Trump administration reportedly kills vehicle-to-vehicle safety mandate [Updated]

(credit: US Department of Transportation)

Update: Ars reached out to NHTSA this morning, which told us that it has yet to make a final decision. "The vehicle-to-vehicle notice of proposed rulemaking was released in December 2016 for public feedback, and received over 460 comments. NHTSA is still reviewing and considering all comments submitted and other relevant new information to inform its next steps. An update on these actions will be provided when a decision is made as part of the Department's ongoing regulatory review," it told us in a written statement.

The Trump administration is notoriously unfriendly to red tape; one of its earliest actions in January was aimed at slashing the number of government regulations. According to an AP report on Wednesday morning, the vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) mandate is among the deceased. This may not mark the death of V2V, but if true, it's yet another nail in the coffin of the technology, which uses a dedicated band of radio spectrum for short-range alerts between vehicles.

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