Recently, NHTSA has removed regulations related to autonomous vehicles having to be equipped with physical driving control systems, such as steering wheel and pedals. However, the new rule still emphasizes that autonomous cars must continue to provide the same level of passenger protection as current vehicles.
Previously, old regulations caused many obstacles in the development of autonomous vehicles. Automobile manufacturers and technology companies are required to equip the steering wheel, steering wheel and an accompanying steering column, or only one front passenger seat position for self-driving vehicles to ensure safety standards.
The new regulations were first proposed in March 2020, a month after General Motors and the Cruise self-driving unit asked NHTSA to manufacture and deploy a fully autonomous autonomous vehicle called Cruise Origin. GM and Cruise are among 30 companies or organizations allowed to test autonomous or self-driving vehicles on US roads, according to NHTSA.
Tesla is also a company allowed to test autonomous vehicles. At the 2019 autonomy Day event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised that his company would provide a car that does not require steering wheel within two years.
Although that had not happened yet, Musk said at the time, Once the authorities felt comfortable with us not having a handlebar, we would produce the car immediately. The probability of us taking away the steering wheel is 100%.
