NHTSA Dropping Manual Brake Pedal Requirement for Fully Automated Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is dropping the manual brake pedal mandate for fully automated vehicles.

As part of its new NHTSA’s Automated Vehicle Framework, the administration began rulemaking for its fifth update to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

This latest effort would eliminate the mandate for manual brake pedals in vehicles designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems (ADS).

Other braking performance requirements, including strict stopping distance standards, will be preserved. For ADS-equipped vehicles with manual driving controls, all existing standard requirements will be retained, according to NHTSA.

Updates to the standards include:

• Removes requirements for hand- or foot-operated brake controls for vehicles designed never to be operated by a human. Existing rules still apply to AVs that retain manual controls.
• All subject vehicles must meet the same stopping distance performance criteria via alternative testing procedures.
• While this update ensures AVs can physically stop when commanded, NHTSA is separately developing safety performance requirements for AVs in real-world driving scenarios.
• NHTSA will continue to use its broad defect enforcement authority to investigate unsafe ADS behavior and oversee recalls.