The world's first Robotaxi regulations are out: the company is responsible for accidents, safety personnel cannot carry passengers, and 5G cloud driving is also not allowed

The United States has taken the lead in this step, as the NHTSA has just released a draft called AV-STEP, which clearly outlines the rules that Robotaxi players must follow for the first time. The NHTSA document states upfront that this AV-STEP policy framework draft aims to ensure the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles, promote transparency in projects, and oversee the responsible development and exploration of operable regulatory processes at the national level.

Firstly, it is clear that AV-STEP only applies to autonomous vehicles and does not include any models with mass-produced driver assistance features. Autonomous driving developers, vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, and system integrators are the only four types of players eligible to apply for operational road permits for L4 vehicles, which can be applied for individually or jointly. The reason given by the NHTSA is that the operational authority of autonomous vehicles that are truly on the road for operation and testing will be concentrated in these roles, facilitating accountability.

The second obvious feature of AV-STEP is that it prioritizes reliability and safety as the first criterion for evaluating autonomous driving players. Regarding passenger-hailing services, AV-STEP also provides unique recommendations: no passengers may be carried without a safety operator, and 5G cloud-based driving is also not allowed. This is because the NHTSA believes that the presence of a safety operator, whether inside the vehicle or remotely, indicates that the system's maturity is low and must rely on humans as a backup. This itself proves that autonomous driving has known limitations or requires further validation