HR 7390
SELF DRIVE Act of 2026
TL;DR
Rep. Bob Latta's SELF DRIVE Act of 2026 creates a federal framework for autonomous vehicles, preempting the patchwork of state rules that currently govern self-driving cars. It would let automakers deploy significantly more AV units per year under federal exemptions and require new safety, cybersecurity, and consumer disclosure standards from manufacturers.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Automakers and AV developers (Waymo, Tesla, Cruise, Zoox, traditional OEMs) would gain federal preemption over state-level AV design and performance rules, ending the need to comply with 50 different regimes.
Annual caps on federally exempted self-driving vehicles would rise dramatically (prior versions allowed up to 100,000 per manufacturer per year), unlocking commercial-scale deployment.
Manufacturers would be required to submit safety evaluation reports to NHTSA covering crash avoidance, human-machine interface, sensor performance, and post-crash behavior.
Cybersecurity plans covering intrusion detection and incident response would become mandatory for any highly automated vehicle sold in the US.
Trucking and commercial freight are likely excluded, keeping the bill focused on passenger vehicles under 10,000 lbs (a key point of contention with labor groups).
Dealers, fleet operators (rideshare, delivery, logistics), and insurers would need to update consumer disclosures, driver-training materials, and underwriting models to reflect Level 3-5 automation.
Bill remains in committee after a narrow 12-11 subcommittee vote, signaling contested passage and likely amendments before floor action.
What Should You Do
If you sell, operate, or insure AVs, assign someone to track markup in the House Energy and Commerce Committee and flag amendments on preemption scope and vehicle caps.
Automakers and Tier 1 suppliers should begin drafting the NHTSA safety evaluation report template now; prior versions required detailed disclosures on 9 safety elements.
Fleet operators (rideshare, delivery, autonomous trucking-adjacent) should model deployment scenarios assuming federal caps expand 10x to 100x current levels within 24 months of enactment.
Have your cybersecurity team benchmark current AV software practices against ISO/SAE 21434 and NHTSA's cybersecurity best practices, which will likely form the compliance baseline.
Insurers and risk teams should revisit liability allocation frameworks between manufacturer, software provider, and vehicle owner in anticipation of federal standards.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
committee
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by the Yeas and Nays: 12 - 11.
February 10, 2026