Hold on, because there are twists ahead for cars in this country! The federal government has confirmed that it will update road safety standards, the traditional ones, for a single reason: autonomous vehicles are already on our streets. Cars without steering wheels, without pedals, and controlled by artificial intelligence. It seemed very far away, but it is already here, and now the NHTSA has finalized a study that has been on the table for more than eight years. The conclusion is that there are rules designed for another time, and they need to move forward at the same pace as technology.
Designed for humans
Of course, for decades everything was based on humans driving, which is why seat belts, mirrors, pedals, seat positions, everything was designed for the human experience.
The NHTSA has now reviewed 81 federal safety standards to see which ones still make sense and which ones need urgent reinterpretation because they are quite outdated.
How do you test a car that no one “drives”?
Here is the first challenge they have faced. How is it possible to evaluate the safety of a vehicle that does not respond to human commands? The agency explains that this is not about lowering safety standards, but about measuring them in a different way, because the main goal will always be to save more lives.
Straight to automotive innovation
Manufacturers and technology companies have been asking for clear rules for years that do not block the development of autonomous cars due to requirements that no longer fit reality, so if a more flexible and updated legal framework is created…
An open process
Another important point is that the agency has opened a public consultation process so that manufacturers, experts, and even citizens can provide information about recent advances that did not exist when the study began. Regulation must be “alive” and must adapt to the real pace of technology to avoid the chaos of each state having different rules.
Will there be no drivers anymore?
Perhaps the most striking part of all this is that the law is starting to assume something that until recently no one imagined, and that is that we are getting much closer to all vehicles circulating without a human driver. Little by little, of course.
Safety and technology
It seems that little by little a balance is being achieved, and the NHTSA specifies something that is already logical. This transition will not be reckless. Every step taken will be accompanied by very strict technical evaluations because they must be at least as safe as those driven by people.
It is not a “anything goes”. It is a redefinition of what we understand by road safety in a world ruled by software, sensors, and data, so it will take quite some time, as is obvious, and many debates.
Toward the future without fear
What we are talking about is one of the deepest changes the automobile has experienced in decades, and finally the United States recognizes that the laws of the past do not work for the cars of the future and that adaptation is needed long before technology gets ahead of us.
The new era of mobility is arriving and it needs everything to adjust by the time it truly arrives, and there is still a lot to change.