News July/August 2015

House holds hearing on Connected Cars

Vehicle technology leaders recently appeared before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to address issues of emerging technologies in the automotive industry.

The hearing, titled “Vehicle to Vehicle Communications and Connected Roadways of the Future,” focused on telematics, vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication (V2I).

The witness panel included, among others, Nathaniel Beuse, associate administrator of Vehicle Safety Research for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Dr. Peter Sweatman, director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Beuse and Sweatman discussed the lifesaving potential of V2V technologies, national and international standards, future congressional rulemaking, and the timeline for implementation.

With regard to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, panelist Harry Lightsey, executive director of Global Connected Customer Experience for General Motors, said: “NHTSA has estimated that V2V could by itself impact more than 80 percent of the over four million annual unimpaired light-vehicle crashes, saving lives and reducing $871 billion in costs to our nation’s economy each year.”

But, noted Lightsey, the actual level of V2V’s effectiveness depends on it being deployed across all vehicle makes and models. “We are aware and are encouraged that many other automakers have plans to deploy V2V technology in the near future.”

Members of the subcommittee on commerce, manufacturing and trade, expressed optimism about the benefits of V2V technologies, but they remained wary of potential threats from hacking, connectivity lapses and modified driver behavior.

Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and the ranking subcommittee member, stated his concerns in his opening statement: “While the progress and potential of this technology are clear, we in Congress must continue to ensure proper oversight as NHTSA moves aggressively toward its goal of finalizing its V2V rulemaking by the end of this year. While pushing for V2V-enabled cars, NHTSA must also ensure drivers have the most beneficial crash avoidance and crashworthiness technologies in all cars, not just those supported by V2V communications.”

At the hearing’s conclusion, members expressed their interest in following this issue closely, with special attention to NHTSA’s rulemaking process. The agency is working to deliver a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on V2V communications by 2016.

For more information, go to www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/NHTSA-issues-advanced-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-V2V-communications.

ASA Updates

‘Not-Included Operations’ Charts

You can find the latest update to ASA’s “Not-Included Operations” charts online now. Designed to ensure collision repairers consider all of the possible operations when they write an estimate, the publication is available free to the industry.

Titled “Reference Chart of Not-Included Operations When Installing New Replacement Parts,” the guide serves as a quick summary of general, not-included operations, and should be used in addition to procedure pages supplied by individual information providers.

“ASA is committed to providing the industry with the tools and resources it needs to seek reimbursement for the steps necessary to properly repair a vehicle,” says Dan Risley, ASA president and executive director. “The ASA Not-Included Charts are an easy-to-use guide that helps the estimator accurately document all the necessary labor operations for the three major estimating systems.”

Tony Molla, ASA vice president, adds: “AudaExplore, CCC Information Services and Mitchell have all reviewed the documents in cooperation with the ASA Collision Operations Committee, and we sincerely appreciate their assistance. We welcome every opportunity to work together with our members and corporate partners to continue to provide useful information that benefits the entire industry.”

To find the publication in a PDF format, ASA member-shops and members of the industry can go to www.asashop.org under Tools and Resources. And a convenient direct link to the pdf is available at http://tinyurl.com/nfhrvfu