Amazon’s Zoox Gets Green Light For Self-driving Robotaxis

Zoox, Amazon's new self-driving robotaxis, has just cleared an important regulatory hurdle to prove itself in the driverless vehicle world. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shared on Wednesday that Zoox was granted an exemption from some of the requirements, which is a first for American-built cars under a recently expanded program.

Exemptions Speed Up The Process

The new exemption gives Amazon the go-ahead and closes a 2023 NHTSA probe into the self-certification of the robotaxis and whether or not they met federal safety standards.

In April, the Department of Transportation is going to expand a program to help speed up the autonomous vehicle exemption process to add domestically produced vehicles. Before, it was limited to only imported autonomous vehicles.

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Is This Cause For Alarm?

Easing up these regulations is a great thing for Zoox and its competitors, but is it good for the American public? We'll have to wait and see for ourselves.

Zoox currently has its sights set on Las Vegas for its first commercial market, and announced it will begin service there sometime later this year.

What Do You Think About Autonomous Vehicles?

Will you be hopping in a robotaxi anytime soon? Or are you like me, waiting for them to get out all the kinks before you take a spin in one? I'm not sure how I feel about hailing a robocab tomorrow, but I do look forward to the day when nobody has to drive anymore and we get it all the odds and ends squared away. Think of all the lives we will save from drunk driving accidents and recklessness. That's something to look forward to.