Senate Pushes for Tougher Safety Regs for Cars & SUVs

Senate Pushes for Tougher Safety Regs for Cars & SUVs

The Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a long list of new regulatory requirements that would pressure automakers to improve safety on several fronts. The legislation, drafted by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would require NHTSA to issue rules designed to provide more protection in crashes involving SUV rollovers, lessen damage caused when SUVs and cars collide, and reduce injuries and deaths caused by side-impact and frontal crashes through improved seat belt and air bag technology. The measures, which would be aggressively phased in from 2004 to 2008, were included in a budget authorization for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The bill is a setback for automakers, who have worked closely with NHTSA to adopt industry-wide voluntary rules, but it is still a long way from reality. It has not gone before the full Senate, and the Bush administration has not signed off on it. The House could counter with a different plan.

AIADA notes that, Since NHTSA regulates both motor vehicle safety and the fuel economy programs, it could directly impact dealers if CAFE provisions are incorporated into the legislation. Although it is most likely that the proponents of increasing CAFE standards will use the energy bill as the legislative vehicle, the NHTSA bill could be used as an alternative if it were to appear that the energy bill is going to die in the Senate.