GM, Ford Request Approval for AVs without Steering Wheels

July 22, 2022—General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have asked the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration for permission to deploy autonomous vehicles without human controls such as steering wheels and pedals.
According to a report from Reuters, the NHTSA received separate petitions from both automakers and published both on Wednesday for public comment for 30 days.
Per the report, both automakers want to deploy the maximum-allowed 2,500 vehicles a year in the U.S. for ride sharing and delivery services. The NHTSA does have authority to grant such petitions.
Neither Ford or General Motors is currently looking to sell self-driving vehicles directly to consumers at this time.
A Ford spokesperson said the "petition is an important step toward helping create a regulatory path that allows autonomous technologies to mature over time, eliminating controls and displays that are only useful to human drivers."