On September 3, 2026, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a national strategy for automated vehicles (AVs). The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says it has four goals: prioritize safety, provide regulatory certainty, promote American innovation, and facilitate interoperable corridors across states. Law firm Holland & Knight, which reviewed the strategy, gives its title as “America Leads: DOT’s National Strategy for Automated Vehicles, Fiscal Years 2026 to 2030.”
Guidance, not a rulebook
Holland & Knight describes the strategy as guidance, not a rulemaking. It creates no new binding obligations. It sets DOT’s direction for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 and points to work already under way. DOT’s announcement quotes Duffy saying the administration is “committed to safely unleashing American innovation on our roads.” It quotes NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison promising “strict safety oversight.”
The rural money, in dollars
Holland & Knight says the strategy refers to a $25 million Rural Autonomous Vehicle research program, awarded in March 2026, that studies AV deployment outside urban corridors. DOT first announced it in December 2023 as a six-year cooperative agreement open to accredited universities. Funding splits between passenger transportation and freight in rural and Tribal communities, and it pays for research and pilots, not a public service.
| Rural AV research funding | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total program |
$25 million |
| Passenger transportation |
$15 million |
| Freight |
$10 million |
The same law firm summary says Federal Transit Administration research is examining how automated transit buses can serve riders with cognitive, sensory, and mobility disabilities. It also notes a pending request to NHTSA for an exemption for a driverless transit shuttle. This is research. No rider can use a product from it yet.
Why It Matters to You
If you live in a rural or Tribal community, or rely on transit and have a cognitive, sensory, or mobility disability, this strategy points research in your direction. Nothing here is a service you can use today, and the sources set no date for one. University teams and transit researchers would feel it first; riders come later, if the research and the pending exemption pan out.
What the figures leave out
- This summary draws on DOT’s announcement page and a law firm summary. The full strategy document was not reviewed, and the rural, disability, and rulemaking details come from the law firm summary because DOT’s announcement page does not state them.
- The $25 million program began as a 2023 DOT funding opportunity. It is not new money from this strategy.
- DOT’s 2023 announcement said rural areas hold 19% of the U.S. population and rural roads account for 47% of roadway fatalities. That is a reason for rural research, not evidence that AVs would reduce those deaths.
- Neither source shows that AVs make rural travel safer or more available. That is what the research is meant to test.
- Holland & Knight says NHTSA will continue defect investigations, recalls, and crash reporting oversight, and that DOT has rulemakings in progress to update safety standards written for human drivers. It gives no dates for completion.
Quick answers
Does the strategy create new laws or rules?
According to Holland & Knight, no. It is guidance. Separate rulemakings are in progress.
Will self-driving shuttles reach rural towns soon?
Nothing in the sources sets a date. The rural program funds university research and pilots.
What does it say about riders with disabilities?
Per Holland & Knight, FTA research is studying accessibility of automated transit buses for riders with cognitive, sensory, and mobility disabilities. It is not a product or service.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Unveils New National AV Strategy (Sep 3, 2026)
- Holland & Knight: The Road Ahead for Driverless Vehicles, DOT Unveils AV 5.0 (Sep 4, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Transportation: Announces New Rural Autonomous Vehicle Research Program (Dec 13, 2023)