Will auto safety be diminished in Trump's second administration?

President-elect Donald Trump's second term in the White House is days away. With the second iteration of the Trump administration on the horizon, some are wondering how the incoming president's likely lackadaisical stance on regulations will affect the United States — with questions about auto safety high on the list.

This regulatory change, whether for good or bad, is likely to occur sooner rather than later, with legal experts noting that a shift in vehicle safety regulations could have wide-ranging impacts on the auto industry. After Trump won the 2024 election, Reuters reported that his transition team was considering dropping a mandatory crash-reporting rule for autonomous vehicles, largely at the behest of Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk. Trump advisers later told Reuters that the people making these recommendations had "no role in charting administration policy."

Even if this change is not made, regulatory shifts in the auto industry are likely to be fast-moving under Trump's new administration. While many are raising cautions flags, not everyone seems to consider this a problematic change.

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What did the commentators say?

Many of the concerns revolve around self-driving cars, such as the ones manufactured by Tesla. There are currently "no federal regulations that specifically govern autonomous vehicles, and any regulation is left to states," said Tom Krisher at The Associated Press, though federal guidelines have been proposed.

Others are worried about the ability of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to do its job. Mandated reporting for autonomous vehicle crashes has given "NHTSA an important window into what is happening on the road," Ann Carlson, the former acting administrator at NHTSA, said to NPR. If this rule were to be overturned, NHTSA would not have a view into "what is going on on the roadways with what is really novel and interesting, important technology — but technology that we really need to make sure is safe."

It is not only cars, either, as some are worried about trucking regulations under the new administration. Officials have recently "moved ahead with requiring new technologies to reduce crashes and fatalities involving large trucks," but the "incoming administration could install a red light to block their efforts," said Jonathan D. Salant at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Not only did "Trump promise to reduce regulation but incoming Vice President J.D. Vance, while in the U.S. Senate, co-sponsored legislation to block the proposal requiring truckers to use speed limiters." Truckers are "very nervous that safety-oriented rulemaking will be watered down or pulled altogether," Zach Cahalan, the executive director of the Truck Safety Coalition, said to the Post-Gazette.

The "last time the Trump administration was in the White House, they did not advance safety regulations," Harry Adler, principal at the Institute for Safer Trucking, said to the Post-Gazette. However, not everyone seems to be as worried about safety issues. Autonomous vehicle executives are "excited by the prospect of Republicans using their new power to set standards that will help them expand from a handful of cities to communities across the nation," Ian Duncan said at The Washington Post.

There are also hopes by advocacy groups that Trump will help them slash drunk driving fatalities. Biden and Congress "passed a law in 2021 directing federal regulators to require anti-drunken driving technology in all new vehicles," but that "standard is not yet in place, and it's unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will follow through," Grant Schwab said at The Detroit News.

Trump "could be motivated by his personal approach to alcohol," as he abstains from alcohol due to his brother's alcohol-related death. Trump could nonetheless "wish to minimize regulatory pressure on an industry that has so far resisted widespread adoption of available, life-saving technology that can detect impaired driving and prevent vehicle operation."

What next?

Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy, has said he intends to allow a federal probe into Tesla's autonomous driving system. He additionally "committed to prioritizing safety on the roadways and in the air" during his confirmation hearings, per NPR. Duffy appears likely to be confirmed by the Senate, and the "automotive industry is bracing for seismic policy change," said Automotive World.