HB4376, titled the AV Safety Data Act, would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue regulations requiring certain autonomous vehicle and Level 2 advanced driver assistance system manufacturers/operators to submit standardized incident and usage data. The bill requires reporting of monthly mileage and operational data, collisions involving injuries to vulnerable road users or occupants of other vehicles, and detailed information about unplanned stoppage events, including vehicle identifiers, location, road type, environmental conditions, emergency response involvement, impacts, interventions, and timing. It also incorporates the existing Third Amended Standing General Order 2021-01 incident reporting framework and limits Level 2 reporting to data collected while the system was engaged or in the 30 seconds before an unplanned stoppage event, excluding personally identifiable information about human drivers.
The bill would also require NHTSA to publish the submitted information publicly in machine-readable format on its website beginning 120 days after enactment. NHTSA could not reduce the reporting requirements for 10 years, though it could amend the regulations at any time in a way that remains consistent with the statute. The bill defines key terms such as covered entity, covered vehicle, unplanned stoppage event, and vulnerable road user by reference to existing federal standards and the NHTSA standing general order, thereby tying the new law closely to current federal autonomous vehicle oversight.
Impact
HB4376 would expand and formalize federal reporting obligations for autonomous driving systems and Level 2 driver assistance systems by converting and broadening NHTSA’s incident-reporting framework into statutory requirements. It would affect manufacturers and operators subject to the Third Amended Standing General Order 2021-01, requiring them to collect and submit more detailed operational and safety data and making that data publicly available. The bill would not directly regulate vehicle design or deployment, but it would increase transparency, data availability, and federal oversight of autonomous vehicle operations and related safety incidents.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from legislative debate. Based on the bill text, the measure appears framed as a safety and transparency initiative rather than a restriction on autonomous vehicle deployment. The absence of recorded votes or discussion means the overall sentiment cannot be measured from the available context, but the bill’s structure suggests an emphasis on public accountability and data-driven oversight.
Contention
The main likely points of contention are the breadth and burden of the reporting requirements, the public release of detailed operational data, and the treatment of Level 2 systems alongside fully automated driving systems. Manufacturers and operators may view the monthly reporting obligations, location-specific data, and detailed incident disclosures as administratively burdensome or potentially sensitive from a competitive or privacy standpoint, even though the bill excludes personally identifiable information about human drivers. Another possible issue is the bill’s reliance on NHTSA’s existing standing general order, which could prompt debate over whether Congress should codify and expand those requirements or leave them to agency discretion.