On March 10, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hosted a public National Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Safety Forum, bringing together federal officials, regulators, and leading figures from the autonomous vehicle industry for a full day of discussions on safety, regulation, and the road ahead for commercial scaling of AVs.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy opened the forum by characterizing the current moment as a “golden age” of innovation for autonomous vehicles, while acknowledging the need for a “Goldilocks approach” — one that avoids moving too fast at the risk of compromising safety, or moving too slowly at the risk of falling behind global competitors.
Secretary Duffy outlined three key regulatory developments expected soon in 2026: (1) NHTSA’s publication of a request for public comment on Zoox’s petition for exemption from eight Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for its fully autonomous driverless robotaxis; (2) upcoming technical guidance from NHTSA on AV technology; and (3) a new tranche of updates to FMVSS standards for driverless vehicles.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison’s remarks echoed these themes, noting the current “paradox” of future innovation being tethered to regulations of the past, and acknowledged that “reliance on the generosity of a regulator is a poor business model.”
The event also included morning panel discussions on safety performance measures and remote assistance in AV deployments, featuring panelists from Zoox, Waymo, Aurora, Uber, and GM, and an afternoon stakeholder workshop focused on gathering public input on future guidance topics including remote assistance, ADS behavioral competencies, and changes in the AV landscape since publication of NHTSA’s 2017 voluntary guidance on automated driving systems. An AV Showcase at DOT’s Automation Plaza featured vehicles and technology from Holon, Lucid-Nuro-Uber, Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox.
The forum underscored that the AV industry is at a critical juncture, with regulatory frameworks actively evolving to keep pace with rapid technological development. Stakeholders across the public and private sectors will be watching closely as NHTSA’s forthcoming guidance and standards updates take shape in the months ahead.