Overview
Law360 quoted Steptoe partners Dane Jaques and Tony LaRocca in a January 1 article titled “Transportation Legislation and Regulation to Watch in 2018.” According to the article, lawyers are waiting to see what regulations could come out of a drone integration pilot program the White House announced in October. Currently, the commercial use of small drones weighing up to 55 pounds is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Part 107, a rule that took effect in August 2016 and prohibits drone flights over people, nighttime operations and flights that aren't within an operator's visual line of sight, among other restrictions.
Mr. Jaques says, “I don't know when the FAA will get to revising Part 107, but they will take what they have learned [from the pilot program] and incorporate those into a standard.”
The Trump administration has also vowed to remain flexible when it comes to drafting new regulations for so-called automated driving systems, better known as self-driving or autonomous cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering whether to allow self-driving cars to be designed without steering wheels or brake pedals, asking industry stakeholders for more information on whether the agency should ax federal regulations mandating car features meant for human drivers.
Mr. LaRocca asks, “Are they going to fairly aggressively deregulate so as to promote or at least allow the further development of the industry without any kind of federal restrictions? [If so] this would be the deregulatory Trump philosophy in action.”
The full article can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
