxi in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed on Thursday to end a government requirement for manual brake pedals in self-driving vehicles, a move that would make it easier to deploy such vehicles on U.S. roads. The proposal would not apply to vehicles with human driver controls and NHTSA said it would not drop braking performance requirements, including strict stopping distance standards for self-driving vehicles. It is one of a number of changes proposed by the agency to facilitate the roll-out of self-driving vehicles. NHTSA is in the process of developing safety performance tests for self-driving vehicles as part of a separate standard. Automakers have previously expressed frustration with the agency's slow review ​of autonomous vehicles. ​Under the law, ⁠fully self-driving vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they have required human controls, like steering wheels, brake pedals or mirrors. NHTSA has authority to grant petitions to allow up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer yearly to operate on U.S. roads without required human controls, but the agency has spent years reviewing several exemption petitions without taking action. Last year, NHTSA said it was streamlining reviews of those exemption requests. …