The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) congratulated the U.S. House and Senate for agreeing to a final multi-year federal highway bill, which it said is expected to be approved and signed into law in the next few days.
Filed on Dec. 1, the final conference report for H.R. 22 includes a number of provisions that are expected to lead to safety improvements in both light passenger vehicles and heavy-duty commercial vehicle fleets.
MEMA President and CEO Steve Handschuh noted that “as the voice of motor vehicle components and systems manufacturers, MEMA advocates for the development and adoption of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and is particularly gratified to see Congress recognize these important, life-saving technologies in the final bill.”
MEMA recently urged key leaders of the House and Senate conference committee, including Sen. John Thune, Sen. Bill Nelson, Rep. Fred Upton, Rep. Peter DeFazio and 68 committee conferees, to support two key provisions within H.R. 22, including: 1) enhancements to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), requiring NHTSA to provide information about crash avoidance technologies on the window sticker labels of new cars; and 2) the creation of a program where commercial trucking companies will receive credit in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program for installing advanced safety technology in their fleets.
As MEMA testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on October 21, ADAS technologies have the potential to save nearly 10,000 lives annually, prevent 28 percent of all vehicle crashes and save consumers over $250 billion in societal costs per year when deployed broadly, according to a study recently completed by MEMA and The Boston Consulting Group. The NCAP and CSA provisions in the highway bill will encourage wider adoption of ADAS technologies in cars and trucks, leading to benefits for consumers.
Motor vehicle component and systems suppliers are leading the way in developing transformative technologies that will make roads safer and reduce the number of annual highway deaths. MEMA urged Congress to approve the deal quickly and the president to sign it into law.
For more information, contact Tom Lehner of MEMA, [email protected].
Subscribe to Aftermarket Business World and receive articles like this every month….absolutely free. Click here.
