The Trump administration has revised rules for self-driving cars introduced by President Obama, including simplifying safety standards and shifting from a regulation model to a voluntary one.

The new guidelines, issued in a paper called “A Vision for Safety: 2.0,” detail a reduction of the 15 original safety guidelines introduced for self-driving car companies to 12, including fewer data sharing requirements. The changes were supported by companies developing self-driving vehicles.

Specific changes include an abolition of the need for self-driving cars to wait for permission to begin testing; the abolition of what the administration refers to as required for “unnecessary design elements from the safety self-assessment;” an updated of guidelines to reflect more recent technology; and a clearer picture on federal and state roles in terms of supporting self-driving car manufacturers.

“The new Guidance supports further development of this important new technology, which has the potential to change the way we travel and how we deliver goods and services,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a statement. “The safe deployment of automated vehicle technologies means we can look forward to a future with fewer traffic fatalities and increased mobility for all Americans.”

The administration’s decision to introduce a new set of guidelines to cover the self-driving car industry going forward comes a week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SELF DRIVE Act, a law that also sought to establish clearer guidelines for self-driving car makers. That act, supported on both sides of the aisle, lays out a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation with an aim to allow “innovation [to]  flourish without the heavy hand of government.” The Trump administration’s new guidelines would appear to be in line with the act, detailing more specific guidelines than the act itself.

Photo: Grendelkhan/Wikimedia Commons