NCL urges regulators to investigate auto makers’ data collection practices

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March 27, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging oversight of vehicle manufacturers’ collection of consumer data. Modern cars can collect a range of information on drivers, including the locations they visit, their exact weight, and their texts and call records. Consumers are often unaware of this data collection and are even more surprised when insurance companies utilize this surveillance to increase drivers’ premiums. As digitally connected vehicles become more commonplace, the risks they pose to consumer privacy will only become greater—absent mandatory safeguards.

The full letter can be found here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

NCL: Increasing truck size and weight limits is bad for consumers

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May 23, 2023

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, 202-823-8442

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League, America’s pioneering worker and consumer advocacy organization, today called on lawmakers to protect consumers by blocking efforts, at both the federal and state levels, to raise the weight and size limits on commercial trucks.

Each year, the number of commercial trucks is increasing, while the number of experienced truck drivers is decreasing. In its new white paper, the consumer group examined the safety, economic, and environmental impact that putting bigger and heavier trucks onto our nation’s already congested roads would have on consumers.

“Large, heavy commercial trucks are being driven by increasingly inexperienced drivers, which is putting other drivers in danger, putting stress on roads and bridges and polluting the air we breathe,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Lawmakers should be looking to address these concerns, rather than pushing to get even bigger and heavier trucks on the road.”

The NCL white paper examines how accidents involving long trucks continue to increase, despite a decline in the overall rate of traffic accidents. The paper looks at how the high turnover in commercial truck drivers is leading to more inexperienced drivers, who are more likely to be involved in accidents. It also shines a light on the attempts to expand driverless trucks, including massive convoys of trucks being controlled by the lead truck.

The white paper shows how large trucks are the single biggest contributor to black carbon emissions. Putting larger and heavier trucks on the road will contribute to increased rates of asthma and other lung problems, especially among children.

NCL’s paper also looked at the impact large and heavy trucks are having on our nation’s infrastructure. A Department of Transportation report showed that increasing weight limits for trucks would have an impact on 5,000 bridges across the country. The report finds that allowing double trailer trucks would require the immediate reinforcement of 2,500 interstate highway bridges.

The white paper proposes numerous steps lawmakers can take to address these problems. Aside from rejecting efforts to increase truck size and weight limits, lawmakers should take the following actions to protect consumers from large commercial trucks:

  • Enact a Vehicle Miles Traveled and Weight Tax
  • Stricter licensing requirements for larger trucks
  • Keep autonomous trucks off the road
  • Shift weight limit penalties onto carriers

“Consumers are already bearing the burden of sharing roads and bridges with massive trucks carrying heavy loads,” said Greenberg. “Lawmakers have a choice. They can either take steps to make our roads and bridges safer and our air cleaner or they can make things worse. Consumers are looking for them to step up and do the right thing.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Technology can limit speeds on cars; EU set to require it

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According to reports, the European Union (EU) is set to require a sophisticated set of technologies on all vehicles to limit driver speeds, described as satellite location cameras, intelligent speed assistance, video cameras, data recorder, and emergency braking starting in 2022. They say it will increase safety–but at what cost?

These measures will purportedly reduce fatalities by 20 percent and prevent 25,000 deaths over a 15-year period. Consumer advocates care deeply about auto safety, but how it’s done, what measures are used, and who pays for it is also important. There’s anger and skepticism in Europe about these kinds of measures. I must say, I share some of that concern.

Here in Washington DC, the Mayor and City Council put hundreds of speed and red light cameras all over the city and imposed large fines—$150 in some places for a first offense—for violations. DC has a lot of low- and middle-income residents; NCL looked at the placement of the cameras and found the biggest revenues were generated in heavily African American neighborhoods. And though the rationale for the cameras is pedestrian safety, after these cameras have been in place for several years, pedestrian injuries and fatalities are once again on the rise. The fines have become a cash cow for the city, generating well over a half billion dollars. Apparently, they haven’t done much to actually improve pedestrian safety. And I’ve talked to many people who drive for a living—they’ve all received the pricey $150 tickets for going 36 mph—while otherwise driving safely, some on roads that have virtually no foot traffic.

There’s more to learn about the new EU rules. Germany has no set speed limit, but in France, backlash on its limits has resulted in half the network of speed cameras being destroyed. I’m more of a “build safer cars” advocate, not “impose draconian fines on drivers.” The former is more effective in preventing injury and death. Two EU rules that have reduced fatalities significantly: mandatory seat belt usage and performance standards for crashworthiness of vehicles make a lot of sense. So does emergency braking technology, because it’s automatic when conditions trigger it. But I fear that more video cameras, data recorders, tracking the location of vehicles—all of which raise privacy issues—may sound good but won’t bring safer roads and will just result more in fines generated for municipalities.

We will be watching with interest the EU rollout of required technologies on cars. We should overserve it closely because the United States will probably not be far behind.

Automobile industry ignoring safety packages – National Consumers League

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NCL Public Policy Intern Melissa Cuddington contributed to this post.

In November 22, 2004, Automotive News, the publication that covers the auto industry, ran one of my favorite editorials of all time:

“All safety related devices should become standard equipment on all vehicles. No choice. It’s not an economic decision; it’s a moral decision. When the choice becomes profit vs. lives, the decision should be simple.”

This issue is more pertinent now than ever. The National Consumers League strongly supports enhanced auto safety technologies and, like the quote above says, it’s a moral decision to make safety technologies standard equipment. Case in point: driver-assist technology, has been available for about a decade in the United States. It includes automatic breaking, lane-changing aids, and cruise control, each of which has made driving safer.

One would think that these driver-assist programs would be included in “standard safety packages,” but they are not. As such, it’s sad to read that the auto industry is doing a poor job marketing and selling these systems. According to the Wall Street Journal, salespeople are apparently not being properly trained to discuss the benefits of these safety technologies. In a recent survey done by the MIT AgeLab, only six out of 17 car sellers were able to explain the safety technologies. In fact, many car salespeople say they don’t have the knowledge or the time to explain these packages. Car sellers are not incentivized to explain these technologies because they drive up the cost of the car and take “excessive” time in the showroom. What a loss! Thirty percent of traffic accidents and fatalities could be avoided if the majority of cars had these standard safety packages, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

This lack of enthusiasm for selling the safety that exists today is ironic. Automobile manufacturers are trying to rush through Congress a bill that gives nearly carte blanche for the deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) with little regulation. Safety is one of the top reasons AVs are being touted by the auto industry as a means for greatly reducing auto injuries. But we are skeptical; just look how industry gives short shrift to the safety devices we have access to now!

There are notable exceptions. NCL applauds carmakers Honda Motor Co., Subaru Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation for their plans to include safety packages in their standard car models, such as the 2019 Subaru Ascent and the 2018 Honda Accord. These companies have also made a concerted effort to keep prices down for models featuring the safety technology. We’d like to see them and their competitors expand these features to their whole fleet.

We urge the automobile industry take a second look at the cost of these driver-assist packages that aren’t standard equipment, to train their sales force to sell these lifesaving packages, and—most importantly—to start to include these safety packages in standard car models. Consumers shouldn’t have to choose between affordability and safety. Like Automotive News said nearly 15 years ago, “All safety-related devices should become standard equipment on all vehicles.”