NHTSA Seeks Touch upon Zoox Petition for Robotaxis With out Steering Wheels – Cyber Tech

The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration stated Tuesday it’s looking for public feedback on Amazon.com’sself-driving unit Zoox to deploy as much as 2,500 purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxis.

Zoox filed a petition in August looking for approval from the auto security company saying it will present not less than an equal degree of security to human-driven automobiles and want exemptions from eight federal automobile security requirements written with human drivers in thoughts.

“This marks a serious milestone in direction of offering the American AV business with a streamlined pathway to scaled business deployment of novel AV fleets,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated at a discussion board Tuesday, including he has accepted NHTSA’s subsequent spherical of proposed revisions to Federal Motor Automobile Security Requirements to account for automobiles with out human drivers.

NHTSA has authority to grant petitions to permit as much as 2,500 automobiles per producer yearly to function on U.S. roads with out required human controls, however the company has spent years reviewing a number of exemption petitions with out taking motion. Producers should reveal automobiles with out human controls present an equal security degree and exemptions are within the public curiosity.

Final yr, NHTSA stated it was streamlining opinions of requests filed by automakers looking for to deploy self-driving automobiles with out required human controls like steering wheels, brake pedals or mirrors.

Automakers beforehand expressed frustration with the company’s sluggish opinions of autonomous automobiles. Underneath the regulation, totally self-driving automobiles don’t want NHTSA approval if they’ve required human controls.

The Zoox totally autonomous electrical robotaxi was unveiled in December 2020 and has a high velocity of 75 miles per hour. It has campfire- or carriage-style seating.

In 2018, GM GM.N petitioned NHTSA to deploy as much as 2,500 automobiles with out steering wheels or brake pedals on U.S. roads. In 2020, GM withdrew the petition and the Detroit automaker in 2022 once more sought NHTSA approval to deploy automobiles with out human controls however the petition was withdrawn in October 2024.

Photograph: Courtesy of Zoox