NHTSA, GM Discuss Self-Driving Vehicles Without Steering Wheels

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been talking with General Motors about its petition to deploy self-driving vehicles without steering wheels or other human controls, according to a Reuters report.

NHTSA plans to make a decision soon on GM’s petition as well as the request by driverless delivery startup Nuro to deploy a limited number of the automated delivery vehicles. 

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra and U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao met recently to talk about the petition, according to the report.

This is the first time that NHTSA is reviewing a vehicle where all driving decisions will be made by a computer rather than a human driver, says the report. 

“We’re in communication with them about how they are ensuring the safe operation of the vehicle,” said NHTSA Administrator James Owens. “We will continue having a back and forth with them.”

This year, Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo units started offering some rides with no human driver in its autonomous ride-hailing service, but the vehicles have steering wheels and employees view remote feeds of each vehicle’s camera.