Washington, D.C., March 20, 2026 — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published two proposed rule changes in the Federal Register pertaining to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for autonomous vehicles (AVs). The proposed rules would eliminate FMVSS No. 102, “Transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect,” as well as FMVSS No. 103, “Windshield defrosting and defogging systems,” and FMVSS No. 104, “Windshield wiping and washing systems.”

During last week’s NHTSA AV Safety Forum, NHTSA Administrator Jonathon Morrison discussed how the administration plans to review and remove outdated FMVSS requirements that may hinder the development of autonomous vehicle technologies. Morrison noted that many existing vehicle safety standards were originally developed for vehicles operated by human drivers.

“The technology of the future is often tethered to regulations of the past,” Morrison said, adding that “a vehicle designed never to be operated by a human doesn’t get safer because it has a foot pedal.”

The National AV Safety Forum, hosted at the United States Department of Transportation, brought together industry stakeholders and agency officials to discuss the advancement of U.S. autonomous vehicle policy. The forum included several panel discussions, including a fireside chat featuring the CEOs of Waymo, Aurora Innovation, and Zoox.

While the forum covered a wide range of issues related to autonomous vehicle deployment, key topics included connectivity challenges, interactions between AVs and emergency services, and concerns surrounding data tracking and privacy.

To watch the opening session of the NHTSA AV Safety Forum, click here.

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