NHTSA Pushes Crash Reporting Review of Automated Vehicles

NHTSA Crash Reporting Plan Keeps Focus on Automated Vehicles

Federal Oversight of Automated Vehicles Could Continue

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking approval to keep its automated vehicle crash-reporting program in place for another three years.

The program covers crashes involving Automated Driving Systems, also known as ADS. It also covers Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, known as ADAS.

These systems are used in vehicles that can help with some driving tasks. In some cases, the system can perform the full driving task within set limits.

For the trucking industry, this is not just another federal paperwork notice. The larger issue is road safety. Automated vehicles may operate on the same roads as commercial trucks.

NHTSA says the reporting program gives the agency key safety information. That information may help the agency spot possible defects, crash patterns, and risks tied to vehicle automation.

Why Automated Vehicles Matter to Truck Drivers

Commercial truck drivers spend long hours on public roads. Because of that, they may be more likely to share the road with automated vehicles or vehicles that use semi-automated systems.

These systems are not limited to one kind of vehicle. They may be found in passenger cars, test vehicles, commercial fleets, and other vehicles. They may operate on highways, city streets, and freight routes.

For truck drivers, the main issue is simple. Federal regulators need clear crash data when automated vehicles are involved in serious crashes.

A crash involving automation can raise many questions. Did the system work as it should? Was a driver in control? Did the system hand control back too late? Could the crash point to a larger safety problem?

Those questions can matter even more when a commercial truck is involved. A crash with a large truck can lead to serious injuries, long delays, damaged freight, high costs, and complex claims.

NHTSA’s reporting program is meant to give the agency early information after certain crashes. That information can help the agency decide whether a deeper review is needed.

What NHTSA Wants to Continue

NHTSA is asking the Office of Management and Budget to approve a three-year reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

The program is tied to NHTSA’s Standing General Order 2021-01.

Under that order, certain companies must report crashes involving ADS or Level 2 ADAS-equipped vehicles. These companies can include vehicle makers, equipment makers, and operators of vehicles using these systems.

The reporting duty does not apply to everyone. It applies only to companies that have been named in and served with the NHTSA order.

The notice does not place any reporting duties on individual drivers. It also does not place reporting duties on regular consumers.

NHTSA says the updated program is meant to reduce paperwork. At the same time, the agency says it wants to keep the focus on safety-critical information.

When Automated Vehicles Must Be Reported

The reporting rules depend on the type of system and the seriousness of the crash.

For both ADS and Level 2 ADAS vehicles, some serious crashes must be reported within five calendar days. That deadline starts after the reporting company receives notice of the crash.

These five-day reports are required when a crash involves a fatality. They are also required when a person is taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

A report is also required when a crash causes an air bag to deploy. The same is true when the crash involves a strike of a vulnerable road user.

For ADS-equipped vehicles, there is one more five-day trigger. A crash must also be reported within five calendar days if it results in a vehicle being towed away.

That added rule shows that NHTSA is watching fully automated systems more closely.

The 30-Second Rule Is Important

One part of the reporting program may be easy to miss.

A crash can be reportable if the ADS or Level 2 ADAS was engaged at the time of the crash. It can also be reportable if the system was engaged within 30 seconds before the crash.

That 30-second window matters.

It may cover crashes where automation was active shortly before impact. It may also cover events where control changed hands just before the crash.

For truck drivers, this is an important detail. It helps address a key concern about automated vehicles. A company may not be able to avoid a report simply by saying the system was not active at the exact moment of impact.

NHTSA says the 30-second window helps account for the time between automated and manual control. It also helps account for possible confusion during that handoff.

ADS Vehicles Face More Reporting

Fully automated driving systems face broader reporting duties than Level 2 driver-assist systems.

For ADS-equipped vehicles, companies must also report some less severe crashes. These reports involve property damage. They are due by the 15th day of the month after the company receives notice of the crash.

This monthly report rule applies to ADS crashes that do not meet the five-day reporting standard but still meet certain damage conditions.

That can include crashes where property damage is expected to be more than $1,000. It can also include crashes where the subject vehicle was the only vehicle involved.

The rule can also apply when the ADS vehicle struck another vehicle or object.

This is a key point for the trucking industry. NHTSA is applying more oversight to automated vehicles that can perform the full driving task without a human driver in certain conditions.

Level 2 ADAS Stays Under Federal Review

The notice also shows that NHTSA plans to keep Level 2 ADAS crashes in the reporting program.

Level 2 ADAS does not make a vehicle fully self-driving. These systems may help with steering, braking, speed, lane control, or other tasks. But a human driver is still expected to stay alert and ready to take control.

Some commenters raised concerns about keeping Level 2 ADAS in the program. NHTSA rejected the idea of removing those systems from the reporting rule.

The agency said Level 2 ADAS crash reports have already helped inform many NHTSA investigations. It also said the technology is still changing.

That matters to truck drivers because Level 2 systems are becoming more common. Many of these vehicles operate near large trucks every day.

A truck driver may never operate a vehicle with these systems. But that driver may still share the road with them.

NHTSA Says It Cut the Paperwork Burden

NHTSA says it has made the crash-reporting program simpler.

The agency removed several rules from earlier versions of the program. For example, companies no longer have to submit monthly reports when they have no crashes to report.

NHTSA also removed some repeated reporting duties. It also removed some data fields that the agency says are not tied closely enough to safety.

The agency says these changes cut the yearly paperwork burden.

NHTSA estimates the revised program will require 19,208 annual burden hours. That is down from 31,319 hours under the prior version of the collection.

That is a large drop. It shows the agency is trying to keep the crash-reporting system in place while making it less costly for companies to follow.

The Program Still Carries Major Costs

Even with the reduced burden, the reporting program is still a large compliance issue.

NHTSA estimates there will be 110 reporting entities. The agency also expects 9,574 annual incident submissions.

The estimated annual labor cost is about $2.4 million.

Those costs do not fall on individual truck drivers. They also do not fall on most trucking companies.

But the numbers still matter to the freight industry. They show that federal oversight of automated vehicles is not small. It requires time, staff, legal review, engineering review, and data work.

For fleets watching automation, those costs may also show what future compliance could look like as automated systems expand.

Not a Public Scorecard for Automated Vehicles

NHTSA also made an important point about the crash data.

The agency said the reporting program is not meant to create a public scorecard for automated vehicles or the companies that operate them.

In other words, the data is not designed to let the public make a simple company-by-company comparison.

NHTSA says the program is meant to serve as an early-warning tool. It helps the agency spot possible safety defects. It also helps the agency decide when more review is needed.

That distinction is important.

Crash data can be useful. But it may not tell the full story by itself. Some companies may operate more vehicles. Others may operate in harder traffic conditions. Some may report more often because they have more exposure on public roads.

NHTSA also declined to expand the program to include near-misses. It also declined to require reports for successful automated actions where no physical impact occurred.

The agency said those extra reports would increase the burden on companies.

Public Crash Data Will Continue

NHTSA said crash-reporting data is available to the public on its website. The agency says the data is updated each month.

However, some information is removed before release. NHTSA redacts personal information. It also redacts some confidential business information.

That public access may be useful for safety groups, researchers, reporters, and industry officials.

For truck drivers and carriers, the data may offer a look at how automated vehicles are performing on public roads. It may also help show where safety concerns are starting to appear.

Still, the data has limits. NHTSA says the reports are one source of information. They are not the only source the agency uses.

NHTSA may also look at police reports, media reports, consumer complaints, and other records when deciding whether a crash needs more review.

Future Rulemaking Could Make This More Permanent

One of the most important parts of the notice points to the future.

NHTSA says it is planning a future rulemaking to codify the General Order.

That means the crash-reporting system could later move from an agency order into formal federal rules.

That would be important for the trucking industry. Automated vehicles are still growing. Some companies are testing or developing technology that could affect freight movement in the years ahead.

Formal rules could help shape how the federal government watches those systems. They could also affect how companies report crashes and safety issues tied to automated driving.

For truck drivers, the future rulemaking may matter because it could shape the safety standards around vehicles they share the road with.

What Trucking Should Watch Next

Commercial truck drivers are not required to file these reports under this notice.

But they may still be affected by the safety issues behind the program.

Automated vehicles and semi-automated vehicles are already on public roads. As the technology grows, truck drivers, fleets, insurers, and safety teams may pay closer attention to how these vehicles perform around large trucks.

The key trucking takeaway is clear. Federal regulators are not stepping away from automated vehicle crash oversight.

NHTSA is seeking to continue a system that tracks serious crashes. The agency also plans to keep Level 2 ADAS under review. At the same time, it will keep broader reporting duties for ADS vehicles.

For the trucking industry, this is a sign that automated vehicles remain a federal safety concern.

The issue is not whether truck drivers must file more paperwork. They do not under this notice.

The issue is whether regulators are collecting enough crash data as automated technology becomes more common on the roads used by commercial trucks.

When automated vehicles share the road with tractor-trailers, crash reporting can play an important role. It may help spot safety problems sooner. It may also help federal officials decide when a deeper investigation is needed.