๐จ NHTSA Moves to Remove Brake Pedal Mandate for Fully Autonomous Vehicles
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed removing the manual brake pedal requirement for vehicles designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems.
The key point is not a reduction in braking safety standards, but the removal of a human-control hardware requirement.
This move can be seen as an important regulatory step for purpose-built robotaxis without pedals or steering wheels, such as Teslaโs Cybercab.
Key changes:
* ADS-only vehicles would no longer need hand- or foot-operated brake controls
* AVs that retain manual controls would still follow existing rules
* All covered vehicles must still meet the same stopping-distance performance standards
* NHTSA is separately developing real-world AV safety performance requirements