Introduction

 One of the main focuses of the Department of Transportation is the safety of drivers on American roadways. In 2015, 35,092 people died as a result of accidents on U.S. roadways. Ninety-four percent of those crashes were tied to a human choice or error. The possibility of autonomous vehicles that make no such errors presents a dazzling opportunity to potentially save thousands of lives annually. These highly automated vehicles (HAV) can also be linked by sensors so that a vehicle can sense what the vehicle ahead of it is doing and respond appropriately, as well as consistently maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of it, and can communicate with the roadway itself in order to further enhance system performance.

 Safety is not the only benefit. Mobility for handicapped, or aging individuals, or those who do not own a vehicle due to cost or prefer simply not to drive can take great advantage of vehicles that could be put to work as fleets of driverless taxis. These taxis could take them anywhere at a moment's notice without the person imposing on friends or neighbors or dealing with limited public transportation. Infrastructure can also benefit by being used more efficiently without adding construction or more vehicles to the system.

 Because of these enormous possibilities and the fact that the technology is close to being usable, the Department of Transportation has put together the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. The entire document can be found here, and this article will highlight some of the major sections of the policy.

 There are four main sections: Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles, Model State Policy, NHTSA's Current Regulatory Tools, and New Tools and Authorities. Because there have been varying descriptions of levels of automation, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International definitions are being adopted. They are as follows:

 0–Driver does everything.

1–Automated system can sometimes assist the driver in parts of the driving; cruise control, for example.

2–Automated system can actually conduct some parts of driving while human monitors environment and performs rest of the driving.

3–Automated system can actually conduct some of driving and monitor environment in some instances, but human must be ready to take back control when system indicates. Driver can take hands off wheel and feet off pedals.

4–Automated system can drive and monitor the environment, and human does not need to take back control, but vehicle can operate only in certain environments and conditions. For example, vehicles must operate only within certain geo-fenced area.

5–Automated system can perform all driving tasks under all conditions that a human could perform.

 Levels 3-5 are considered the highly autonomous vehicles (HAVs).

 Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles

 The guidance section points out that currently, under federal law, HAVs may be offered for sale; manufacturers simply have to self-certify that vehicles for sale comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). They are also subject to NHTSA's defect, recall, and enforcement authority, and the guidelines suggest that manufacturers and others will likely use this Guidance and industry standards and best practices to maintain safety in real-world conditions. This Guidance should be used for any vehicles used on public roads, including test and production vehicles. A framework is laid out that applies to vehicles' original, replacement, and automated systems. These areas include data sharing and recording; privacy; system safety; cybersecurity; human-machine interface; crashworthiness; consumer education and training; post-crash vehicle behavior; federal, state and local laws; and ethical considerations.

 The Department of Transportation will request that manufacturers and other entities provide reports on how the Guidance is being followed; at first it is voluntary, but the process may be modified later to become a requirement. A safety assessment may be required in the future to be submitted to NHTSA's Office of Chief Counsel for each HAV system that outlines how they are meeting the Guidance at the time they intend the product to be ready for use. The Safety Assessment would cover the following:

 ·Data recording and sharing

·Privacy

·System safety

·Vehicle cybersecurity

·Human machine interface

·Crashworthiness

·Consumer education and training

·Registration and certification

·Post-crash behavior

·Federal, state and local laws

·Ethical considerations

·Operational design domain

·Object and event detection and response

·Fall back (minimal risk condition)

·Validation methods

 These assessment areas are described in depth. The assessment should include an acknowledgement that has three options, one of which should be indicated. These options are meets the guidance area, does not meet the guidance area, or guidance area is not applicable. The indication should be signed by an authorized company representative. A new assessment will be required every time any significant upgrade to a vehicle or HAV system is made. Software or hardware updates made to vehicles deployed on public roadways that affect any of the fifteen areas will then require a new Safety Assessment.

 Model State Policy

 Vehicles on public roads are subject to federal and state jurisdiction, and a model policy is outlined that would create a consistent, unified national framework for regulation of HAV if adopted. The goal is to avoid a patchwork of inconsistent laws and regulations that would be confusing and could hamper effective implementation of HAVs.

 NHTSA responsibilities for the regulation of motor vehicle operations include the following:

 ·Setting FMVSS for new vehicles and equipment

·Enforcing compliance with FMVSS

·Investigating and managing recall and remedy of noncompliance and safety-related defects on a national basis

·Communicating and educating the public on safety issues

·Issuing guidance for vehicle and equipment manufacturers to follow

 States' responsibilities include the following:

 ·Licensing human drivers and registering vehicles in their jurisdictions

·Enacting and enforcing traffic laws and regulations

·Conducting safety inspections if the state chooses to do so

·Regulating vehicle insurance and liability

 In creating state policies for HAVs, states are charged with updating existing laws and regulations in order to address unnecessary impediments to the testing, deployment, and operation of HAVs and references to human drivers as necessary. States are in general tasked with reducing crashes and resultant deaths, injuries, and property damage. In constructing a policy, states are allowed to experiment with different standards, but the overall hope is that there will be enough consistency across states that a patchwork of inconsistent laws that would impede the progress of HAVs will be avoided. The model law contains the following sections:

 ·Administrative

·Application for manufacturers or other entities to test HAVs on public roadways

·Jurisdictional permission to test

·Testing by the manufacturer or other entity

·Deployed vehicles: drivers

·Deployed vehicles: registration and titling

·Law enforcement considerations

·Liability and insurance

 The guidance also briefly outlines NHTSA's enforcement authority, which is that NHTSA has broad authority to address existing and new automotive technology and equipment. NHTSA's authority also extends to cover defects and unreasonable risks to safety that could arise with HAVs.

 NHTSA's next steps are outlined as far as future updates to the model state policy, which include public comment and workshops, stakeholder engagement, education, work plan, North American cross-border coordination, and continual coordination with state partners and other stakeholders.

 NHTSA's current and possibly future regulatory tools that can be used to help regular HAVs are reviewed at length. The policy also provides a glossary as well as appendices, which lay out the regulatory tools and next steps. Next steps include public comments, workshops, expert review, publication of a safety assessment template, and a number of other steps geared towards putting the guidance into use.

 Summary

 There is still a long way to go and a lot of details to be worked out before HAVs are routinely on the road. However, this policy gives manufacturers and others guidelines from which to start. When early manufacturers gave dates in the early 2020s as projected dates for the availability of autonomous vehicles, many thought those estimates to be too hopeful. This shows that the future is fast moving and approaching sooner than some thought.