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Occupant Protection for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems (2023)

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The Occupant Protection for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems rule is a significant rule issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) effective September 26, 2022, that updated the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) regarding occupant protection to accommodate future vehicles equipped with Automated Driving Systems (ADS).[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Name: Occupant Protection for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems
  • Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Action: Final rule
  • Type of significant rule: Economically significant rule

    • Timeline

    The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:

    Background

    NHTSA assessed its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) to address potential discrepancies with designs anticipated for vehicles equipped with Automated Driving Systems (ADSs), involving stakeholder input, research, and public discussions. This led to a proposed rulemaking in March 2020 aimed at revising crashworthiness standards to accommodate unconventional interior designs, like those lacking traditional driving controls, expected in certain ADS-equipped vehicles.

    Summary of the rule

    The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]

    “ This final rule amends the occupant protection Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) to account for future vehicles that do not have the traditional manual controls associated with a human driver because they are equipped with Automated Driving Systems (ADS). This final rule makes clear that, despite their innovative designs, vehicles with ADS technology must continue to provide the same high levels of occupant protection that current passenger vehicles provide. The occupant protection standards are currently written for traditionally designed vehicles and use terms such as “driver's seat” and “steering wheel,” that are not meaningful to vehicle designs that, for example, lack a steering wheel or other driver controls. This final rule updates the standards in a manner that clarifies existing terminology while avoiding unnecessary terminology, and, in doing so, resolves ambiguities in applying the standards to ADS-equipped vehicles without traditional manual controls. In addition, this final rule amends the standards in a manner that maintains the existing regulatory text whenever possible, to make clear that this rule maintains the level of crash protection currently provided occupants in more traditionally designed vehicles. This final rule is limited to the crashworthiness standards to provide a unified set of regulatory text applicable to vehicles with and without ADS functionality.[2] ”

    Summary of provisions

    This rule amends the following Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) areas to account for vehicles equipped with Automated Driving Systems (ADS):[1]

    • Passenger Seating Position
    • Steering Wheel to Steering Control
    • Outboard Designated Seating Position
    • Row and Seat Outline
    • Driver Air Bag and Driver Dummy
    • Dummy Placement in Bench Seats
    • Steering Controls as a Spatial Reference
    • Dual-Mode Certification
    • Parking Brake and Transmission Position
    • Glazing Materials
    • Vehicle Crash Compatibility
    • Windshield Mounting and Zone Intrusion
    • Occupant Crash Protection
    • Advanced Air Bags
    • Front Outboard Versus Center or Inboard Seating Position
    • Suppression of Vehicle Motion When a Child Is Detected in the Driver's Seat
    • Belts in Buses

    Significant impact

    See also: Significant regulatory action

    Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.

    Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.[1]


    The text of the Creating Occupant Protection for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems rule states that OMB deemed this rule economically significant under E.O. 12866:

    “ This final rule is 'significant' and was reviewed by OMB. This action is significant because it raises novel legal and policy issues surrounding the regulation of vehicles equipped with ADS and is the subject of much public interest and has anticipated annual economic impacts greater than $100 million.[2] ”

    Text of the rule

    The full text of the rule is available below:[1]

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Federal Register, "Creating Occupant Protection for Vehicles With Automated Driving Systems," March 30, 2022
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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