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President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly mulling the possibility of ditching the requirement of having to report crashes involving automated driving systems.
The possibility of having this requirement thrown out would greatly benefit Tesla and other companies that are testing either partial or fully automated driving systems. These companies would no longer have to report accidents and crashes involving automation at any level.
Trump aims to create framework for self-driving vehicles: report
The NHTSA requires automakers to report crashes and accidents of any kind if either advanced driver-assistance systems or automated driving tech was active within 30 seconds of the crash occurring.
However, Reuters is reporting that President-elect Trump’s transition team is urging him to do away with this requirement, which could help streamline the regulatory processes for self-driving vehicles.
The report states that Tesla would benefit greatly:
“Removing the crash-disclosure provision would particularly benefit Tesla, which has reported most of the crashes – more than 1,500 – to federal safety regulators under the program. Tesla has been targeted in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations, including three stemming from the data.”
In reality, more than just Tesla would benefit.
In the past, CEO Elon Musk has called the federal approval process for autonomous vehicles “incredibly painful.” His relationship with President-elect Trump could prove to be highly beneficial in this regard, as he could look to Musk for guidance on how to handle certain regulatory hurdles.
However, it would also benefit other companies that are developing autonomous technologies.
The NHTSA has received and analyzed data on over 2,700 crashes involving at least partially automated driving technologies since 2021, the report also stated. It has launched ten investigations into six companies, including one with GM’s Cruise, which saw the agency fine the company $1.5 million for failing to report an incident.
Removing the requirement to report these accidents could help some companies with the negative publicity that comes from these incidents. However, there should still be some sort of transparency with consumers.
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