In the aftermarket industry, telematics is a topic we hear about almost daily. Between the new advances that impact the service and repair industry, to tackling concerns like data and privacy, it’s a word we use so often that we don’t recognize that it’s such a complex concept. However, from the everyday driver to politicians, the terms self-driving car and connected car are much more common. With telematics, the concept is new, and the potential impacts to our industry are as well.

For the Auto Care Association’s YANG Legislative Conference, held June 13-14, members of the industry traveled to Washington, D.C., area to help spread awareness about the impacts of vehicle telematics, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). For the first day, participants met up at the association’s headquarters, sitting with the groups they’d be working with over the next day. After introductions, the discussion was handed over to Chris Blalock of Dorman Products, who worked on getting everyone in the room up-to-speed on telematics, and what it could mean for the market in the years to come.

“With the ever-changing vehicles that are coming out, the improved fuel economy and the EPA requirements, you get into safety standards where they’re wanting these safety features that are becoming the new standard on a vehicle, not just available on a high-end vehicle, along with the improved driver convenience, such as infotainment. All of these are adding to the complexity of our cars basically becoming computers on four wheels,” said Blalock. “If we don’t do something today about what’s happening with the electronics and the OEs trying to keep the aftermarket out of the electronics, it’s only going to get more and more difficult down the road.

“If [the aftermarket] gets locked out, the opportunities for repair are going to slowly, module by module, disappear. This is going to be what happens if we don’t protect the vehicle’s owner’s right to repair his vehicle. … We don’t like monopolies. We like alternatives,” said Blalock.

With this foundation, the conversation turned quickly to Sheree Anne Kelly of the Public Affairs Council, who discussed what to expect when sitting down with politicians and their staffs. With each of the meetings the following day being only about 15 minutes long, the emphasis was to keep the message clear with two or three main points, and how to convey your point genuinely within that short timespan. It also was emphasized that the people in the room were perhaps the best people to convey the message at hand, especially as YANG participants were meeting with Senators and House Representatives who serve as their voice on Capitol Hill. As Kelly described, the people in the room were in the industry, and the ones who were directly impacted, and thus had some of the strongest voices.

Given a better understanding of how these meetings worked, the groups split up to do some “legislative role play,” where the Auto Care Association members pretended to be members of Congress or their staffs, and the members practiced giving explanations on telematics and the impacts it would have.

Day two rolled in quickly, and participants were eager to get into the day. Twenty-six YANG members were sent to 45 different meetings with members of Congress, representing 14 different states. The event also included an appearance from Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., who also serves on the Auto Care Caucus. Rep. Perry talked about the importance of members of the industry to bring matters like telematics to the table, and to additionally follow up with any developments.

“The best advocates for our industry and our issues have always been our members. With the first-ever YANG Legislative Conference, we wanted to design an event that tapped into the enthusiasm surrounding YANG and directed that enthusiasm toward an important cause,” said David Pinkham, associate of government affairs for the Auto Care Association.

“We at the Auto Care Association couldn’t be happier with the way the conference went. Not only were policy makers and legislative staff extremely receptive to our concerns, but the intelligence and poise demonstrated by our next generation of leaders who visited Capitol Hill should give everyone confidence in the future of this industry,” he said.

At the end of the day, this year’s event was about awareness and bringing issues to politicians ahead of the game.

To check out photos and other live coverage of the event, search the tag #YANGontheHill on Facebook and Twitter.