The Trump administration is said to be revising the existing guidelines for driverless vehicles.
Updated guidance on the emerging technology is expected to be released in the next few months, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said, according to multiple reports.
“The pressure is mounting for the federal government to do something,” Chao said during a conference in Detroit on Monday, according to Reuters.
The new guidance will focus on spurring industry innovation and encouraging “new entrants and ideas that deliver safer vehicles,” Chao added. But she also emphasized that the agency would not rush to draft binding regulations on self-driving cars.
“Too quick of movement toward rules may not be sustainable in the long term,” Chao said, according to Bloomberg. “We don’t want to have rules that may impede future advances.”
The administration has been re-evaluating the flexible, voluntary guidelines for autonomous vehicles that were released last fall.
Driverless car developers have raised concern that states are trying to make the voluntary safety checklist mandatory, while others have taken issue with being asked to share significant data about their technology.
The industry has also urged policymakers to ease certain safety standards that don’t apply to traditional automobiles, which they say could hamper innovation and testing.