The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking on Friday to modify federal brake safety standards for light vehicles, proposing to let robotaxi designers eliminate brake pedals and manually operated parking brakes from vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) and no manual controls. The NHTSA argues that requiring manually operated methods of stopping driverless vehicles is a barrier to innovation and that the controls themselves could pose a safety risk by allowing passengers to intentionally or unintentionally override an ADS. Existing braking performance requirements, including stopping-distance requirements, would remain in place. Vehicles with steering wheels and manual controls, or driver-assistance systems like Tesla Autopilot and Ford BlueCruise, will still need brake pedals. The proposal notes that ADS technology "is still maturing and many of the potential benefits are yet to be realized," and that standardized methods for testing driverless vehicles may need further development.