NHTSA tells carmakers not to comply with Massachusetts' 'right to repair' law | Hacker News Reader

NHTSA tells carmakers not to comply with Massachusetts' 'right to repair' law

wbur.org

As has also been pointed out, the member of the NHTSA who signed this letter used to work for the law firm that was representing the automaker companies (and lost).

The NHTSA was asked to comment on the case while it was happening, but did not.

More information: https://youtu.be/2nXVljRUnoc

Wow, NHTSA is gaslighting right to repair on behalf of the car companies now, in direct opposition to the recent executive order on Right to Repair, and the FTC's recent report on Right to Repair debunking these myths?

Guess the different branches of the Federal Government really don't communicate with one another... sigh...

I'm not familiar with that executive order or FTC report, do you have a source?

The letter is strange. I could be misunderstanding something but it seems that NHTSA is saying that the right to repair law is unsafe because "the open remote access to vehicle telematics effectively required by this law specifically entails the ability to send commands."

But this functionality already exists, no? In fact towards the end of the letter they also discourage automakers from disabling telematics to comply with the Massachusetts law because "telematics data can also be an important source of information for safety oversight and field performance monitoring by the authorities and vehicle manufacturers."

I'm mostly just glad I drive an older car which barely gets an FM signal.

Full letter: https://media.wbur.org/wp/2023/06/06-14_NHTSA_Telematic_Lett...

Regulatory capture is older than political partisanship

Why do different branches of the government infight like this?

Because they have the money and time to fight for turf.

Mainly lobbying

They don't have to run for office, can't be fired, represent entrenched interests, and tend to amass power to justify their budgets (mission creep). They are deep, state actors.

> NHTSA officials said the Massachusetts law "poses significant safety concerns" because the access to vehicle telematic data it requires could allow for manipulation of steering, acceleration, braking and air bags.

Sounds a lot like what killed Michael Hastings.

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Federal government tells carmakers not to comply with Massachusetts' 'right to repair' law

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