Trump updates Biden’s robo-car crash reporting rule to benefit Tesla
1 min read
Summary
Trump’s US Department of Transportation (DOT) has revised its rule on the mandatory reporting of autonomous vehicle crashes to benefit Tesla.
In 2021 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a standing general order (SGO) that required tech and auto companies to document and report all crashes involving autonomous vehicles, including Level 2 driver-assist systems within 30 seconds of impact.
Teslas’ Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features are classified as Level 2 driver assist systems and must be reported under the SGO, so the company has reported over 1,500 such crashes to the federal government since the order was enacted.
The DOT’s revised framework keeps the SGO but removes some of the reporting requirements, so a crash must now only be reported if the vehicle has a Level 4 automated driving system, like Waymo.
Vehicles with Level 2 systems that don’t involve a fatality or vulnerable road user are now exempted from reporting.