US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration running point on autonomous vehicles funding initiative
Federal government officials this week announced a plan to commit $3.9 billion in funding over the next decade to bolster research and development of autonomous vehicles.
Anthony Foxx, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, was in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show to discuss the proposal, which President Obama referenced in his final State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“We are on the cusp of a new era in automotive technology with enormous potential to save lives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transform mobility for the American people,” Foxx said. “Today’s actions and those we will pursue in the coming months will provide the foundation and the path forward for manufacturers, state officials, and consumers to use new technologies and achieve their full safety potential.”
Contained in the budget proposal for fiscal year 2017, the Department of Transportation described the spending as covering “pilot programs to test connected vehicle systems in designated corridors throughout the country, and work with industry leaders to ensure a common multistate framework for connected and autonomous vehicles.”
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Along with the budget allocation, there’s also an attendant update to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration policy statement regarding autonomous vehicles that “reflects the reality that the widespread deployment of fully autonomous vehicles is now feasible,” according to information provided by the DOT.
NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind drew a straight line from autonomous vehicles to safer roads.
“NHTSA is using all of its available tools to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can eliminate 94% of fatal crashes involving human error,” Rosekind said. “We will work with state partners toward creating a consistent national policy on these innovations, provide options now and into the future for manufacturers seeking to deploy autonomous vehicles, and keep our safety mission paramount at every stage.”
The DOT announced several 2016 milestones related to this initiative:
- Within six months, NHTSA will work with industry and other stakeholders to develop guidance on the safe deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles, providing a common understanding of the performance characteristics necessary for fully autonomous vehicles and the testing and analysis methods needed to assess them.
- Within six months, NHTSA will work with state partners, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and other stakeholders to develop a model state policy on automated vehicles that offers a path to consistent national policy.
- Foxx encouraged manufacturers to submit rule interpretation requests where appropriate to help enable technology innovation. For example, NHTSA responded to an interpretation request from BMW confirming the company’s remote self-parking system meets federal safety standards.
- When interpretation authority is not sufficient, Foxx further encouraged manufacturers to submit requests for use of the agency’s exemption authority to allow the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. Exemption authority allows NHTSA to enable the deployment of up to 2,500 vehicles for up to two years if the agency determines an exemption would ease development of new safety features.
- DOT and NHTSA will develop the new tools necessary for this new era of vehicle safety and mobility, and will consider seeking new authorities when they are necessary to ensure that fully autonomous vehicles, including those designed without a human driver in mind, are deployable in large numbers when they are demonstrated to provide an equivalent or higher level of safety than is now available.