AVIA Congratulates Derek Barrs on Nomination to Lead FMCSA

WASHINGTON – AVIA released the following statement from CEO Jeff Farrah on the recent nomination of Derek Barrs to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

“AVIA congratulates Derek Barrs on his nomination to serve as the next FMCSA Administrator. Mr. Barrs brings years of law enforcement and transportation policy experience to the position and will be an important voice in the Department of Transportation for the development of federal autonomous vehicle policy. We look forward to working with Mr. Barrs and Secretary Duffy to strengthen American leadership in autonomous vehicles.”

Earlier this year, AVIA released its comprehensive federal policy framework, “Securing American Leadership in Autonomous Vehicles.” The recommendations for policymakers emphasize the urgent need for federal action to secure the United States’ position as a global leader in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology while ensuring safety, fostering innovation, and promoting economic resilience.

AVIA’s framework builds upon the Department of Transportation’s Framework for Automated Driving System Safety, first introduced in 2020 and prioritizes:

AV Safety, Transparency, and Accountability

• Establishing a National AV Safety Data Repository for incident reporting and transparency.
• Commencing rulemaking on a core set of Autonomous Driving System (ADS) competency requirements and require that commercially deployed ADS manufacturers develop a safety case.

Advancing American Leadership on AVs

• Modernizing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) by NHTSA clarifying, through interpretation and/or regulatory changes, that requirements for manually operated driving controls are not applicable to Level 4 and 5 ADS-equipped vehicles.
• Encouraging federal legislation on, cybersecurity, privacy, and accessibility initiatives.

Supporting Supply Chain Resiliency Through Autonomous Trucking

• Support for America’s supply chain with federal policy on autonomous trucking, including codification of previous Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 2018 interpretation that a human driver need not be present in a commercial motor vehicle operated by a Level 4 or 5 ADS
• FMCSA action to allow use of cab-mounted warning beacons on autonomous trucks to support road safety and innovation.

Supporting Safety Regulators with Enhanced Resources

• Increasing funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to ensure expert regulators have the resources they need on AV policy.

Protecting National Security While Promoting AV Leadership

• Bolstering domestic manufacturing of critical AV hardware, such as sensors.

Read the full recommendations here.