Senate bill's auto safety provisions: Right step or ‘mirage'?

WASHINGTON — Portions of the U.S. Senate's $1 trillion infrastructure bill firm up some of the timelines for vehicle safety advancements that automakers and regulators have long had in the pipeline while leaving other safety updates open-ended.

The bipartisan legislation sets deadlines for the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue rules on automatic shutoff for keyless ignition systems, updated headlamp standards and a requirement for new vehicles to be equipped with drunken and impaired driving prevention technology.

The bill also calls for a rule that sets minimum performance standards for crash-avoidance technology and requires all vehicles sold in the U.S. to be equipped with forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems as well as lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist systems, though it does not specify a rule deadline or compliance date.

As of Friday, Aug. 6, the bill was still under debate by the Senate and awaiting a full vote.

Automakers say they are committed to many safety technologies, including ones designed to avoid crashes and to prevent intoxicated drivers from operating vehicles.

Safety advocates say the Senate bill falls short and caters to industry demands by not setting enough compliance deadlines or mandating regulatory action by NHTSA.

Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator who is now chairman of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, referred to the bill as a "safety mirage" that covers plenty of topics but doesn't contain the specific follow-through to ensure rules get issued.

"These are not miscellaneous, unnecessary rules and regulations," she told Automotive News. "These are things that will save thousands of lives and injuries a year."

Others, such as David Harkey of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said while the bill is "a move in the right direction," some of the provisions are merely catching up with what the industry is already doing.

For example, at least 10 automakers have met a voluntary commitment negotiated by the institute and NHTSA in 2015 to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on nearly all new vehicles produced in the U.S. — not just on higher trim levels.

The provision directing U.S. regulators to require that new vehicles are equipped with passive technology to detect drunk or impaired drivers is also long overdue, Harkey said.

"I do not think that will be something that is just voluntarily done by the automakers," he added. "I think it's going to take regulation."

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association that represents most major automakers, said the industry has long been committed to supporting public and private efforts to address alcohol-impaired driving.

The industry has been working with NHTSA to develop the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety technology, which features a breath- and touch-based system to measure a driver's blood-alcohol level.

"We appreciate the efforts of congressional leaders and other stakeholders to advance a legislative approach that provides NHTSA the ability to review all potential technologies as options for federal regulation," said John Bozzella, CEO of the alliance.

Still, Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said the Senate has an opportunity to "lock in significant safety gains" by mandating automatic emergency braking on all new vehicles with an actionable deadline as well as other safety efforts.

"The House infrastructure bill ... succeeded on these fronts while the current Senate bill is just short of the finish line," Levine said. "Our question is: If not now, when?"