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This section directs the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in consultation with passenger motor vehicle manufacturers, equipment makers, standard-setting organizations, the independent automotive aftermarket, and dealers, to develop and publish guidelines not later than 24 months after enactment of this Act. The guidelines ensure that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and vehicle dynamic systems in passenger motor vehicles for model year 2028 and later maintain functionality when the vehicle is modified or customized and must include (1) allowable modification ranges and tolerances for physical parameters such as ride height, wheel and tire dimensions, overall static geometry, physical displacement parameters, and sensor and camera function; (2) a process for manufacturers to provide vehicle tolerance and system sensitivity information relevant to modification and calibration to owners and the Administrator within 30 days after release of a passenger motor vehicle; (3) quantifiable tolerance thresholds for changes in vertical and lateral displacement in all axes to maintain ADAS functionality; (4) proper calibration procedures for ADAS and vehicle dynamic systems following repair, modification, or component replacement; and (5) confirmatory test protocols and performance validation metrics for owners, service providers, and independent repair facilities to verify ADAS operational integrity after calibration. The section further authorizes the Administrator to contract with independent laboratories for required testing; requires guidelines to be based on empirical data from dynamic testing, independent research, and public sources; directs calibration procedures to reference or expand upon United States New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) methodologies, including a standardized good/fair/poor scoring scale and transparent validation criteria applicable across vehicle platforms and lifecycles; and subjects noncompliant manufacturers to civil penalties under 49 U.S.C. 30165(a).
This section directs the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to complete a study within 12 months of enactment—and submit a report to Congress—assessing NHTSA's safety needs, feasibility, capability, and cost to develop and maintain industry guidelines supporting the functionality of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicle dynamic systems in modified or customized passenger motor vehicles for model year 2028 and later. The study must consider (1) vehicle tolerance and system sensitivity information relevant to post-modification calibration, (2) allowable modification ranges and tolerances (e.g., ride height, wheel and tire dimensions, overall static geometry, physical displacements, sensor and camera function), (3) quantifiable tolerance thresholds for vertical, longitudinal, and lateral displacements to maintain ADAS functionality, (4) proper calibration procedures following repair, modification, or component replacement, and (5) confirmatory test protocols and performance validation metrics for verifying ADAS integrity; NHTSA must consult passenger motor vehicle manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, standard-setting organizations, the independent automotive aftermarket, and dealers.
This section defines terms used in the Act, including “Administrator” as the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; “advanced driver assistance system” or “ADAS” as a passenger motor vehicle equipped with a Level 0, Level 1, or Level 2 system; “confirmatory test” as a standardized post-calibration vehicle test designed to validate system performance; “independent automotive aftermarket” as any party or entity not authorized by a passenger motor vehicle manufacturer or affiliated service provider; “Level 0,” “Level 1,” and “Level 2” as defined in the April 2021 edition (or subsequent edition adopted by the Secretary) of SAE International’s J3016 recommended practice, “Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles”; “Secretary” as the Secretary of Transportation; and “vehicle dynamic system” as ADAS and any related or integrated systems affecting the stability, control, or motion of the vehicle. The section applies the meanings given in existing law to “dealer” and “manufacturer” (49 U.S.C. §30102), “motor vehicle” and “passenger motor vehicle” (49 U.S.C. §32101, the latter including a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 pounds), and “owner” (49 U.S.C. §30106(d)(2)).