On April 14, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on NHTSA oversight. A number of key members of the automotive community provided testimonies at the hearing, including the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). MEMA’s testimony was delivered by Ann Wilson, senior vice president of government affairs.
As the automotive industry moves forward with increased collaboration with regulators, MEMA believes that NHTSA’s use of the NCAP program, voluntary agreements and rulemaking has the potential to address many of the industry’s current challenges.
Some key takeaways of MEMA’s testimony include:
- Despite marked improvements to vehicle safety, NHTSA estimates that 94 percent of crashes are caused by driver error. For this reason, suppliers are continually innovating and developing components and systems for motor vehicles that will reduce the risk of collisions.
- In 2015, MEMA and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released a report exploring the safety benefits of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technologies. This study found that ADAS technologies have the potential to prevent 30 percent of all crashes — a total of 10,000 lives saved annually. (During Congress’ consideration of the FAST Act last year, MEMA testified before the same Committee that ADAS technologies can provide immediate safety benefits and form the pathway to a partially and fully automated vehicle fleet.)
- MEMA has been a vocal advocate for upgrading and enhancing NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). An enhanced NCAP 5-Star Rating, along with increased consumer awareness on the vehicle sticker, will help improve and accelerate consumer acceptance and ultimately reduce the cost of these life-saving technologies. However, MEMA is concerned that some of the automakers objections to major aspects of the program’s proposed upgrades may be used as an excuse to delay overall progress of an enhanced NCAP package.
MEMA also believes there are a variety of tactics that can be utilized by policymakers and industry members to achieve the overarching goal of reducing crashes by getting key safety technologies on vehicles. In her testimony, Wilson noted the following:
- NHTSA’s approach to make Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) technology standard equipment by 2022 is another positive step toward increasing acceptance and adoption of ADAS technologies. MEMA supports this government-industry commitment to expand the installation of this critical safety technology, but does have some reservations about voluntary agreements and will continue to work with NHTSA on this important issue.
- MEMA also urges the NHTSA to actively engage in the harmonization of new regulations that could speed the completion of testing standards and regulations.
- MEMA advocated for language to require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to include incentives giving fleets credit to their “Compliance, Safety, Accountability” scores. MEMA provided comments and recommendations to FMCSA and will continue to actively engage them to ensure that advanced safety technology is included in their “Beyond Compliance” program.
To view the full testimony, click here: MEMA_AWilson_Testimony_Hearing.
