By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has compiled a technical report evaluating the fatality-reducing effectiveness of curtain and side airbags in the front seats of light-duty vehicles. As of MY ’11, 85% of new cars, light trucks and vans were equipped with curtains plus torso bags for drivers and right-front passengers, and about 45% of these vehicles included curtains that deploy in rollover crashes.

Analysis of crash data shows a significant fatality reduction for all four types of curtain and side airbags in near-side impacts for drivers and right-front passengers: curtains plus torso bags, 31.3%; combination head/torso bags, 24.8%; curtains only, 16.4%; and torso bags only, 7.8%. Rollover curtains also demonstrated a significant benefit in first-event rollovers, with an estimated fatality reduction around 41%.

Read the full report.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public meeting March 12 in Washington, D.C., on developing guidelines covering aftermarket devices that risk driver distraction. Last year, the NHTSA issued Phase 1 guidelines covering devices installed in new vehicles, such as “information, navigation, communications and entertainment” products that require the driver to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel. 

Under the guidelines, certain functions, such as inputting an address into a navigation system, text messaging, dialing a phone number or browsing the Internet will be disabled until the vehicle is in park while operations requiring less than two seconds and one hand to achieve will be permitted. The agency is now moving forward with Phase 2 guidance on aftermarket equipment/software. Any guidelines developed will use the Phase 1 approach, namely, that the driver's eyes should usually be looking at the road, at least one hand should be on the steering wheel, programming tasks should be interruptible at any time, with the driver controlling any machine interface, and with displays that are easy to see. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public meeting March 12 in Washington, D.C., on developing guidelines covering aftermarket devices that risk driver distraction. Last year, the NHTSA issued Phase 1 guidelines covering devices installed in new vehicles, such as “information, navigation, communications and entertainment” products that require the driver to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel. 

Under the guidelines, certain functions, such as inputting an address into a navigation system, text messaging, dialing a phone number or browsing the Internet will be disabled until the vehicle is in park while operations requiring less than two seconds and one hand to achieve will be permitted. The agency is now moving forward with Phase 2 guidance on aftermarket equipment/software. Any guidelines developed will use the Phase 1 approach, namely, that the driver's eyes should usually be looking at the road, at least one hand should be on the steering wheel, programming tasks should be interruptible at any time, with the driver controlling any machine interface, and with displays that are easy to see. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public meeting March 12 in Washington, D.C., on developing guidelines covering aftermarket devices that risk driver distraction. Last year, the NHTSA issued Phase 1 guidelines covering devices installed in new vehicles, such as “information, navigation, communications and entertainment” products that require the driver to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel. 

Under the guidelines, certain functions, such as inputting an address into a navigation system, text messaging, dialing a phone number or browsing the Internet will be disabled until the vehicle is in park while operations requiring less than two seconds and one hand to achieve will be permitted. The agency is now moving forward with Phase 2 guidance on aftermarket equipment/software. Any guidelines developed will use the Phase 1 approach, namely, that the driver's eyes should usually be looking at the road, at least one hand should be on the steering wheel, programming tasks should be interruptible at any time, with the driver controlling any machine interface, and with displays that are easy to see. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake.

Legislation to provide that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an “unattended vehicle” and not in violation of the law was approved by the House Roads and Transportation Committee. Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake. The bill would ensure that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an unattended vehicle, and owners would not be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine. The bill will now be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake.

Legislation to provide that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an “unattended vehicle” and not in violation of the law was approved by the House Roads and Transportation Committee. Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake. The bill would ensure that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an unattended vehicle, and owners would not be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine. The bill will now be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake.

Legislation to provide that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an “unattended vehicle” and not in violation of the law was approved by the House Roads and Transportation Committee. Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake. The bill would ensure that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an unattended vehicle, and owners would not be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine. The bill will now be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake.

Legislation to provide that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an “unattended vehicle” and not in violation of the law was approved by the House Roads and Transportation Committee. Under current West Virginia law, no person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake. The bill would ensure that a motor vehicle that has been started by use of a remote starter when the vehicle is locked is not an unattended vehicle, and owners would not be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine. The bill will now be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Washington State House of Representatives approved SEMA-supported legislation to exempt collectible vehicles of any age from emissions testing.

SEMA-supported legislation to exempt collectible vehicles of any age from emissions testing was approved by the Washington State House of Representatives. The bill defines a collectible vehicle as a vehicle of unique or rare design, of limited production and an object of curiosity that is maintained primarily for use in car club activities, exhibitions, parades or other functions of public interest or for a private collection, and is used only infrequently for other purposes.

The measure requires that the vehicle have collectible vehicle or classic automobile insurance coverage that restricts the collectible vehicle mileage or use, or both, and requires the owner to have another vehicle for personal use. The bill now moves to the Senate Transportation Committee for consideration.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Washington State House of Representatives approved SEMA-supported legislation to exempt collectible vehicles of any age from emissions testing.

SEMA-supported legislation to exempt collectible vehicles of any age from emissions testing was approved by the Washington State House of Representatives. The bill defines a collectible vehicle as a vehicle of unique or rare design, of limited production and an object of curiosity that is maintained primarily for use in car club activities, exhibitions, parades or other functions of public interest or for a private collection, and is used only infrequently for other purposes.

The measure requires that the vehicle have collectible vehicle or classic automobile insurance coverage that restricts the collectible vehicle mileage or use, or both, and requires the owner to have another vehicle for personal use. The bill now moves to the Senate Transportation Committee for consideration.

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.