U.S. Legislative Issues

Lawmakers Seek Funding Agreement to Avoid Shutdown 

With funding for the government, including transportation spending, set to expire on April 28, 2017, Congress is once again working to reach an agreement on a spending package to keep the government funded beyond the deadline.

Leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees previously expressed their desire to take up a larger spending package, or omnibus, after Congress returns from the Easter recess. Given the tight window, however, it seems more likely that Congress will need to resort to another short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the Government up and running.  Congressional aides have reported as much, signaling that negotiations are underway on a stopgap measure that would provide funding through September. Unknown is whether President Trump will sign a funding bill that fails to include the border wall funding the White House requested last month. Many predict the President will likely engage in a budget battle over FY 2018 funding rather than interfere in current negotiations to hammer out funding for the remainder of FY 2017.


NAFA Weighs in on NHTSA Connected Vehicle Tech Proposal 

On January 12, 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish FMVSS No. 150, which would mandate that all newly manufactured light vehicles include dedicated short range communication (DSRC) devices for the purpose of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety communication by 2023. The proposed rule would apply to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs), trucks, and buses having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less.

NHTSA has stated previously that V2V, when coupled with V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) capability and other advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technologies, has the potential to intervene and help prevent up to 80 percent of all non-impaired light vehicle crashes, saving thousands of lives.

On April 12, 2017, NAFA officially weighed in with NHTSA on the NPRM. In its comments, NAFA reaffirmed its support for ADAS technologies and urged NHTSA to extend the requirements of this proposal to include medium-duty vehicles as soon as possible. NAFA also responded to NHTSA’s request for comments on the potential need for certification of aftermarket V2V installations stating that minimum performance standards and installation requirements would be essential to ensure the safety and security of the overall V2V communications network and to minimize any driver distraction. 

House Committee Seeks to Curb Traffic Fatalities

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is seeking feedback on a handful of legislative proposals aimed at facilitating the development, testing, and deployment of self-driving cars as well as those that would create an environment that fosters investment and innovation into what the Committee sees as "life-saving technology."

The increased focus comes amid new figures released by the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal auto safety regulators, that estimate 40, 200 people died in accidents involving motor vehicles in 2016, a six percent increase over the previous year. Should the estimates be confirmed, it would be the first time since 2007 that more than 40,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in a single year.

Some attribute part of the blame for the rise in deaths on an increase in drivers on the road due to the improving economy as well as a spike in distracted driving. Safety experts also say that the increase is caused by more lenient enforcement of seatbelt, drunken driving, and speeding regulations above all else. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about half of all traffic fatalities involve unbelted occupants, and almost a third involve drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Last fall, NHTSA, along with several nongovernmental organizations including the NSC, launched the Road to Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities within 30 years. The effort places heavy emphasis on the promise of autonomous vehicles.