Who does what
In the United States the federal government regulates the vehicle and the states regulate the driver. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that every car sold must meet, investigates defects and orders recalls. Whether a car may be operated without a human, who is licensed, who is liable and how it is insured are state questions. No federal law specifically authorises or forbids driverless operation; bills to create a national framework have been introduced in Congress repeatedly since 2017 and have not passed.
The Standing General Order
In June 2021 NHTSA used its investigative authority to require makers and operators of automated driving systems and Level 2 driver-assistance systems to report crashes involving them, within a day for serious ones. The order produced the first national dataset of such crashes and has been the basis for several investigations, including into Tesla Autopilot and into Cruise. The agency revised the reporting thresholds in 2025 to reduce the burden of minor reports.
Standards written for drivers
The safety standards assume a steering wheel, pedals, mirrors and a driver's seat. A purpose-built robotaxi without them either needs an exemption, of which NHTSA can grant a limited number per year, or a rule change. NHTSA rewrote some crash-protection standards in 2022 to cover vehicles without manual controls, and in 2025 announced a framework to speed exemptions and proposed a voluntary review programme for automated driving systems. The rules are moving, but a Cybercab or a Zoox still depends on them.
Recalls and investigations
NHTSA's most visible tool has been the recall, which for software means an over-the-air update: Tesla's December 2023 Autopilot recall covering about two million vehicles, Cruise's 2023 recall of its post-collision behaviour, Waymo recalls after collisions with a towed vehicle and with a telephone pole. The agency has opened defect investigations into Tesla FSD over low-visibility crashes, into Waymo over behaviour around school buses and in construction zones, and into Zoox. Each is public and each shapes the software that follows.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a federal law allowing self-driving cars?
No specific one. Federal rules govern the vehicle's safety equipment; whether it may drive without a human is decided state by state. Proposed federal frameworks have not passed Congress.
What is the Standing General Order?
A 2021 NHTSA order requiring companies that make or operate automated driving or Level 2 systems to report crashes involving them, which created the first national record of such crashes.