The U.S. Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that includes electric vehicle (EV) and auto safety provisions, but safety advocates have given a thumbs-down to a lot of the bill’s provisions.
Advocates say the measure’s stipulations on safety matters lean too much toward industry demands, as it did not establish comprehensive compliance deadlines or a requirement for regulatory action by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“[The bill is] flashy, took a lot of effort to build and includes some new praiseworthy features, but it remains an unfinished product in terms of making an immediate impact on the 40,000 annual crash deaths in our country,” the Center for Auto Safety said, according to Automotive News.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would allow $550 billion of new federal spending over the next five years to advance the country’s infrastructure, including $7.5 billion to create new electric vehicle charging stations, CBS News reported.
While the bill could help minimize vehicle crashes and fatalities, the provisions setting minimum performance standards for crash-avoidance technology have no stipulations regarding compliance dates. Likewise, deadlines are lacking for all vehicles sold in the country to be equipped with forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking systems, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist systems.
The bill must still pass in the U.S. House, which is scheduled to be on break until Monday, Sept. 20, Automotive News reported.
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