NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison disclosed on September 17, 2026 that the agency signed a cooperative agreement with SAE to launch a consortium for self-driving safety standards. Morrison spoke at the AI Horizons PGH Summit in Pittsburgh.
What is the consortium supposed to do?
Morrison said it is a joint government and industry effort to develop data-driven performance standards for automated driving systems (ADS). Its top priority is “ADS competency.” NHTSA plans a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for ADS performance. Morrison said competency requirements must be objective and practicable, with metrics for each behavioral competency and “repeatable methods and means to assess them.”
The funding figure of $5 million over three years comes from Electric Vehicles coverage, not from NHTSA’s speech page, so it rests on one outlet. That report also says NHTSA first announced the SAE partnership on July 30, 2026.
Why is there no test already?
TechCrunch noted on September 20 that there is “no standardized test for judging how well an automated driving system performs in the real world,” unlike the driver’s test for humans. Current federal standards assume a human driver. They don’t fit vehicles such as the Tesla Cybercab and Zoox robotaxi, which lack pedals, steering wheels and mirrors. NHTSA has proposed amendments to five existing standards, per Morrison’s remarks. The consortium is developing methods and metrics. It isn’t a test that vehicles must pass today, and companies still don’t face one national competency exam. That is the gap the effort aims to close.
Why It Matters to You
If you share roads with driverless vehicles, or might ride in one, this is the groundwork for a common federal yardstick of how well they drive. Nothing changes for you yet. There’s no completion date, and Electric Vehicles reports that outside analysts expect an enforceable rule no earlier than 2030. Emergency responders could feel it sooner: Morrison said new agency guidance will address emergency responder interactions.
What about police, fire and EMS?
NHTSA issued a call to action on July 8 after documenting driverless vehicles interfering with police, fire and EMS, per Electric Vehicles. Morrison said developers have taken positive steps, including a recall, and that new agency guidance will address how vehicles interact with emergency responders.
Is it ASCEND or A2SCEND?
Both. NHTSA’s speech page and TechCrunch write ASCEND. Other coverage writes A2SCEND, short for Advancing America’s Safety and Competitiveness for the Evolution of National Deployments. They refer to the same effort.
Would a federal standard override state rules?
Morrison named a federal standard as a way to address inconsistent state and local requirements. Whether it would preempt state rules hasn’t been decided.
Sources
- NHTSA: Remarks at the AI Horizons PGH Summit (Sep 17, 2026)
- TechCrunch: TechCrunch Mobility, How do we know when an AV is safe enough? (Sep 20, 2026)
- Electric Vehicles: NHTSA signs SAE deal to write first federal robotaxi standard (Sep 18, 2026)