NoDak
Senior Member
Older Cars Get New Oversight
Many Americans are driving around in cars that are at least a decade old. In fact, the average car on US roads is 11.4 years old. But manufacturers are only required to recall defective repairs for the first 10 years of their life.
The FAST Act fixes this safety gap. It lengthens the period of time a manufacturer must repair defective cars to 15 years. It also directs NHTSA to write new rules that require automakers to keep their safety records vehicles for "at least 10 years."
Drivers Own Their Data
Since last year, NHTSA has required that all passenger vehicles come equipped with event data recorders. Used to help further understand an investigate accidents, ownership of this data has nonetheless come under debate and questions have arisen regarding who owns and who may access the data.
The FAST Act answers these questions. It underscores such data is owned by the car owner, and that law enforcement may not access it except under authorization of a court order or by obtaining permission from the owner or lessee. Beyond EDRs, there's troves of data that automakers and other third-parties can access from other systems, but with this provision, score at least one victory for privacy advocates.
No Federal Funds For Traffic Cameras
Automated traffic enforcement has been fading in popularity over the past two years, and as skepticism grows over whether red-light and speed cameras serve revenue-generation purposes or benefit safety, Congress has voted to stop using federal dollars from funding more cameras. The FAST Act prohibits states from using federal funds to "purchase, operate or maintain an automated traffic enforcement system." There's one exception – such funds are still available if the cameras will be set up within school zones. But otherwise, the new law is expected to speed the exit of such systems.
Making Rental Cars Safer
After five years of contentious Congressional battles, the FAST Act prohibits almost all rental car companies from renting, loaning, or selling vehicles under recall until the defects have been repaired.
Cally Houck (pictured above) advocated for the law for years. Her two daughters, Jacqueline and Raechel, were killed in a 2004 crash caused by a defect in a PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The car had been recalled, but the repairs were never made.
There's a big exception to this in the FAST Act. The new provisions only apply to fleets that contain more than 35 cars. In practice, this means it applies to big rental car companies but exempts car dealers who dole out rentals and loaners, which concerns advocates.
"That loophole was all about politics, not safety," Houck wrote on Change.org. "It makes no sense for shady car dealers to be able to loan someone an unsafe ticking time-bomb car, without violating the new rental car safety law. Imagine – taking a recalled car to a dealer for repairs, only to have the dealer hand you the keys to a loaner – with the exact same defect."
Roadblocks For Toll Roads
Federal law prohibits states from placing tolls on existing interstates. Of course, there's an exception to that law which allows three states – Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia – to do just that via pilot programs. Even with such permission, those states haven't established tolls and have no plans to do so.
The FAST Act gives them three years to make such plans, or else those exemptions could be passed along to other states. Worried such tolls could come to your state? Not so fast. The bill also requires that any new state approve legislation before starting a pilot program, a sure-fire roadblock for any potential participants.
Many Americans are driving around in cars that are at least a decade old. In fact, the average car on US roads is 11.4 years old. But manufacturers are only required to recall defective repairs for the first 10 years of their life.
The FAST Act fixes this safety gap. It lengthens the period of time a manufacturer must repair defective cars to 15 years. It also directs NHTSA to write new rules that require automakers to keep their safety records vehicles for "at least 10 years."
Drivers Own Their Data
Since last year, NHTSA has required that all passenger vehicles come equipped with event data recorders. Used to help further understand an investigate accidents, ownership of this data has nonetheless come under debate and questions have arisen regarding who owns and who may access the data.
The FAST Act answers these questions. It underscores such data is owned by the car owner, and that law enforcement may not access it except under authorization of a court order or by obtaining permission from the owner or lessee. Beyond EDRs, there's troves of data that automakers and other third-parties can access from other systems, but with this provision, score at least one victory for privacy advocates.
No Federal Funds For Traffic Cameras
Automated traffic enforcement has been fading in popularity over the past two years, and as skepticism grows over whether red-light and speed cameras serve revenue-generation purposes or benefit safety, Congress has voted to stop using federal dollars from funding more cameras. The FAST Act prohibits states from using federal funds to "purchase, operate or maintain an automated traffic enforcement system." There's one exception – such funds are still available if the cameras will be set up within school zones. But otherwise, the new law is expected to speed the exit of such systems.
Making Rental Cars Safer
After five years of contentious Congressional battles, the FAST Act prohibits almost all rental car companies from renting, loaning, or selling vehicles under recall until the defects have been repaired.
Cally Houck (pictured above) advocated for the law for years. Her two daughters, Jacqueline and Raechel, were killed in a 2004 crash caused by a defect in a PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The car had been recalled, but the repairs were never made.
There's a big exception to this in the FAST Act. The new provisions only apply to fleets that contain more than 35 cars. In practice, this means it applies to big rental car companies but exempts car dealers who dole out rentals and loaners, which concerns advocates.
"That loophole was all about politics, not safety," Houck wrote on Change.org. "It makes no sense for shady car dealers to be able to loan someone an unsafe ticking time-bomb car, without violating the new rental car safety law. Imagine – taking a recalled car to a dealer for repairs, only to have the dealer hand you the keys to a loaner – with the exact same defect."
Roadblocks For Toll Roads
Federal law prohibits states from placing tolls on existing interstates. Of course, there's an exception to that law which allows three states – Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia – to do just that via pilot programs. Even with such permission, those states haven't established tolls and have no plans to do so.
The FAST Act gives them three years to make such plans, or else those exemptions could be passed along to other states. Worried such tolls could come to your state? Not so fast. The bill also requires that any new state approve legislation before starting a pilot program, a sure-fire roadblock for any potential participants.
