House Committee Reports Bill to Improve Car Safety, Require Black Boxes
On May 26, 2010, the House Energy and Commerce Committee ordered favorably reported H.R. 5381, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010, a bill that would strengthen the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), establish new safety standards, strengthen enforcement, etc.
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According to a Committee summary, the following are the highlights of H.R. 5381:
Would Require New Standards & Features to Improve Motor Vehicle Safety
To improve motor vehicle safety, the bill would direct NHTSA to do the following (partial list):
Vehicle event data recorders - require that all new vehicles, beginning in model year 2015, be equipped with event data recorders (‘black boxes’) that meet the requirements of the existing voluntary standard issued by NHTSA. Among other things, such recorders would be required to store data covering a reasonable time before, during, and after a crash or airbag deployment, including information on engine performance, steering, braking, acceleration, vehicle speed, seat belt use, etc.
Brake override standard - require that all new vehicles be equipped with technology that prevents sudden unintended acceleration by allowing a vehicle to come to a full stop with normal braking pressure even when the accelerator is in operation.
Accelerator control systems - require that redundancies be built into electronic throttle control systems to enable a driver to maintain control in the event of a failure or malfunction in the system.
Pedal placement standard - consider promulgating a new standard to prevent pedal entrapment, a cause of unintended acceleration.
Transmission configuration standard - revise its transmission standard to improve the recognition of gear selector position for drivers, including drivers unfamiliar with the vehicle.
Commercial vehicle rollover standard - issue a safety standard for rollover prevention in heavy commercial vehicles.
Minimum sound requirements - issue a standard establishing a minimum sound that hybrid and electric vehicles would have to emit to enable blind and other pedestrians to detect a moving vehicle.
Would Introduce New Manufacturer User Fee, Increase Civil Penalties
H.R. 5381 would also introduce a new manufacturer user fee and increase civil penalties as follows:
Manufacturer safety user fee - a vehicle safety user fee would be paid by the vehicle manufacturer for each vehicle certified to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards for sale in the U.S. This fee would begin at $3 per vehicle and increase to $9 per vehicle after three years. The fee would supplement existing appropriations and support NHTSA’s vehicle safety programs.
Increase civil penalties - civil penalties would increase to $25,000 per violation (from $5,000), with a maximum civil penalty of $200,000,000 (from $15,000,000).
Subcommittee information on H.R. 5381 available here.