Automakers say autonomous driving features that have the potential to make cars safer also make them cleaner—and they want the government to give them credit for it.
As safety features like automatic braking and adaptive cruise control become more widely available, traffic accidents are expected to fall. Fewer accidents will lead to less congestion and better traffic flow—factors that, when combined with speed management, could cut vehicle emissions by as much as 30%, say University of California at Riverside researchers.
Mitch Bainwol, the head of industry lobbying group Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, says regulators should let auto makers count the potential fuel-efficiency and emissions benefits toward corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, requirements.
So far, Washington has shot down the idea. Some current and former regulators and environmentalists contend auto makers are simply trying to get around meeting tougher mileage targets. They point out the auto industry has met requirements in previous years and shouldn’t get extra credit on fuel economy for making vehicles safer.
By 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, which together set fuel-economy mandates, require light-duty cars and trucks sold in the U.S. to collectively average 54.5 miles on a gallon of gasoline. Through the first two months of 2015, the average fuel economy of new light vehicles sold is just 25.2 mpg, according to figures from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
In 2012, when setting new fuel-economy standards, regulators said safety features should be evaluated only on their ability to save lives or reduce injuries, and not be considered for mileage credits.
With gasoline prices low and sales of electric vehicles and fuel-sipping small cars slumping, a NHTSA spokesman said there is willingness to take another look.
The EPA is less willing to reconsider. A spokeswoman said auto makers can already earn credits for some technologies, such as more efficient air conditioning systems, and the agency remains skeptical of adding safety features to the list.
David Strickland, a former NHTSA head now practicing law at Venable LLP, said applying safety features could end up “watering down CAFE,” because quantifying their precise role is challenging. “It’s going to be very difficult to prove the amount of crashes avoided…that turns into the amount of congestion avoided that turns into the amount of fuel savings and emissions reduced. You want to give a credit for something that is meaningful.”
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