
Chris Spear
36:29 - 37:19
"Congress should solidify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's role as the primary authority over motor vehicle safety standards. Trucking is a national industry, and vehicle standards must remain national as well. When states or courts impose equipment standards beyond federal law, it creates a fragmented regulatory landscape"
“Congress should solidify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's role as the primary authority over motor vehicle safety standards. Trucking is a national industry, and vehicle standards must remain national as well. When states or courts impose equipment standards beyond federal law, it creates a fragmented regulatory landscape”
Congress has a ready solution in Chairman Young's Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act, which would remove this outdated barrier and accelerate deployment of safer, cleaner, and more efficient equipment nationwide. Second, Congress should solidify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's role as the primary authority over motor vehicle safety standards. Trucking is a national industry, and vehicle standards must remain national as well. When states or courts impose equipment standards beyond federal law, it creates a fragmented regulatory landscape that drives uncertainty for manufacturers, motor carriers, and the supply chain. Congress should reaffirm that when NHTSA acts, federal standards take precedence.
Industry witnesses urged a Senate panel to establish federal rules for autonomous vehicles and block state patchworks. Labor representatives called for binding premarket safety standards beyond self-certification.
