US seeks comment on Zoox petition to deploy robotaxis without steering wheels

Zoox, a self-driving vehicle owned by Amazon, is seen at the company's Headquarters during a test drive in Foster City, California, U.S. October 15, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - ⁠The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it is seeking public ⁠comments on Amazon.com's self-driving unit Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built, ‌steering-wheel-free robotaxis.

Zoox filed a petition in August seeking approval from the auto safety agency saying it would provide at least an equivalent level of safety to human-driven vehicles and need exemptions from eight federal ​vehicle safety standards written with human drivers in mind.

"This ⁠marks a major milestone towards ⁠providing the American AV industry with a streamlined pathway to scaled commercial deployment of ⁠novel ‌AV fleets," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a forum Tuesday, adding he has approved NHTSA’s next round of proposed revisions to Federal Motor ⁠Vehicle Safety Standards to account for vehicles without human drivers.

NHTSA ​has authority to grant ‌petitions to allow up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer yearly to operate ⁠on U.S. roads ​without required human controls, but the agency has spent years reviewing several exemption petitions without taking action. Manufacturers must demonstrate vehicles without human controls provide an equivalent safety level and ⁠exemptions are in the public interest.

Last year, NHTSA said ​it was streamlining reviews of requests filed by automakers seeking to deploy self-driving vehicles without required human controls like steering wheels, brake pedals or mirrors.

Automakers previously expressed frustration with ⁠the agency's slow reviews of autonomous vehicles. Under the law, fully self-driving vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they have required human controls.

The Zoox fully autonomous electric robotaxi was unveiled in December 2020 and has a top speed of 75 miles ​per hour. It has campfire- or carriage-style seating.

In 2018, ⁠GM petitioned NHTSA to deploy up to 2,500 cars without steering wheels or brake pedals ​on U.S. roads. In 2020, GM withdrew the ‌petition and the Detroit automaker in 2022 again ​sought NHTSA approval to deploy vehicles without human controls but the petition was withdrawn in October 2024.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Nick Zieminski)