MotorVehicleRegs.COM

Noncompliance Penalties

On January 6, 2023, the Department of Transportation published a notice in the Federal Register listing 2023 civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of certain DOT regulations.  The new amounts are effective Jan. 6, 2023.

In 2023, a typical safety standard noncompliance will be $26,315 per vehicle with the maximum penalty for a series of violations being $131,564,183.  These penalties are up about 7.75% from 2022.

CAFE noncompliance penalties for MY2023 will be $16, compared to $15 for MY2022 and $14 for MYs2019-2021.

A copy of the notice is available here.

NHTSA R&D Meeting

On Oct. 12, 2022, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will hold a public meeting from November 1-3, 2022, as a joint effort between the Agency's Vehicle Safety Research and Behavioral Safety Research offices to share information on activities within the Agency’s research programs. The meeting will be held in a virtual format with representatives from across the two research offices presenting the information in a panel format. Questions from the audience will be accepted following presentations. Each presentation will include visual slides that will be available in a public docket after the Public Meeting. Video of the panels will also be available on the NHTSA website.

Registration to attend the meeting must be received no later than October 28, 2022.  Registration can be completed at https://www.nhtsa.gov/events/research-publicmeeting-2022.

U.S. Department of Transportation Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communications Summit

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) will host a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communications Summit at U.S. DOT Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on August 24th and 25th, 2022, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EDT. The summit will include both in-person and virtual breakout sessions for attendees.

Advance registration is required to participate in this event. If you plan to attend in-person please be sure to register by August 19, 2022. There will also be a virtual option for participation.

The link to register can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/us-dot-vehicle-to-everything-v2x-communications-summit-registration-387776799847

Unable to attend and need a summary of the meeting?  Contact Dale Kardos at (202) 306-4997 or [email protected].

 

GM ADS Exemption Petition

On July 21, 2022, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comment on an exemption petition filed by GM relating to a zero emission vehicle operated by an ADS that is built for fleet-controlled rideshare and delivery services (to be managed by GM and Cruise).  GM’s petition seeks exemptions from portions of FMVSS 102; Transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect, FMVSS 104; Windshield wiping and washing systems, FMVSS 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment, FMVSS 111; Rear visibility, FMVSS 201; Occupant protection in interior impact, and FMVSS 208; Occupant crash protection.

Docket ref: NHTSA–2022–0067.

Comments must be received on or before August 22, 2022.

NHTSA contact: Callie Roach, Office of the Chief Counsel, 202–366–2992.

NHTSA L2 ADAS/ADS Special Order

On June 15, 2022, NHTSA released a report on ADS and L2 ADAS crash data that the agency received under its Aug. 5, 2021 Standing General Order.  Data and two summary reports can be found online here.  Separate reports are provided by NHTSA for ADS vs. L2 ADAS data.  The reports are here:

ADS report

L2 ADAS report

On the website is incident report data (CSV format) for ADS and Level 2 ADAS. Note: For some incidents, the system type (ADS or Level 2 ADAS) was not reported and data for those incidents are listed in the Other data file. 

NCAP Upgrade

On March 9, 2022, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register proposing to add four new ADAS technologies to the program: 1) blind spot detection, 2) blind spot intervention, 3) lane keeping support, and 4) pedestrian automatic emergency braking.  In the notice, NHTSA is also proposing to revise test procedures and requirements for ADAS already in the program (FCW, LDW, CIB, DBS).  Additionally, the notice proposes a ten-year NCAP roadmap which outlines NHTSA’s plan for incorporating requirements for pedestrian crashworthiness, oblique frontal crash testing (if NHTSA decides not to make it to FMVSS 208), advanced lighting technology, V2V technologies like intersection assist and opposing traffic assist, AEB for cyclists, etc.  The notice also discusses plans for modifying the rating system and adding crash avoidance ratings to the Monroney label.

The notice contains 103 questions.  NHTSA is asking commenters to organize their input in a way that corresponds to the numerical list of questions.

The deadline for commenting on the notice is May 9, 2022. 

Docket reference: NHTSA-2021-0002

CAFE Public Information Center

NHTSA has launched a new CAFÉ Public Information Center.  The website includes data for both light duty and heavy duty vehicles.

For light duty vehicles, the following information is available:

• Fleet fuel economy performance data
• Manufacturer fuel economy performance data
• Credit balances
• Civil penalties data
• Flex fuel/AMFA data
• MY 2011-2019 NHTSA report on the state of industry compliance with CAFE standards (the report is dated Oct. 15, 2019).
• Standardized templates for manufacturers to use when submitting CAFE compliance reports to the agency and for reporting CAFE credit transactions. 

Note: For light duty vehicles, 2017 model year data is the newest data available.

For heavy duty vehicles, the following information is available:

• NHTSA's Fleet Performance Report for medium and heavy-duty vehicles and engines – this report displays EPA-verified end of the year fuel consumption standards and performance data (measured in gallons per 1,000 ton-miles (vehicles) and gallons per 100 hp-hr (engine)) by regulatory subcategory and model year. Data is available for 2013-2019 model years.
• standardized templates for manufacturers to use when submitting a credit transaction plan to resolve credit shortages under the NHTSA fuel consumption program.

Questions about the information made available at the site can be directed to [email protected].

NHTSA Annual Research Meeting

 On Sep. 10, 2021, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a 3-day long virtual meeting to be held Oct. 19-21 where representatives from the agency will provide updates on research NHTSA is conducting in the areas of crash avoidance, behavioral safety, and crashworthiness. 

The meeting is open to all.  Advance registration is required (https://www.nhtsa.gov/). Copies of the presentations and video recording of the meeting will be docketed.

NHTSA Recall Dashboard

On July 1, NHTSA issued a press release announcing the launch of an interactive recall dashboard that will allow users to sort and filter data, search by keyword, and export data in CSV, TSV for Excel, XML, and other formats. The dashboard will be updated daily and is available here.

2021-2022 NTSB Most Wanted List (MWL)

On April 6, 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its 2021-2022 Most Wanted List (MWL) highlighting transportation safety improvements needed now to prevent accidents, reduce injuries and save lives.  Included in the list are recommendations to:

- Implement a Comprehensive Strategy to Eliminate Speeding-Related Crashes

​- Protect Vulnerable Road Users through a Safe System Approach

- Prevent Alcohol- and Other Drug-Impaired Driving

- Require Collision-Avoidance and Connected-Vehicle Technologies on all Vehicles

- Eliminate Distracted Driving

NTSB is calling on NHTSA to:

Develop performance standards for advanced speed-limiting technology, such as variable speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation devices, for heavy vehicles, including trucks, buses, and motorcoaches. Then require that all newly manufactured heavy vehicles be equipped with such devices.

Identify best practices and science-based countermeasures to prevent drug-impaired driving; develop a standard of practice for drug toxicology testing and improving roadside oral-fluid screening devices for better detection of drug-impaired drivers; and finalize development of in-vehicle alcohol detection technology.

Complete standards for collision-warning and automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems in commercial vehicles and require this technology in all highway vehicles and all new school buses.

Develop performance standards for connected-vehicle technology and restart the proposed rulemaking to require this technology be installed on all newly manufactured highway vehicles.

Improve consumer awareness about collision-avoidance systems available in passenger vehicles by improving how these technologies are tested, evaluated, and rated in the New Car Assessment Program’s 5-star rating system.

Many other recommendations are made in the MWL.  For more information, click here.