From the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
SEMA's national effort to protect the ability to modify and customize vehicles with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) took a major step forward this week, as the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade passed the bipartisan ADAS Functionality and Integrity Act (HR 6688). The SEMA-supported bill passed the subcommittee via voice vote, marking significant progress toward ensuring that the specialty automotive aftermarket and vehicle owners have the information they need to modify and customize vehicles with advanced safety features.
The ADAS Functionality and Integrity Act, sponsored by Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and cosponsored by Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA), and Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA), would ensure that aftermarket businesses have the information needed to properly calibrate ADAS after vehicles are modified or customized.
- It's important that your lawmakers hear directly from you about the importance of the ADAS Functionality and Integrity Act. Click here to send a letter to your U.S. House member.
As the bill moves through the Energy and Commerce Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives, it is essential that lawmakers continue to hear from aftermarket businesses, technicians and enthusiasts about the real-world impacts of ADAS policies. The creation of clear, balanced guidelines will help ensure that vehicles remain safe while preserving the ability to modify vehicles to suit each individual's needs and circumstances with the best the aftermarket has to offer.
BACKGROUND
As ADAS features become increasingly offered in new vehicles, they present both opportunities and challenges for vehicle owners and aftermarket businesses that modify vehicles in common ways, such as installing a wrap, an aftermarket bumper or winch, a bike rack, lifting a vehicle or installing larger tires. ADAS technologies, such as automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning and forward-collision warning, add complexity when vehicles are repaired or modified. HR 6688 takes a pragmatic approach by directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to work with automakers, the aftermarket, dealers and automotive stakeholders to establish guidelines for ADAS calibration, modification tolerances and validation testing. The goal is a landscape where vehicles can be safely modified without compromising the performance of critical safety systems.
For the vehicle owners who are the lifeblood of the automotive aftermarket, this bill is especially significant. It recognizes the important role of aftermarket businesses in customizing and upgrading vehicles and seeks to ensure that independent technicians, parts manufacturers and vehicle owners have clear, workable standards to follow when modifying vehicles in a way that may impact ADAS performance. By creating consistent federal guidance, the bill helps avoid a patchwork of rules that could restrict innovation, limit consumer choice, or unfairly advantage vehicle manufacturers and affiliated service providers.
Currently, there are no standards to properly calibrate the sensors and cameras that support ADAS features after a vehicle has been customized or modified. HR 6688 addresses this gap by requiring NHTSA to establish guidelines for model-year-'28-and-later vehicles that include modification ranges and tolerances that maintain proper calibration of ADAS. The bill also requires NHTSA to create guidelines that establish ADAS test procedures so that automotive businesses can properly test and validate that vehicle systems have been properly calibrated.
Instead of forcing vehicle owners and aftermarket businesses to guess whether vehicle safety systems are fully operational following modifications, the information provided via HR 6688 would instead enable the aftermarket to answer the question, "Do these ADAS systems continue to operate as intended?"
Equally important, HR 6688 is bipartisan; the bill reflects growing consensus that safety and consumer freedoms are not mutually exclusive. Federal policy must encourage technological advancement while preserving the vibrant aftermarket ecosystem that supports millions of jobs and billions in economic activity.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock | metamorworks
