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https://www.slashgear.com/2204680/dot-law-change-no-brake-pedals-self-driving-cars/
Autonomous vehicles have been a big talking point in the United States as Waymo spreads to more cities and Tesla's Cybercab service launch looms overhead. In June 2026, the Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed changes to federal regulations that would allow the growing number of autonomous vehicles in the United States to forgo brake pedals.
As it stands, automakers building autonomous vehicles without brake pedals or other components must request an exemption from the federal government — and if granted, these vehicles must be limited to 2,500 per year. This proposed change will get autonomous vehicles on the road faster, with fewer obstacles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is on board, with Administrator Jonathan Morrison stating that autonomous vehicles are the greatest innovation "since the Model T."
"NHTSA is tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter and holding AV developers accountable for safe performance," Morrison said (via TechCrunch). The public has until July 27th to comment on the proposal before the DOT officially approves these changes.
Right now, most autonomous vehicles have a steering wheel, accelerator, and brake pedals, but even popular brands like Waymo have been considering ditching these components — federal regulations are the only thing in the way. One company that would benefit greatly from the DOT's changes is Tesla, given the upcoming Cybercab.
Currently, Tesla's robotaxi service has remained a small operation in Austin, Texas, with human monitors in the front seat. CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly blamed regulatory red tape for the delayed rollout of the Cybercab, which was first revealed at the "We, Robot" event in 2024. The NHTSA has been consistently investigating Tesla's Full Self-Driving mode for false claims and possible shortcomings, which could be prolonging the process. California has also claimed that FSD is engaging in false advertising and demanded that it change the name.
Early Cybercab prototypes featured no steering wheel or pedals, as well as a cabin with just two rear seats. The first production Cybercab came out of the Giga Texas facility in April 2026, despite a delay in the unsupervised driving feature. Now, a new Tesla document states that the controversial vehicle typically won't have a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedals. This means Tesla will need DOT's changes to go through to avoid more delays in its Cybercab services.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Monday July 06, @07:30PM (5 children)
All three of those are problems they're trying to solve though.
1. The routes are inconvenient and limiting (no I don't want a dense urban environment that is proven to cause mental health problems
2. I don't want to share with druggies
3. I don't want to follow a rigid and inconvenient schedule
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(Score: 2) by aafcac on Monday July 06, @07:50PM (2 children)
Those are all greatly exaggerated, at least if you're in a city where they care about such things. Most of the buses that I'm likely to want to take run at least 4x an hour through most of the day. And, I hardly ever see anybody on drugs on the buses. It can be somewhat inconvenient, but generally, you'd work out where you're going to live and work ahead of time, to the extent you can and bikes can significantly improve the mobility. .
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday July 07, @01:04PM (1 child)
I think London Transport did a study where they found that the tipping point for reading timetables was 5 equally-spaced buses/trains an hour - at that point people just turned up and waited for the next arrival, without bothering to adjust their schedules to a timetable.
I'm too lazy/busy on other things to look it up right now.
(Score: 2) by aafcac on Tuesday July 07, @03:21PM
That sounds about right. The bus I take the most often comes 4 times an hour through much of the day and at 4 times an hour it's already rather hard to work out if it's running fast or behind if it isn't there when I expect it to be. At 5 times an hour, I probably wouldn't bother worrying about it at all.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday July 06, @10:12PM (1 child)
1. A lot of these systems go out into the suburbs with stations that are more like park-and-rides.
2. Your belief that there are tons of druggies in public transit is more stereotype than reality.
3. Regarding the "scheduling" point: If the subway trains are frequent enough you don't think about scheduling. You just show up and wait for the next one going the right direction, which will arrive in a few minutes. Everyone who has lived in a city with a real functional subway system can tell you that's basically the norm.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Tuesday July 07, @04:11PM
Says who, and why?
https://deohs.washington.edu/sites/default/files/2023-09/UW%20exposure%20assessment%20final%20report%20Sept%202023_authors.pdf [washington.edu]
It's to the point in some big cities, that riding the bus might be a viable legal defense to a failed corporate or probation drug test.
I realize the scientists in the study were in a 3rd world failed state area, not a civilized area, so there are some apples to oranges comparison problems, but still, whew...
As a public policy issue I think it's a legit issue that it's unfair to fire or prosecute a bus driver for failing a drug test if their workplace is documented as contaminated with those very drugs.
Firing a bus driver for testing positive for fent is like punishing an employee of a lead smelter for their "decision" to have a high lead level in their blood.
"Yeah just don't touch anything or breath while you're on the bus, bro, because doing that is a moral failing"