Two years of work culminated in Congressional passage of a bill (HR 3) to fund highway construction and public transportation through fiscal year 2009. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law.

The legislation is very important to small business. It will authorize funding to build, widen, or resurface roads and build or repair bridges, all of which makes doing business for small businesses cheaper.

The legislation also includes many other provisions linked to vehicle safety. Congress directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to complete the following rulemakings:

• Rollover Prevention: to establish performance criteria to reduce the occurrence of rollovers consistent with electronic stability-control technology. Proposed rule by October 2006; final rule by April 2009.
• Occupant Ejection: to establish performance standards to reduce occupant ejections from outboard seating positions. This could lead to seat belt enhancements, or sensors that detect when a vehicle is about to rollover and tighten the belt. Final rule by October 2009.
• Roof Strength: to require stronger roofs to protect occupants during rollovers. Proposed rule by December 2005; final rule by July 2008.
• Side Impact: to upgrade the side impact standard. Final rule by July 2008.
• Tire Aging: to conduct research into tire aging issues and make recommendations for any potential rulemaking. Report due by August 2007.
• Vehicle Backover: to conduct research into technologies that can detect people or objects behind a motor vehicle, and the feasibility installing the equipment. Report due by November 2006.
• Door Locks: to strengthen the rule aimed at preventing doors from opening during crashes. Final rule by February 2008.
• Power Window Switches: to require switches that pull up or out when raising car windows rather than toggle switches, to prevent accidentally injuring children. Final rule by April 2007.
• 15-Passenger Vans: to require 15-passenger vans to be subject for the first time to government crash tests.
• Crash-Test Ratings: to require automakers to post government vehicle crash-test ratings on the window sticker that posts the vehicle’s list price, by September 2007. At the moment, NHTSA publishes the five-star crash-safety and rollover avoidance ratings but does not require the information to be available on the car lot.

NHTSA is already considering most of the topics and the vehicle manufacturers are voluntarily implementing many of the same directives. SEMA generally opposes Congressional mandates that do not provide flexibility to regulators and the industry.