Potential Regulatory Approaches For Occupant Safety In Automated / Autonomous Vehicles With Unique Seating Configurations – Part 1: Occupant Protection Proposals

Automated / Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are gradually becoming mainstream. However, some AVs have unique seating configurations (stagecoach and campfire seating) which present expanded occupant safety challenges. Significant portions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) do not yet align with AVs containing unique seating. This paper series takes the NHTSA occupant safety standard approach for conventional forward-facing seat vehicles where many compliance evaluations are in the frequently occupied front row and expands it to stagecoach and campfire AVs where the rear seating row is anticipated to be frequently occupied. The approaches proposed are from a logic-based safety-focused analysis and in many cases previously published material. The goal of this paper series is to offer regulatory proposals that enable equivalent performance for these AVs to existing forward-facing seating vehicle occupant safety standards and meet Executive Order 13045 on child safety. Part 1 (this paper) focuses on front and rear impact occupant protection for the front and rear seating rows in stagecoach and campfire seating AVs for: front impacts (FMVSS-208), windshield mounting (FMVSS-212), windshield glazing (FMVSS-219), and rear impacts (FMVSS-301/305). Some of the proposals address in-position and out-of-position occupant performance for vehicles without knee bolster, instrument panels and steering wheel reaction surfaces. In addition, AV braking can affect in-position occupant location. To address this, a proposal is made to replace unbelted occupant performance compliance evaluations with an interior safety sensing approach that assesses if occupants are properly restrained before a ride can begin. Part 2 discusses interior safety sensing and associated messaging. Part 3 covers occupant protection proposals that apply beyond front and rear impacts. These approaches can be used in industry-wide regulatory next step contemplation and deliberation for unique interior seating arrangement AVs, including public discussions, safety research, approach proposal development, and rulemaking efforts.