The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has asked the Dept. of Transportation and Office of Management and Budget to change its guidelines on distracted driving.
The CTA said the guidelines issued late last year “take the wrong approach to this important issue…by…reaching beyond NHTSA’s statutory authority under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act,” according to a letter from CTA head Gary Shapiro to the department heads.
The CTA called for the halt of all pending regulations so the new administration could review them. It said the new guidelines could have a chilling effect on sales of consumer electronics products.
The Fed guidelines in question say that some cellphone functions must be disabled once the phone is paired to the car. These include playing most video, texting and showing social media feeds.
It also proposed a special “driver mode” interface that locks out these functions even if the phone is not paired with the car’s radio system.
This applies to portable and aftermarket devices meant to be “permanently installed” in the car, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
While the new guidelines are non-binding, they could still have “a sweeping effect on the multibillion dollar market for mobile devices and apps,” said the CTA.
You can read the CTA letter here.
Source: Multichannel News
