On Monday, the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency published its long-awaited Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. NHTSA is the part of the US government responsible for regulating the vehicles we drive, and it’s broadly in favor of self-driving technology given the potential to reduce the death toll on the nation’s roads. That toll, by the way, nudged above 35,000 in 2015 (up almost 8 percent on the previous year).
The new document includes both a performance guidance (as opposed to regulation) for automated vehicles as well as a model policy for individual states to follow. As is the case with new federal government policies, the document is open for public comment for the next 60 days.
