NHTSA Requests Public Input on Zoox Bid to Run 2,500 Wheel-Free Robotaxis

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Tuesday it is inviting public comments on a petition filed by Amazon.com's autonomous-vehicle division Zoox.

NHTSA opens comment period on Zoox petition. Zoox submitted the request last August, asking the agency for exemptions from eight federal motor-vehicle safety rules written around human drivers. The company reportedly believes its purpose-built robotaxis can deliver at least an equivalent level of safety to conventional cars.

Federal regulators hold power to approve as many as 2,500 vehicles per maker each year that lack traditional human controls. Yet NHTSA has spent years examining multiple exemption requests without issuing decisions. Any approval requires manufacturers to prove that such vehicles match existing safety benchmarks and that the waivers serve the public interest.

Transportation Secretary backs regulatory revisions. "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. He added that he has approved NHTSA’s next round of proposed revisions to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to account for vehicles without human drivers.

Agency weighs safety equivalence for exemptions. The revisions target outdated requirements built around human-operated cars, such as mandatory steering wheels. Zoox maintains its steering-wheel-free designs can meet or surpass current safety standards, and the comment window lets interested parties submit views before any decision.

NHTSA’s eventual ruling on the Zoox petition could influence how other developers of novel autonomous designs navigate the exemption process.