U.S. vehicle safety regulators have approved a request by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to reopen the comment period on whether any test procedures related to NHTSA’s federal vehicle safety standards should be replaced, repealed or modified.
NHTSA in December issued an advance notice of proposed rule-making that sought comment on amending its test procedures for any of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards “for reasons other than considerations relevant only to automated driving systems,” according to an unpublished document.
The comment period ended Feb. 8 but, starting Wednesday, will reopen for 30 days.
The alliance — which represents most major automakers in the U.S. as well as some suppliers and tech companies — asked the agency in January for a 30-day extension of the comment period.
The association said the additional time was necessary for it “to conduct a comprehensive review of the extensive number of regulations” and auto safety standards that have detailed test procedures, according to the request. It also cited COVID-19 restrictions as an impediment to organizing work group meetings to discuss the topic.
While NHTSA’s advance notice request is straightforward, “conducting the in-depth review and analysis necessary to develop informed comments identifying candidate test procedures and developing constructive recommendations is not,” the alliance said.