- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced the start of rulemaking for new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which notably would change some rules for driverless cars. - The biggest change in the new regulations would be to remove the requirement for a physical brake pedal in vehicles designed exclusively as autonomous vehicles. - The new FMVSS would still require that autonomous vehicles maintain the same level of safety, such as stopping distance requirements, but drops requirements for manual controls. Regulations tend to move more slowly than industry. That's generally a good thing, since it usually means keeping people safe, but sometimes it means an archaic ruleset that hampers innovation. Supporters of driverless cars and cars equipped with automated driving systems (ADS), who have argued for years that the latter is true, may have just earned a small victory. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced proposed changes to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to update the rules governing driverless cars. For Sale Near You See all results for used cars for sale near 20191 Under the new regulations, cars designed to be driven exclusively by ADS would no longer require manual brake pedals. Or, in other words, cars such as Tesla's Cybercab, which was designed without a steering wheel or pedals, would be eligible for certification under FMVSS No. 135. The logic behind the decision, according to NHTSA, is that physical controls—like a steering wheel or brake pedal—aren't necessary in a vehicle that won't ever be driven by a person. Importantly, the decision to remove the requirement for a physical brake pedal does not alter the regulations governing stopping distances. All vehicles, autonomous or not, would still be subject to federal standards that cover stopping. The announcement also opens the door to