On April 19, Automotive Service Association (ASA) Chairman Roy Schnepper and ASA President and Executive Director Dan Risley met with key leaders in Washington, D.C., to discuss automated-vehicle policy and data access.

During the Capitol Hill meetings, Schnepper and Risley outlined the importance of data access to independent automotive repairers.

They highlighted U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s amendment to S. 1885 – the AV START Act – which would form an advisory committee on automated-vehicle data-access issues. The amendment provides for the HAV Data Access Advisory Committee, comprised of stakeholders, to provide a report to Congress within 30 months of enactment. The process would allow for independent repairers to educate federal regulators about the importance of the issue to repairers, ASA noted.

ASA also met with officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation to share views about the importance of continued access to vehicle repair information.

“Automated-vehicle policy will affect the entire automotive industry, not just OEs and consumers,” Schnepper said after the meetings. “These issues are complicated and nuanced, and we were encouraged to hear that our leaders in Washington are taking this seriously. If passed, the Inhofe amendment in the AV bill will allow more time for the industry to provide additional insights to Congress and the administration.”