---
title: "The US Government Wants to Allow Fully Autonomous Vehicles on US Roads"
description: "The Department of Transportation just released an 80-page document outlining their plans for regulating fully autonomous vehicles."
date: "2018-10-05"
modified: "2018-10-05"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-government-fully-autonomous-vehicles"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Self-Driving Vehicles"
tags:
  - "autonomous car"
  - "Autonomous vehicles"
  - "avs"
  - "department of transportation"
  - "the digest"
  - "united states"
---

# The US Government Wants to Allow Fully Autonomous Vehicles on US Roads

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/us-government-fully-autonomous-vehicles.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NIO\</em\>*

## Look Ma! No Hands!

The freedom that comes with owning a car is almost as old as the American dream itself.

But the safety risks associated with automobiles are immense: in 2017, more than 37,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the U.S., [according to](<https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812603>) the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

One solution: accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles.

## Safety First

The DOT released [a report](<https://www.scribd.com/document/390126861/Preparing-Future-Transportation-Automated-Vehicle-30>) Wednesday that outlines sweeping changes that would allow automated cars on public roads.

To get started**,** the DOT wants to "adapt the definitions of 'driver' to include 'automated systems.'" It also wants to allow automated vehicles with no "traditional cabin and control features of human-operated vehicles."

In other words, the law would no longer require vehicles to have a steering wheel or gas pedal.

## Auto Thus

There are still plenty of skeptics that believe it's too early to make the switch to fully autonomous cars. As [repeated accidents](<https://futurism.com/ubers-self-driving-car-just-killed-pedestrian>) show, car makers still have a lot of kinks to iron out.

But with a solid regulatory foundation from the federal government, maybe the U.S. has shot at becoming a world leader in autonomous vehicle tech.

**Read More:** [US will rewrite safety rules to permit fully driverless cars on public roads](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/4/17936576/self-driving-car-av-guidelines-3-nhtsa-elaine-chao>) \[*The Verge*\]

***More on autonomous vehicles: [Most of the AV Accidents in California Are Caused By Human Drivers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/av-accidents-california-cause>)***

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)