Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (November 20, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), today led their colleagues in a letter to Sophie Shulman, the Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), urging a swift implementation of life-saving traffic safety provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The lawmakers wrote, “The IIJA included numerous provisions designed to hit the brakes on the nation’s traffic safety crisis by addressing alcohol-impaired driving, seatbelt nonuse, and distracted driving. The law also required NHTSA to advance standards related to vehicle design and operation, such as crash avoidance technologies, bumper and hood size, and automatic engine shutoff. As NHTSA has implemented these safety provisions, roadway deaths have fallen by more than 5%.”

The lawmakers continued, “Although this progress is encouraging, NHTSA has more work to do. The agency must still finalize some of its proposed rules and has not yet issued rules for many provisions — rules that are already overdue or nearing their statutory deadline. These statutorily required provisions are critical to maintaining our progress in reducing roadway deaths.”

Cosigners on the letter include Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).

The Senators requested an update on NHTSA’s work to implement the following critical safety provisions in the law:

  1. Recall Completion (Sec. 24202), which directs NHTSA to publish an annual list of recall completion rates. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated this list would be available by early 2024.
  1. Motor Vehicle Seatback Safety Standards (Sec. 24204), which directs NHTSA to issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and final rule if determined appropriate to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 207 regarding seatback safety standards. In July 2024, NHTSA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on car seatback safety.
  1. Automatic Shutoff (Sec. 24505), which directs NHTSA to issue a final rule to require manufacturers of vehicles with keyless ignitions to install a device that automatically shuts off the vehicle after it idles for a certain period. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated it would issue the proposed rule in 2024.
  1. Crash Avoidance Technology (Sec. 24208), which directs NHTSA to issue minimum performance standards for crash avoidance technologies and to require all cars be equipped with a forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking system as well as a lane departure warning and lane keeping assist system. NHTSA finalized a proposed rule on this issue in September 2024.
  1. Reduction in Driver Distraction (Sec. 24209), which directs NHTSA to conduct research on driver monitoring systems to reduce driver distraction and driver disengagement. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated that it would complete this research within the prescribed three-year time period.
  1. Headlamps (Sec. 24212), which directs NHTSA to issue a final rule amending FMVSS 108 regarding performance-based standards for vehicle headlamps. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated NHTSA would compete the rulemaking in 2024.
  1. Hood and Bumper Standards (Sec. 24214), which directs NHTSA to request comment on potential updates to hood and bumper standards. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated NHTSA would request feedback from stakeholders and submit the report to Congress within the prescribed two-year time period.
  1. Early Warning Reporting (Sec. 24216), which directs NHTSA to conduct a study on existing requirements for manufacturers to report information and data to the Department of Transportation to help identify potential safety issues. In May 2023, NHTSA submitted the report to Congress.
  1. Advanced Impaired Driver Technology (Sec. 24220), which directs NHTSA to issue a final rule requiring new vehicles be equipped with impaired driving prevention technology. NHTSA issued an ANPRM in December 2023 and in its December 2023 letter indicated it intended to finalize the rule in an unspecified amount of time.
  1. Child Safety (Sec. 24222), which directs NHTSA to issue a final rule requiring new cars be equipped with a system to alert the driver to check rear seats after the engine is turned off. NHTSA’s December 2023 letter indicated NHTSA would publish the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2024, but the Spring 2024 Unified Agenda shows this rule is delayed until at least April 2025.

Senator Markey is a longtime advocate of comprehensive vehicle safety measures. In April 2024, Senators Markey and Blumenthal led their colleagues in a letter urging NHTSA to be highly cautious about letting autonomous vehicles onto public roads. Shortly after the letter, NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s dangerous autopilot system. The Senators issued a statement praising the Administration’s investigation. Previously, the Senators have led their colleagues in two letters requesting updates on the traffic safety provisions in the IIJA. Several of the provisions in the IIJA are long time priorities of Senator Markey, including his Modernizing Seatback Safety Standards Act which sought to update the safety of vehicle seats. ?

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