Not surprisingly, NHTSA's regulatory stance on automated
vehicles is simple: improve vehicle safety by preventing driving
errors. As automated vehicles begin to populate the roads, two
themes arising from this stance have emerged:
1) The need to introduce automated technologies safely.
2) Public acceptance of these potentially life-saving
technologies.
To tackle safety regulations as these types of cars become
available in the marketplace, the U.S. Department of Transportation
and NHTSA jointly issued a federal policy statement, titled
Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, Accelerating the Next
Revolution in Roadway Safety. This policy recommends that
automated vehicle manufacturers develop a description of the
Operational Design Domain (ODD), Object and Event Detection and
Response (OEDR), and the fall-back minimum risk condition for their
vehicles.
