New NHTSA driverless car rules allows for cars without steering wheels and pedals

In a new “first-of-its-kind” ruling, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will allow companies to manufacture autonomous, self-driving vehicles without manual controls, such as steering wheels or pedals. The full 155-page ruling notes that other safety measures still need to be in place though.

In a nutshell, the ruling is focused on avoiding “unnecessary terminology” and “ambiguities” when it comes to applying safety standards to vehicles that don’t require manual controls. The ruling also applies to dual-mode ADS-equipped vehicles (ones that offer traditional driving options in addition to self-driving options).

As for how the NHTSA defines an autonomous vehicle, according to the ruling, an ADS is defined as the “hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire [dynamic driving task] on a sustained basis.”

General Motors is planning to manufacture an autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel called the Cruise Origin.

As reported by CNBC, the ruling was first proposed back in March of 2020 after General Motors reached out to the NHTSA for permission to build and deploy a vehicle called the Cruise Origin, a self-driving vehicle without manual controls.

The idea of General Motors of all companies handling the creation of a self-driving vehicle without a steering wheel is certainly an eyebrow-raising idea. That said, GM isn’t the only company looking to manufacture self-driving vehicles (with or without steering wheels) as CNBC reports GM to be among “30 or so companies or organizations permitted to test highly automated or self-driving vehicles on U.S. roadways.”

Furthermore, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has plans to create a car without a steering wheel, with Musk having previously said, “Once regulators are comfortable with us not having a steering wheel, we will just delete that. The probability of the steering wheel being taken away is 100 percent.”

It seems like Musk is set to be proven right on the matter given the new NHTSA ruling, in addition to the fact that companies outside of Tesla are also flirting with the idea of self-driving cars without steering wheels.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously stated that, "The probability of the steering wheel being taken away is 100 percent.”

Naturally, there are concerns about the current state of self-driving cars and whether this ruling is a bit premature. The ruling remarks on these concerns, stating:

“The agency acknowledges that uncertainty continues to exist around the development and potential deployment of ADS-equipped vehicles. Nevertheless, NHTSA believes it is appropriate to finalize this action at this time in anticipation of emerging ADS vehicle designs that NHTSA has seen in prototype form.

The current designs generally involve forward-facing row seating and vehicles without manual driving controls. NHTSA has designed this final rule to minimize the changes to the FMVSSs and to maintain the level of occupant protection currently provided in all FMVSS compliant vehicles. This final rule provides regulatory certainty 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.”

For more on the new ruling, we recommend reading through the full document.

After getting up-to-speed on the ruling, we’re curious about your thoughts on the matter. Even if a self-driving vehicle is perfectly autonomous, would you still want a steering wheel to be included as a “just in case” sort of thing? Let us know, and if you want to catch up with more Tesla-related info, be sure to check out our coverage of Tesla’s German Gigafactory getting conditional approval to start commercial production.