NAMIC Calls on Congress to Focus on AV Safety, Auto Affordability

Congress can make our roads and vehicles safer and more affordable through a focus on risk reduction and safety laws, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said today.

NAMIC offered perspective and support for several measures in a statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade as it considered 16 motor vehicle safety bills during a Jan. 13 hearing.

“Reducing the number of deaths, injuries, and property damage on our roads has long been mission critical for NAMIC, mutual insurers, and the broader insurance industry,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “Automated driving technology doesn’t change that commitment, but it does raise new questions about how we evaluate vehicles in the marketplace before they take to the roads and what happens when things go wrong.”

Grande commended the committee for thoughtful discussion of automated vehicles, which have great potential to reduce crashes. But he further noted the need for transparency around their safety and performance, highlighting the insurance industry’s long history of promoting safety standards. “We want safer, more innovative cars,” he said. “NAMIC supports the AV Safety Data Act because the public deserves to know with certainty that these automobiles are safe and perform as intended before being deployed on the roadway.”

The committee also began consideration of the SELF DRIVE Act, which would establish a federal regulatory framework for the deployment of automated driverless vehicles on U.S. roads. NAMIC expressed a desire to further work with policymakers on that legislation to validate AV safety and ensure that states and localities retain authority to make determinations on related registration, licensing, insurance, and tort laws.

Additionally, vehicles are increasingly equipped with computer systems that make operation easier and safer, but these computers also collect and store massive amounts of data. Grande said NAMIC supports additional legislation before the committee to address the issues created by this data collection, as well as a bill to help reduce repair costs.

“Buying a car, especially a newer model, should include ownership of the data that car generates. It should not mean surrendering consumer choice and abandoning competition in the marketplace to service and repair that vehicle,” Grande said.

The DRIVER Act, H.R. 6687, would ensure that vehicle owners would have full ownership of the data collected by their vehicles and that such data is accessible through standard physical ports and wireless interfaces that do not require a fee to the original manufacturer. The REPAIR Act, H.R. 1566, would address the physical aspect of repairs, guaranteeing consumer choice in the market for repair parts while ensuring aftermarket parts do not compromise the safety of a vehicle. NAMIC supports both measures, as posted by the subcommittee for consideration today.