The US federal government is slot occasionally willing to bend the rules, provided certain steps are followed. While vehicles without driver controls are not currently allowed under the letter of the law,

automakers are allowed to submit petitions for exemptions, provided they have a good enough reason, and both Ford and GM think they do.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published petitions from both Ford and General Motors that seek to put self-driving development vehicles without traditional

driver controls on public roads. Both petitions have been published to the Federal Register, where the public will have 30 days to leave any comments.