U.S. proposes dropping brake pedal requirement for self-driving cars
NHTSA moved to drop manual brake-pedal requirements for self-driving vehicles built to run without human drivers. The proposal keeps stopping-distance rules and opens a 30-day comment period.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed dropping the federal requirement for manual brake pedals in vehicles designed never to be driven by a human. The notice targets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 135, the light-vehicle brake-systems rule, and was scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on June 26 under docket NHTSA-2026-0728 and RIN 2127-AN00.
The change would remove hand- or foot-operated brake control requirements only for vehicles built exclusively for automated driving systems. Braking-performance rules would stay in place, including stopping-distance standards, and any ADS-equipped vehicle that still has manual controls would remain subject to the existing requirements. Comments will be due 30 days after Federal Register publication.
The proposal is part of a broader Trump administration push to rewrite auto standards for driverless vehicles. On September 4, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said NHTSA was launching three rulemakings to modernize safety standards for automated vehicles and move toward a single national framework. Those initial rulemakings were aimed at Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Nos. 102, 103, 104 and 108 for ADS-equipped vehicles with no manual controls.
NHTSA said the brake-pedal rewrite is its fifth FMVSS update under that framework. The effort shifts away from hardware assumptions built around human driving and toward performance-based oversight. Equipment such as wipers and rearview mirrors may not be needed in every autonomous design. NHTSA will keep using defect-enforcement authority and recall oversight for unsafe automated driving behavior.
Zoox, the Amazon-owned robotaxi company, asked NHTSA in March 2026 for a temporary exemption from multiple FMVSS requirements for an ADS-equipped passenger car, including brake systems, windshield defrosting and defogging, wipers and washers, lamps, rear visibility, occupant protection, glazing and crash protection. The brake-pedal proposal would not grant that exemption outright, but it would keep the government’s braking-performance bar intact.
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