Trump's DOT Introduces Changes to 'Accelerate' AV Deployment, Directs NHTSA to Grant Zoox Temporary Exemption

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. The Donald Trump administration on Thursday introduced changes to Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations aimed at expediting the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles, granting Amazon.com Inc.'s Robotaxi operator Zoox a temporary exemption to deploy its driverless vehicles commercially. Sean Duffy Touts AV Consortium In an official statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement a new set of policy changes to " accelerate American automated vehicle (AV) innovation." The directives include a temporary exemption for Zoox to deploy 2,500 Robotaxis "annually for two years," subject to an oversight structure. Don't Miss: A single bad hire can set a startup back years. Here are the 5 hires founders most often misjudge — and why Still Learning the Market? These 50 Must-Know Terms Can Help You Catch Up Fast Zoox currently operates its service in Las Vegas, where the company has completed 500,000 rides. It also recently unveiled its updated Pod-like Robotaxi, saying that its California production facility can produce 100 units of the vehicle per week. The vehicle features a LiDAR-enabled self-driving suite and bidirectional design, which can accommodate four passengers. NHTSA also touted a new, three-year $5 million consortium called "A2SCEND," which the agency said is the first-ever AV performance standards partnership with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Industry Technologies Consortia. The agency says that the project will help establish a single national standard for AV safety to "eliminate the patchwork regulatory landscape that has stifled innovation for years," the agency said. FMVSS Exemptions, Emergency Responder Guidance The statement also outlined that the NHTSA Administrator would be granted discretion to provide exemptions to AV developers to deploy vehicles manufactured before the exemption date into the autonomous fleet deployed after the exemption has been granted. See Also: Avoid the #1 Investing Mistake: How Your 'Safe' Holdings Could Be Costing You Big Time NHTSA is also updating Part 555 exemptions, which allow manufacturers to sell a limited number of vehicles that do not comply with certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to develop new technology. The agency is also updating its deployment guidance by establishing a Federal Docket that would cover topics like emergency responder interactions, safety management systems, remote assistance, and post-crash behavior.