Auto Safety, Consumer Coalition Warns of Problems With Self-Driving Bill Set for House Vote

Consumer and auto safety organizations warned a self-driving bill scheduled for a House floor vote Wednesday (see 1708310055) is skirting safety measures. In a Tuesday letter to House members, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Consumer Federation of America and National Consumers League and others said HR-3388 "takes an unnecessary and unacceptable hands-off approach to hands-free driving." The measure sailed through a House committee in July (see 1707260057) and members then said they expect the full House to approve. Exempting potentially millions of such cars from federal standards could jeopardize safety, the coalition said. It said a public database with safety, level of automation of each vehicle and other information should be established and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should be given more funding, resources and enforcement authority to oversee the technology. The groups added state pre-emption is too broad.