The Trump administration has decided to retain the autonomous vehicle crash reporting regulations introduced during the Biden administration while revising them by removing certain unnecessary provisions to promote technological innovation.
According to tech outlet The Verge, on April 24, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it would unveil a new framework for autonomous vehicles as part of its innovation agenda. This framework aims to encourage automotive technology innovation, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and maintain safety standards.
While maintaining the existing regulations, the Trump administration introduced several key changes. Under the new guidelines issued by the Department of Transportation’s sub-agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the mandatory reporting of crashes involving vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems will continue, but the reporting procedures will be eased.
Previously, vehicles equipped with Level 2 systems were required to report crashes even if they did not involve pedestrians or cyclists. Under the new rules, only crashes resulting in fatalities or those involving pedestrians or cyclists must be reported.
The Verge projected that this regulatory revision would significantly reduce Tesla’s reporting obligations. Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features are classified as Level 2 driver assistance systems, and Tesla has reported over 1,500 crashes under the existing regulations. Analysis revealed that 40 out of 45 reported fatal crashes were related to Tesla vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously called for the federal government to ease regulations on autonomous vehicles.
In addition, the Department of Transportation announced that the Autonomous Vehicle Exemption Program (AVEP), which previously applied only to imported vehicles, would be expanded to include vehicles manufactured in the United States.
