NHTSA will fund a three-year, $5 million consortium to develop the first federal performance standards for automated vehicles, one of five AV policy actions the agency announced this week alongside its commercial exemption grant to Zoox. The consortium, named A2SCEND, is a partnership with SAE Industry Technologies Consortia and is intended to gather the data underpinning what the agency describes as a single national AV safety standard. NHTSA framed the package of actions as part of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s Innovation Agenda.
Highlights
- $5 million over three years funds the A2SCEND consortium with SAE Industry Technologies Consortia
- Five policy actions were directed by Secretary Duffy, spanning exemptions, standards development, and guidance
- First guidance update since 2017 opens for public comment through a new federal docket
- Nine FMVSS have proposed updates or announced update intentions
Standards Development Moves to a Consortium
The A2SCEND partnership is the agency’s answer to a problem it has acknowledged for years: the Vehicle Safety Act requires safety standards stated in objective terms, and objective performance criteria for automated driving do not yet exist. NHTSA says the consortium will bring experts together to gather data and accelerate creation of AV performance standards, and that the project will inform a single national standard — the agency’s stated remedy for what it calls a patchwork regulatory landscape.
The agency separately describes having initiated development of the world’s first AV performance standards capable of meeting the objectivity requirement. Neither the release nor the consortium announcement attaches a completion date to that work.
Three Changes to the Exemption Process
Two of the five actions target Part 555 directly, the process that allows manufacturers to temporarily sell a limited number of non-compliant vehicles, primarily to test new technologies.
An interim final rule will make vehicles manufactured before an exemption takes effect eligible for a commercial deployment exemption, giving the NHTSA Administrator discretion to apply a temporary exemption to vehicles built prior to the grant’s effective date. That closes a timing gap that previously penalized manufacturers who built inventory while an application sat in review.
The agency is also updating its Part 555 guidance and application instructions and soliciting public feedback, with the stated aim of a more flexible oversight structure. The third exemption item is the Zoox grant itself, which permits commercial deployment of up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years under an oversight structure NHTSA says can adapt as the technology advances.
What Will the Updated AV Guidance Cover?
NHTSA is opening a new federal docket for comment on updated guidance for safe AV development and deployment — the first refresh of its technical guidance for AV developers since 2017. The agency identifies four focus areas: emergency responder interactions, safety management systems, remote assistance, and post-crash behavior.
Emergency responder interaction is the most immediately consequential of the four given recent operational incidents across the robotaxi sector, though the release does not connect the guidance update to any specific event.
The FMVSS Modernization List
NHTSA also restated the scope of its standards-modernization work, which it says may eventually remove the need for individual vehicle exemptions altogether. That would matter more than any single exemption grant: a manufacturer that can self-certify does not negotiate with the agency for every production run.
| FMVSS | Subject | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 102 | Transmission shifting | Update proposed |
| 103/104 | Windshield defrosting and wiping | Update proposed |
| 110 | Tire placards | Update proposed |
| 135 | Braking systems | Update proposed |
| 101 | Controls and displays | Intention announced |
| 108 | Vehicle lighting | Intention announced |
| 111 | Mirrors and rearview display | Intention announced |
| 126 | Electronic stability control systems | Intention announced |
| 201/208 | Sun visors and warning labels | Intention announced |
The agency also credits itself with having streamlined both the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program and Part 555 for demonstration and commercial fleets, and with expanding AVEP to cover domestically produced vehicles.
Robomart Application Under Review
The release discloses a second pending petition. Robomart has applied for a temporary exemption from certain FMVSS No. 500 requirements — the low-speed vehicle standard — for a vehicle operated by an automated driving system with no human driver onboard. NHTSA will publish a separate notice seeking public comment once its initial evaluation is complete.
The release does not describe the Robomart vehicle, the specific FMVSS No. 500 requirements at issue, the number of vehicles sought, or an expected timeline.
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