Dec 20 (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration on Friday proposed a new process to streamline

reviews of exemptions filed by automakers seeking to deploy

self-driving vehicles without required human controls like

steering wheels or brake pedals.

NHTSA has authority to grant petitions to allow up to 2,500

number of vehicles per manufacturer to operate on U.S. roads

without required human controls but the agency has spent years

reviewing several petitions without taking action. Efforts in

Congress to make it easier to deploy vehicles on U.S. roads

without human controls have been stymied for years.