The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday exercised its authority to order mandatory crash reports for all vehicles equipped wi

NHTSA mandates crash reports for self-driving cars, driver-assist systems

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2021-06-30 03:00:06

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday exercised its authority to order mandatory crash reports for all vehicles equipped with a driver-assist technology that shares the responsibility of actually piloting a motor vehicle. Any car equipped with a technology ranked at Level 2 through Level 5 (the highest) on the SAE's scale of autonomy will now be subject to ordered crash reports, the agency said in the announcement.

Within one day of a company learning of a vehicle crash with a driver-assist system onboard, NHTSA will now require a report from the automaker. These crash reports must also detail if there was a hospital-treated injury, fatality, airbag deployment or if the crashed vehicle required a tow. Additionally, the report must detail if pedestrians or cyclists were involved in the crash. After the initial findings, a company will then need to submit an updated report flush with details within 10 days for the agency's data collection. The reporting will take place electronically via a new NHTSA form and companies will need to update reports monthly with any new information, should there be any.

The mandate is a massive step toward transparency when it comes to systems such as Tesla's Autopilot or General Motors' Super Cruise -- perhaps the two most popular driver-assist systems on the market. According to NHTSA, "This action will enable [the agency] to collect information necessary for the agency to play its role in keeping Americans safe on the roadways, even as the technology deployed on the nation's roads continues to evolve." 

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