U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Includes NHTSA Stakeholder Telematics Language

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has released their bill for the FY 2021 budget. This bill allocates $25.6 billion for the Department of Transportation in discretionary budget authority.

In the following explanatory document for this bill, the committee provides report language for the telematics issue. The report language recognizes that “vehicle manufacturers currently control access to the telematics data generated and transmitted by the vehicle” and that “some have raised concerns that the proprietary nature of this data may hinder consumers’ choices in having independent car maintenance shops access such information remotely”.

Telematics. —Telematics, which is the technology that allows information to be remotely sent to and from a motor vehicle, has improved the safety and efficiency of motor vehicles. Vehicle manufacturers currently control access to the telematics data generated and transmitted by the vehicle, but some have raised concerns that the proprietary nature of this data may hinder consumers’ choices in having independent car maintenance shops access such information remotely. The Committee is concerned about potential safety issues and encourages NHTSA to work with stakeholders.

In this report language, the committee expresses their concern over these issues, and directs NHTSA to work with stakeholders on this problem.