Document ID: NHTSA-2016-0126-0009
Agency: nhtsa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: V2V Communications
Posted Date: 2017-01-12T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3854-4019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31059]

[[Page 3853]]

Vol. 82

Thursday,

No. 8

January 12, 2017

Part II

Department of Transportation

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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49 CFR Part 571

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; V2V Communications; Proposed 
Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 3854]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126]
RIN 2127-AL55

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; V2V Communications

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to establish a new Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), No. 150, to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle 
(V2V) communications for new light vehicles and to standardize the 
message and format of V2V transmissions. This will create an 
information environment in which vehicle and device manufacturers can 
create and implement applications to improve safety, mobility, and the 
environment. Without a mandate to require and standardize V2V 
communications, the agency believes that manufacturers will not be able 
to move forward in an efficient way and that a critical mass of 
equipped vehicles would take many years to develop, if ever. 
Implementation of the new standard will enable vehicle manufacturers to 
develop safety applications that employ V2V communications as an input, 
two of which are estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes 
and prevent over one thousand fatalities annually.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 12, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in 
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
     Online: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern 
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Regardless of how you submit your comments, you should mention the 
docket number of this document. You may call the Docket Management 
Facility at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126. 
See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section on ``Public Participation'' 
for more information about submitting written comments.
    Docket: All documents in the dockets are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business 
information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in regulations.gov or in hard copy at DOT's Docket 
Management Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal Holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical issues, Mr. Gregory 
Powell, Office of Rulemaking, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-5206; Fax: (202) 493-2990; 
email: gregory.powell@dot.gov. For legal issues, Ms. Rebecca Yoon, 
Office of the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992; email: 
rebecca.yoon@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary
II. Background
    A. The Safety Need
    1. Overall Crash Population That V2V Could Help Address
    2. Pre-Crash Scenarios Potentially Addressed by V2V 
Communications
    B. Ways To Address the Safety Need
    1. Radar and Camera Based Systems
    2. Communication-Based Systems
    3. Fusion of Vehicle-Resident and Communication-Based Systems
    4. Automated Systems
    C. V2V Research Up Until This Point
    1. General Discussion
    2. Main Topic Areas in Readiness Report
    3. Research Conducted Between the Readiness Report and This 
Proposal
    D. V2V International and Harmonization Efforts
    E. V2V ANPRM
    1. Summary of the ANPRM
    2. Comments to the ANPRM
    F. SCMS RFI
III. Proposal To Regulate V2V Communications
    A. V2V Communications Proposal Overview
    B. Proposed V2V Mandate for New Light Vehicles, and Performance 
Requirements for Aftermarket for Existing Vehicles
    C. V2V Communication Devices That Would Be Subject to FMVSS No. 
150
    1. Original Equipment (OE) Devices on New Motor Vehicles
    2. Aftermarket Devices
    D. Potential Future Actions
    1. Potential Future Safety Application Mandate
    2. Continued Technology Monitoring
    E. Performance Criteria for Wireless V2V Communication
    1. Proposed Transmission Requirements
    2. Proposed V2V Basic Safety Message (BSM) Content
    3. Message Signing and Authentication
    4. Misbehavior Reporting
    5. Proposed Malfunction Indication Requirements
    6. Software and Security Certificate Updates
    7. Cybersecurity
IV. Public Acceptance, Privacy and Security
    A. Importance of Public Acceptance To Establishing the V2V 
System
    B. Elements That Can Affect Public Acceptance in the V2V Context
    1. False Positives
    2. Privacy
    3. Hacking (Cybersecurity)
    4. Health
    5. Research Conducted on Consumer Acceptance Issues
    6. User Flexibilities for Participation in System
    C. Consumer Privacy
    1. NHTSA's PIA
    2. Privacy by Design and Data Privacy Protections
    3. Data Access, Data Use and Privacy
    4. V2V Privacy Statement
    5. Consumer Education
    6. Congressional/Other Government Action
    D. Summary of PIA
    1. What is a PIA?
    2. PIA Scope
    3. Non-V2V Methods of Tracking
    4. V2V Data Flows/Transactions With Privacy Relevance
    5. Privacy-Mitigating Controls
    6. Potential Privacy Issues by Transaction Type
    E. Health Effects
    1. Overview
    2. Wireless Devices and Health and Safety Concerns
    3. Exposure Limits
    4. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Implementation
    5. Federal Agency Oversight & Responsibilities
    6. EHS in the U.S. and Abroad
    7. Conclusion
V. Device Authorization
    A. Approaches to Security Credentialing
    B. Federated Security Credential Management (SCMS)
    1. Overview
    2. Technical Design
    3. Independent Evaluation of SCMS Technical Design
    4. SCMS RFI Comments and Agency Responses

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    5. SCMS ANPRM Comments and Agency Response
    6. SCMS Industry Governance
    C. Vehicle Based Security System (VBSS)
    D. Multiple Root Authority Credential Management
VI. What is the agency's legal authority to regulate V2V devices, 
and how is this proposal consistent with that authority?
    A. What can NHTSA regulate under the Vehicle Safety Act?
    B. What does the Vehicle Safety Act allow and require of NHTSA 
in issuing a new FMVSS, and how is the proposal consistent with 
those requirements?
    1. ``Performance-Oriented''
    2. Standards ``Meeting the Need for Motor Vehicle Safety''
    3. ``Objective'' Standards
    4. ``Practicable'' Standards
    C. How are the regulatory alternatives consistent with our 
Safety Act authority?
    D. What else needs to happen in order for a V2V system to be 
successful?
    1. SCMS
    2. Liability
VII. Estimated Costs and Benefits
    A. General Approach to Costs and Benefits Estimates
    B. Quantified Costs
    1. Component Costs
    2. Communication Costs
    3. Fuel Economy Impact
    4. Overall Annual Costs
    5. Overall Model Year (MY) Costs
    C. Non-Quantified Costs
    1. Health Insurance Costs Relating to EHS
    2. Perceived Privacy Loss
    3. Opportunity Costs of Spectrum for Other Uses
    4. Increased Litigation Costs
    D. Estimated Benefits
    1. Assumptions and Overview
    2. Injury and Property Damage Benefits
    3. Monetized Benefits
    4. Non-Quantified Benefits
    E. Breakeven Analysis
    F. Cost Effectiveness and Positive Net Benefits Analysis
    1. Cost Effectiveness
    2. Lifetime Net Benefits for a Specified Model Year
    3. Summary
    G. Uncertainty Analysis
    H. Estimated Costs and Benefits of V2V Alternatives
VIII. Proposed Implementation Timing
    A. New Vehicles
    1. Lead Time
    2. Phase-In Period
    B. Aftermarket
IX. Public Participation
    A. How do I prepare and submit comments?
    B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
    C. How can I be sure that my comments were received?
    D. How do I submit confidential business information?
    E. Will NHTSA consider late comments?
    F. How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
X. Regulatory Notices and Analyses
    A. Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13563, and DOT 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures
    B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    C. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)
    D. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)
    E. Protection of Children From Environmental Health and Safety 
Risks
    F. Paperwork Reduction Act
    G. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
    H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    I. National Environmental Policy Act
    J. Plain Language
    K. Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)
    L. Privacy Act
Proposed Regulatory Text

I. Executive Summary

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 
proposing to issue a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 
No. 150, to require all new light vehicles to be capable of Vehicle-to-
Vehicle (``V2V'') communications, such that they will send and receive 
Basic Safety Messages to and from other vehicles. The proposal contains 
V2V communication performance requirements predicated on the use of on-
board dedicated short-range radio communication (DSRC) devices to 
transmit Basic Safety Messages (BSM) about a vehicle's speed, heading, 
brake status, and other vehicle information to surrounding vehicles, 
and receive the same information from them. When received in a timely 
manner, this information would help vehicle systems identify potential 
crash situations with other vehicles and warn their drivers. The 
proposal also provides a path for vehicles to comply by deploying other 
technologies that meet certain performance and interoperability 
requirements, including interoperability with DSRC.
    The agency believes that V2V has the potential to revolutionize 
motor vehicle safety. By providing drivers with timely warnings of 
impending crash situations, V2V-based safety applications could 
potentially reduce the number and severity of motor vehicle crashes, 
thereby reducing the losses and costs to society that would have 
resulted from these crashes.
    More specifically, the agency believes that V2V will be able to 
address crashes that cannot be prevented by current in-vehicle camera 
and sensor-based technologies (``vehicle-resident'' technologies). This 
is because V2V would employ omnidirectional radio signals that provide 
360 degree coverage along with offering the ability to ``see'' around 
corners and ``see'' through other vehicles. V2V is not restricted by 
the same line-of-sight limitations as crash avoidance technologies that 
rely on vehicle-resident sensors. Additionally, V2V communications 
(BSMs) contain additional information, such as path predictions and 
driver actions (braking, steering) not available from traditional 
sensors. This information can be used by receiving vehicles to more 
reliably predict potential collision events as well as reduce false 
warnings. This ability to communicate certain information that cannot 
be acquired by vehicle-resident onboard sensors makes V2V particularly 
good at preventing impending intersection crashes, such as when a 
vehicle is attempting to make a left turn from one road to another. V2V 
also offers an operational range of 300 meters or farther between 
vehicles, nearly double the detection distance afforded by some current 
and near-term vehicle-resident systems. These unique characteristics 
allow V2V-equipped vehicles to perceive and warn drivers of some 
threats sooner than vehicle-resident sensors can. Furthermore, while 
the operational status or accuracy of vehicle-resident sensors may be 
affected by weather, sunlight, shadows, or cleanliness, V2V technology 
does not share these same system limitations.
    As another source of information about the driving environment, 
moreover, the agency also believes that V2V can be fused with existing 
radar- and camera-based systems to provide even greater crash avoidance 
capability than either approach alone. For vehicles equipped with 
current on-board sensors, the fundamentally different, but 
complementary, information stream provided by V2V has the potential to 
significantly enhance the reliability and accuracy of the sensor-based 
information available. Instead of relying on each vehicle to sense its 
surroundings on its own, V2V enables surrounding vehicles to help each 
other by conveying safety information about themselves to other 
vehicles. V2V communication can thus detect threat vehicles that are 
not in the sensors' field of view, and can use V2V information to 
validate a return signal from a vehicle-based sensor. Further, V2V can 
provide information on the operational status (e.g., brake pedal 
status, transmission state, stability control status, vehicle at rest 
versus moving, etc.) of other V2V-equipped vehicles. Similarly, 
vehicle-resident systems can augment V2V systems by providing the 
information necessary to address other crash scenarios not covered by 
V2V communications, such as lane and road departure. These added 
capabilities can potentially lead to more timely warnings and a 
reduction in the number of false warnings, thereby adding confidence to 
the overall safety system, and increasing consumer satisfaction

[[Page 3856]]

and acceptance. Although some have contended that vehicle-resident 
systems could evolve to the point where they have similar ranges to V2V 
transmissions during the time it will take V2V to penetrate the fleet, 
the agency believes that these technologies will remain complementary 
rather than competing even as vehicle-resident systems continue to 
improve.
    In the longer-term, the agency believes that this fusion of V2V and 
vehicle-resident technologies will advance the further development of 
vehicle automation systems, including the potential for truly self-
driving vehicles. Although most existing automated systems currently 
rely on data obtained from vehicle-resident technologies, we believe 
that data acquired from GPS and telecommunications like V2V could 
significantly augment such systems. Communication-based technology that 
connects vehicles with each other could not only improve the 
performance of automated onboard crash warning systems, but also be a 
developmental stage toward achieving widespread deployment of safe and 
reliable automated vehicles.\1\
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    \1\ Equipping vehicles with V2V could also lead to deployment of 
connectivity hardware that could potentially be used for other 
applications, such as connectivity with roadway infrastructure (V2I) 
and with pedestrians (V2P). These technologies (collectively 
referred to as ``V2X'') could increase the vehicle's awareness of 
its surroundings and enable additional applications. We do not 
consider these other potential applications here.
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    Despite these potential benefits, V2V offers challenges that are 
not present in vehicle-resident systems. Without government action, 
these challenges could prevent this promising safety technology from 
achieving sufficiently widespread use throughout the vehicle fleet to 
achieve these benefits. Most prominently, vehicles need to communicate 
a standard set of information to each other, using interoperable 
communications that all vehicles can understand. The ability of 
vehicles to both transmit and receive V2V communications from all other 
vehicles equipped with a V2V communications technology is referred to 
in this document as ``interoperability,'' and it is vital to V2V's 
success. Without interoperability, manufacturers attempting to 
implement V2V will find that their vehicles are not necessarily able to 
communicate with other manufacturers' vehicles and equipment, defeating 
the objective of the mandate and stifling the potential for innovation 
that the new information environment can create. In addition, there is 
the issue of achieving critical mass: That V2V can only begin to 
provide significant safety benefits when a significant fraction of 
vehicles comprising the fleet can transmit and receive the same 
information in an interoperable fashion.
    The improvement in safety that results from enabling vehicles to 
communicate with one another depends directly on the fraction of the 
vehicle fleet that is equipped with the necessary technology, and on 
its ability to perform reliably. In turn, the effectiveness of any V2V 
communications technology depends on its ability to reliably transmit 
and receive recognizable and verifiable standardized information. 
Because the value to potential buyers of purchasing a vehicle that is 
equipped with V2V communications technology depends upon how many other 
vehicle owners have also purchased comparably-equipped models, V2V 
communications has many of the same characteristics as more familiar 
network communications technologies.
    Viewed another way, an important consequence of any improvement in 
fleet-wide vehicle safety that results from an individual buyer's 
decision to purchase a V2V-capable model is the resulting increase in 
the safety of occupants of other V2V-equipped vehicles. Thus the 
society-wide benefits of individual vehicle buyers' decisions to 
purchase V2V-capable models extend well beyond the direct increase in 
their own safety; in economic parlance, their decisions can confer 
external benefits on other travelers. Thus a significant ``network 
externality'' arises from a new vehicle buyer's decision to purchase a 
vehicle equipped to connect to the existing V2V communications network.
    Conversely, however, the benefits that any individual consumer 
would receive from voluntary adoption of V2V depend directly on the 
voluntary adoption of this technology by other consumers. Unless 
individual buyers believe that a significant number of other buyers 
will obtain V2V systems, they may conclude that the potential benefits 
they would receive from this system are unlikely to materialize. As a 
consequence, they are less likely to invest in V2V communications 
capabilities that would be would be justified by the resulting 
improvement in fleet-wide safety. The proposed requirement that all new 
vehicles be V2V-capable is thus likely to improve transportation safety 
more rapidly, effectively, and ultimately more extensively than would 
result from relying on the private decisions of individual vehicle 
buyers.
    Another important consideration in achieving safety benefits from 
V2V is the long product lifespan of motor vehicles and the resulting 
slow fleet turnover. This places inherent constraints on the rate at 
which diffusion of new technologies throughout the entire vehicle fleet 
can occur. Thus in order to reach the critical mass of participants, a 
significant portion of the existing vehicle fleet will need replacement 
and a sustained, coordinated commitment on the part of manufacturers. 
Due to the inherent characteristics of the automobile market, 
manufacturers will inevitably face changing economic conditions and 
perhaps imperfect signals from vehicle buyers and owners, and these 
signals may not be based on complete information about the 
effectiveness of V2V technology, or incorporate the necessary foresight 
to value the potential life-saving benefits of V2V technology during 
the crucial phase of its diffusion. Without government intervention, 
the resulting uncertainty could undermine manufacturer plans or weaken 
manufacturers' incentive to develop V2V technology to its full 
potential.
    We are, therefore, confident that creating the information 
environment through this mandate would lead to considerable advances in 
safety, and that those advances might not reach fruition if V2V 
communications were left to develop on their own.\2\
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    \2\ This analysis for this proposal focuses on the benefits 
resulting from the implementation of safety applications that are 
projected to reduce vehicle crashes. The agency did not incorporate 
any potential benefits from the anticipated expanded use of DSRC for 
mobility and envirionment benefits. A list of potential mobility and 
environment applications can be found at http://www.its.dot.gov/pilots/cv_pilot_apps.htm (last accessed: Dec 7, 2016).
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Overview of the Proposed Rule

    The agency believes the market will not achieve sufficient coverage 
absent a mandate V2V capability for all new light vehicles. A V2V 
system as currently envisioned would be a combination of many elements. 
This includes a radio technology for the transmission and reception of 
messages, the structure and contents of ``basic safety messages'' 
(BSMs), the authentication of incoming messages by receivers, and, 
depending on a vehicle's behavior, the triggering of one or more safety 
warnings to drivers.
    The agency is also proposing to require that vehicles be capable of 
receiving over-the-air (OTA) security and software updates (and to seek 
consumer consent for such updates where appropriate). In addition, 
NHTSA is also proposing that vehicles contain ``firewalls'' between V2V 
modules and other vehicle modules connected to the data bus to help 
isolate V2V modules

[[Page 3857]]

being used as a potential conduit into other vehicle systems.
    The NPRM presents a comprehensive proposal for mandating DSRC-based 
V2V communications. That proposal includes a pathway for vehicles to 
comply using non-DSRC technologies that meet certain performance and 
interoperability standards. A key component of interoperability is a 
``common language'' regardless of the communication technology used. 
Therefore, the agency's proposal includes a common specification for 
basic safety message (BSM) content regardless of the potential 
communication technology. The proposal also provides potential 
performance-based approaches for two security functions in an effort to 
obtain reaction and comment from industry and the public. Following is 
a more comprehensive discussion of the proposal and potential 
alternatives for different aspects of V2V security:

Communication Technology

     Proposal: NHTSA proposes to mandate DSRC technology--A 
DSRC unit in a vehicle sends out and receives ``basic safety messages'' 
(BSMs). DSRC communications within the 5.850 to 5.925 MHz band are 
governed by FCC 47 CFR parts 0, 1, 2 and 95 for onboard equipment and 
part 90 for road side units. In reference to the OSI model, the 
physical and data link layers (layers 1and 2) are addressed primarily 
by IEEE 802.11p as well as P1609.4; network, transport, and session 
layers (3,4 and 5) are addressed primarily by P1609.3; security 
communications are addressed by P1609.2; and additional session and 
prioritization related protocols are addressed by P1609.12. This 
mandate could also be satisfied using non-DSRC technologies that meet 
certain performance and interoperability standards.

Message Format and Information

     NHTSA proposes to standardize the content, initialization 
time, and transmission characteristics of the Basic Safety Message 
(BSM) regardless of the V2V communication technology potentially used. 
The agency's proposed content requirements for BSMs are largely 
consistent with voluntary consensus standards SAE 2735 and SAE 2945 
which contains data elements such as speed, heading, trajectory, and 
other information, although NHTSA purposely does not require some 
elements to alleviate potential privacy concerns. Standardizing the 
message will facilitate V2V devices ``speaking the same language,'' to 
ensure interoperability. Vehicles will not be able to ``understand'' 
the basic safety message content hindering the ability to inform 
drivers of potential crashes.

Message Authentication

     Public Key Infrastructure Proposal: NHTSA proposes V2V 
devices sign and verify their basic safety messages using a Public Key 
Infrastructure (PKI) digital signature algorithm in accordance with 
performance requirements and test procedures for BSM transmission and 
the signing of BSMs. The agency believes this will establish a level of 
confidence in the messages exchanged between vehicles and ensure that 
basic safety message information is being received from devices that 
have been certified to operate properly, are enrolled in the security 
network, and are in good working condition. It is also important that 
safety applications be able to distinguish these from messages 
originated by ``bad actors,'' or defective devices, as well as from 
messages that have been modified or changed while in transit.
     Alternative Approach--Performance-based Only: This first 
alternative for message authentication is less prescriptive and defines 
a performance-based approach but not a specific architecture or 
technical requirement for message authentication. This performance only 
approach simply states that a receiver of a BSM message must be able to 
validate the contents of a message such that it can reasonably confirm 
that the message originated from a single valid V2V device, and the 
message was not altered during transmission. The agency seeks comment 
on this potential alternative.
     Alternative Approach--No Message Authentication: This 
second alternative stays silent on a specific message authentication 
requirement. BSM messages would still be validated with a checksum, or 
other integrity check, and be passed through a misbehavior detection 
system to attempt to filter malicious or misconfigured messages. 
Implementers would be free to include message authentication as an 
optional function. The agency seeks comment on this potential 
alternative.

Misbehavior Detection and Reporting

     Primary Misbehavior Detection and Reporting Proposal: 
NHTSA proposes to mandate requirements that would establish procedures 
for communicating with a Security Credential Management System to 
report misbehavior; and learn of misbehavior by other participants. 
This includes detection methods for a device hardware and software to 
ensure that the device has not been altered or tampered with from 
intended behavior. This approach enhances the ability of V2V devices to 
identify and block messages from other misbehaving or malfunctioning 
V2V devices.
     Misbehavior Detection Alternative Approach: An alternative 
for misbehavior detection imposes no requirement to report misbehavior 
or implement device blocking based to an authority. However, 
implementers would need to identify methods that check a devices' 
functionality, including hardware and software, to ensure that the 
device has not been altered or tampered with from intended behavior. 
Implementers would be free to include misbehavior detection and 
reporting and as optional functions. The agency seeks comment on this 
alternative.

Hardware Security

    NHTSA proposes that V2V equipment be ``hardened'' against intrusion 
(FIPS-140 Level 3) by entities attempting to steal its security 
credentials.

Effective Date

    The agency is proposing that the effective date for manufacturers 
to begin implementing these new requirements would be two model years 
after the final rule is adopted, with a three year phase-in period to 
accommodate vehicle manufacturers' product cycles. Assuming a final 
rule is issued in 2019, this would mean that the phase-in period would 
begin in 2021, and all vehicles subject to that final rule would be 
required to comply in 2023.

Safety Applications

    The agency is not proposing to require specific V2V safety 
applications at this time. We believe the V2V communications we are 
proposing will create the standardized information environment that 
will, in turn, allow innovation and market competition to develop 
improved safety and other applications. Additionally, at this time, the 
agency believes that more research is likely needed in order to create 
regulations for safety applications. In support of this, we are seeking 
comment on information that could inform a future decision to mandate 
any specific safety applications.

Authority

    Under the Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. 30101 et seq., the agency 
has the legal authority to require new vehicles to be equipped with V2V 
technology and to use it, as discussed in Section VI below. NHTSA has 
broad statutory authority to regulate motor vehicles and items of motor 
vehicle equipment, and to establish FMVSSs to address vehicle safety 
needs.

[[Page 3858]]

Privacy and Security

    V2V systems would be required to be designed from the outset to 
minimize risks to consumer privacy. The NPRM proposes to exclude from 
V2V transmitting information that directly identifies a specific 
vehicle or individual regularly associated with a vehicle, such as 
owner's or driver's name, address, or vehicle identification numbers, 
as well as data ``reasonably linkable'' \3\ to an individual. 
Additionally, the proposal contains specific privacy and security 
requirements with which manufacturers would be required to comply.
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    \3\ NHTSA intends for the term ``reasonably linkable,'' as used 
in this NPRM, to have the same meaning as the term ``as a practical 
matter linkable'' as used in the definition of ``personal data'' in 
Section 4 of the White House Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: ``data 
that are under the control of a covered entity, not otherwise 
generally available to the public through lawful means, and are 
linked, or as a practical matter linkable by the covered entity, to 
a specific individual, or linked to a device that is associated with 
or routinely used by an individual.'' https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/cpbr-act-of-2015-discussion-draft.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016). The Federal Trade 
Commission also uses the concept of '' linked or reasonably 
linkable'' as a suggested definition of personally identifiable 
information in its recent comment to the Federal Communications 
Commission at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/advocacy_documents/comment-staff-bureau-consumer-protection-federal-trade-commission-federal-communications-commission/160527fcccomment.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
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    The Draft Privacy Impact Assessment that accompanies this proposal 
contains detailed information on the potential privacy risks posed by 
the V2V communications system, as well as the controls designed into 
that system to minimize risks to consumer privacy.

Estimated Costs and Benefits

    In this NPRM, the agency proposes that all light vehicles be 
equipped with technology that allows for V2V communications, but has 
decided not to propose to mandate any specific safety applications at 
this time, instead allowing them to be developed and adopted as 
determined by the market. This market-based approach to application 
development and deployment makes estimating the potential costs and 
benefits of V2V quite difficult, because the V2V communication 
technology being mandated by the agency would improve safety only 
indirectly, by facilitating the deployment of previously developed OEM 
safety application. However, the agency is confident that these 
technologies will be developed and deployed once V2V communications are 
mandated and interoperable. Considerable research has already been done 
on various different potential applications, and the agency believes 
that functioning systems are likely to become available within a few 
years if their manufacturers can be confident that V2V will be mandated 
and interoperable.
    In order to provide estimates of the rule's costs and benefits, the 
agency has considered a scenario where two V2V-enabled safety 
applications, IMA and LTA, are voluntarily adopted on hypothetical 
schedules similar to those observed in the actual deployment of other 
advanced communications technologies. The agency believes that IMA and 
LTA will reduce the frequency of crashes that cannot be avoided by 
vehicle-resident systems, and will thus generate significant safety 
benefits that would not be realized in the absence of universal V2V 
communications capabilities. In addition, the marginal costs of 
including the IMA and LTA applications are extremely low once the V2V 
system is in place, which the agency believes will speed their 
adoption.
    The agency has not quantified any benefits attributable to the wide 
range of other potential uses of V2V, although we believe that such 
uses are likely to be numerous. Recognizing its experience with other 
technologies, the agency believes that focusing on two of the many 
potential uses of V2V technology that are inexpensive to implement 
provides a reasonable approach to estimating potential benefits of the 
proposed rule, and is likely to understate the breadth of potential 
benefits of V2V.
    We estimate that the total annual costs to comply with this 
proposed mandate in the 30th year after it takes effect would range 
from $2.2 billion to $5.0 billion, corresponding to a cost per new 
vehicle of roughly $135-$300. This estimate includes costs for 
equipment installed on vehicles as well as the annualized equivalent 
value of initial investments necessary to establish the overarching 
security manager and the communications system, among other things, 
but, due to uncertainty, does not include opportunity costs associated 
with spectrum, which will be included in the final cost benefit 
analysis. The primary source of the wide range between the lower and 
upper cost estimates is based our assumption that manufacturers could 
comply with the rule using either one or two DSRC radios.
    As discussed above, our benefit calculation examines a case where 
manufacturers would voluntarily include the IMA and LTA applications on 
a schedule that reflects adoption rates the agency has observed for 
other advanced, vehicle-resident safety technologies. Together, these 
applications could potentially prevent 424,901-594,569 crashes, and 
save 955-1,321 lives when fully deployed throughout the light-duty 
vehicle fleet. Converting these and the accompanying reductions in 
injuries and property damage to monetary values, we estimate that in 
2051 the proposed rule could reduce the costs resulting from motor 
vehicle crashes by $53 to $71 billion (expressed in today's dollars).
    The agency conducted two accompanying analyses to identify 
meaningful milestones in the future growth of benefits resulting from 
this proposed rule. These analyses highlight the effect that the 
passage of time has on the accumulated benefits from this proposed 
rule. Benefits in the first several calendar years after it takes 
effect will be quite low, because only a limited number of vehicles on 
the road will be equipped with V2V, but growth in these benefits will 
accelerate as time goes on.
    First, NHTSA used a ``breakeven'' analysis to identify the calendar 
year during which the cumulative economic value of safety benefits from 
the use of V2V communications first exceeds the cumulative costs to 
vehicle manufacturers and buyers for providing V2V capability. The 
breakeven analysis indicated that this important threshold would be 
reached between 2029 and 2032, depending primarily on the effectiveness 
of the application technologies.
    Next, NHTSA projected future growth in the proposed rule's benefits 
and costs over successive model years after it would take effect. This 
analysis identified the first model year for which the safety benefits 
from requiring vehicles to be equipped with V2V communications over 
their lifetime in the fleet would outweigh the higher initial costs for 
manufacturing them. It showed that this would occur in model year 2024 
to 2026 if the proposed rule first took effect in model year 2021. This 
occurs sooner than the breakeven year, because focusing only on costs 
and benefits over the lifetimes of individual model years avoids 
including the burden of costs for installing V2V communications on 
vehicles produced during earlier model years.

[[Page 3859]]

                            Table I-1--Costs * and Benefits in Year 30 of Deployment
                                                     [2051]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Monetary
              Total annual costs                  Per vehicle      Crashes prevented and lives       benefits
                                                     costs                    saved                 (billions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2.2 billion-$5.0 billion.....................       $135-$301  Crashes: 424,901-594,569........         $53-$71
                                                                Lives: 955-1,321................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: Does not include spectrum opportunity costs, which will be included in the analysis of the final rule.

    In order to account for the inherent uncertainty in the assumptions 
underlying this cost-benefit analysis, the agency also conducted 
extensive uncertainty analysis to illustrate the variation in the 
rule's benefits and costs associated with different assumptions about 
the future number of accidents that could be prevented, the assumed 
adoption rates and estimated effectiveness of the two safety 
applications, and our assumptions about the costs of providing V2V 
communications capability. Aside from opportunity costs, this analysis 
showed that the proposed rule would reach its breakeven year between 
2030 and 2032 with 90 percent certainty, with even the most 
conservative scenario showing that the breakeven year would be five to 
six years later than the previously estimated years (2029-2032). 
Considering these same sources of uncertainty in the cost-effectiveness 
and net benefits analyses showed that the proposed rule would become 
cost-effective and would accrue positive net benefits between MY 2024 
and MY 2027 with 90 percent certainty. This indicates that it is very 
likely to become cost-effectiveness at most one MY later than estimated 
in the primary analysis, and that even under the most conservative 
scenario, this would occur two to three model years later than the 
initial estimate of 2024-2026.

Regulatory Alternatives

    The agency considered two regulatory alternatives to today's 
proposal. First, the agency considered an ``if-equipped'' standard, 
which would entail simply setting a conditional standard stating that 
``if a new vehicle is equipped with devices capable of V2V 
communications, then it is required to meet the following 
requirements.'' However, the agency did not adopt this alternative as 
the proposal because, as explained above, the agency believes that 
anything short of a mandate for universal V2V capability on all new 
vehicles would not lead a sufficient fraction of the vehicle fleet to 
be equipped with V2V to enable full realization of the technology's 
potential safety benefits. However, we seek further comment on adopting 
an ``if-equipped'' standard as the primary approach to V2V 
communications technology. We request commenters provide any relevant 
research and data that supports their position and rationale for this 
approach to regulation.
    Second, we considered a regulatory alternative of requiring that 
V2V-capable vehicles also be equipped with the two safety applications 
analyzed in this proposed rule--Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) and 
Left Turn Assist (LTA)--in addition to V2V capability. This alternative 
would speed the introduction and increase the certainty of safety 
benefits. However, because performance requirements and test procedures 
for these safety applications are still nascent, we are not proposing 
this alternative at this time. However, the agency requests comment on 
whether sufficient information exists that could assist it in 
developing FMVSS-quality test procedures and performance standards for 
these applications.
    We seek comment on all aspects of this proposed rule, as well as 
the Preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment (PRIA) and Draft Privacy 
Impact Assessment (PIA) that accompany it. Although a number of 
specific questions and requests for comment appear in various locations 
throughout the text, we encourage comments broadly, particularly those 
that are supported by relevant documentation, information, or analysis. 
Instructions for submitting comments are located below in the ``Public 
Participation,'' Section IX.

II. Background

A. The Safety Need

    Safety technology has developed rapidly since NHTSA began 
regulating the auto industry \4\--over the last several decades, 
vehicles have evolved to protect occupants much better in the event of 
a crash due to advanced structural techniques propagated by more 
stringent crashworthiness standards, and some crash avoidance 
technologies (e.g., electronic stability control) are now required 
standard equipment. In fact, a recent study of data from our Fatality 
Analysis Reporting System (FARS) estimates those safety technologies 
have saved 613,501 lives since 1960.\5\ As a result of existing NHTSA 
standards for crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies, along 
with market-driven improvements in safety, motor vehicles are safer now 
than they have ever been, as evidenced by a significant reduction in 
highway fatalities and injuries--from 52,627 fatalities in 1970,\6\ to 
32,675 fatalities in 2015--a 38 percent reduction.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ NHTSA was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970, as 
the successor to the National Highway Safety Bureau, to carry out 
safety programs under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety 
Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. NHTSA also carries 
out consumer programs established by the Motor Vehicle Information 
and Cost Savings Act of 1972.
    \5\ Kahane, C. J. (2015, January). Lives saved by vehicle safety 
technologies and associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 
1960 to 2012--Passenger cars and LTVs--With reviews of 26 FMVSS and 
the effectiveness of their associated safety technologies in 
reducing fatalities, injuries, and crashes. (Report No. DOT HS 812 
069). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
    \6\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic 
Safety Facts 2012. Available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812032.pdf (last accessed Dec. 7, 2016).
    \7\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality 
Analysis Report System (FARS) final 2014 data. For more information, 
see http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx (last accessed Dec 
7, 2016).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3860]]

    NHTSA believes the greatest gains in highway safety in coming years 
will result from broad-scale application of crash avoidance 
technologies along with continued improvements in vehicle 
crashworthiness that can reduce fatalities and injuries.\8\ To 
encourage adoption of such technologies, in February 2015 the agency 
announced that it would add two types of automatic emergency braking 
systems--crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support--to the list 
of recommended advanced safety features in our New Car Assessment 
Program, known to most Americans as NHTSA's Five Star Safety Ratings. 
In March, 2016 the agency announced an agreement with vehicle 
manufacturers to voluntarily make automatic emergency braking (AEB) a 
standard safety on future vehicles.\9\ These technologies, along with 
technologies required as standard equipment like electronic stability 
control (ESC), help vehicles react to crash-imminent situations, but do 
not help drivers react ahead of time to avoid crashes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ For more information, see the agency policy statement on 
automated vehicles at http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/rulemaking/pdf/Automated_Vehicles_Policy.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
    \9\ See https://www.nhtsa.gov/About-NHTSA/Press-Releases/nhtsa_iihs_commitment_on_aeb_03172016 (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This proposed rule would require vehicles to transmit messages 
about their speed, heading, brake status, and other vehicle information 
to surrounding vehicles, and to be able to receive the same information 
from them. V2V range and ``field-of-view'' capabilities exceed current 
and near-term radar- and camera-based systems--in some cases, providing 
nearly twice the range. That longer range and 360 degree field of 
``view'', currently supported by DSRC, provides a platform enabling 
vehicles to perceive some threats that sensors, cameras, or radar 
cannot.
    By providing drivers with timely warnings of impending crash 
situations, V2V-based safety applications could potentially reduce the 
number and severity of motor vehicle crashes, minimizing the losses and 
costs to society that would have resulted from these crashes. V2V 
message data can also be fused with existing radar- and camera-based 
systems to provide even greater crash-risk detection capability (and 
thus, driver confidence levels) than either approach alone.
1. Overall Crash Population That V2V Could Help Address
    The first step in understanding how V2V could help drivers avoid 
crashes is determining how many crashes could potentially be addressed 
by V2V-based technologies. We estimate crash harm based on fatalities, 
injuries (described by MAIS),\10\ and what we call ``property-damage-
only,'' meaning that no people were hurt, but vehicles sustained damage 
that will have to be fixed and paid for. Based on 2010-2013 \11\ 
General Estimates System (GES) and FARS, the agency estimated that 
there were 5.5 million police-reported crashes annually in the U.S. 
during those years. About 33,020 fatalities and 2.7 million MAIS \12\ 
1-5 injuries were associated with these crashes annually. In addition, 
about 6.3 million vehicles were damaged in property damage only 
crashes. These property damage only vehicles were noted as PDOVs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ MAIS (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale) approach, which 
represents the maximum injury severity of an occupant at an 
Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) level. AIS is an anatomically based, 
consensus-derived global severity scoring system that classifies 
each injury by body region according to its relative importance to 
fatality on a 6-point ordinal scale (1=minor, 2=moderate, 3=serious, 
4=severe, 5=critical, and 6=maximum (untreatable). The AIS was 
developed by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive 
Medicine (AAAM). See https://www.aaam.org/abbreviated-injury-scale-ais/ (last accessed Dec 7, 2016) for more information.
    \11\ 2014 GES and FARS data was not available at the time of 
NPRM development.
    \12\ GES and FARS only record the police-reported crash severity 
scale known as KABCO: K=fatal injury, A=incapacitating injury, 
B=non-incapacitating injury, C=possible injury, O=no injury. These 
KABCO injuries then were converted to MAIS scale through a KABCO-
MAIS translator. The KABCO-MAIS translator was established using 
1982-1986 NASS (old NASS) and 2000-2007 Crashworthiness Data System 
(CDS). Old NASS and CDS recorded both KABCO and MAIS scales thus 
enable us to create the KABCO-translator.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Overall, these crashes directly cost $195 billion to society in 
terms of lost productivity, medical costs, legal and court costs, 
emergency service costs (EMS), insurance administration costs, 
congestion costs, property damage, and workplace losses. When you add 
the cost for less-tangible consequences like physical pain or lost 
quality-of-life, we estimate the total costs for those crashes to be 
$721 billion.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ Costs are in 2014 dollars and, for clarity, include the 
economic costs. See Blincoe, L.J., Miller, T.R., Zaloshnja, E., & 
Lawrence, B.A. (2014, May), The economic and societal impact of 
motor vehicle crashes, 2010, (Report No. DOT HS 812 013), 
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(Revised, May, 2015), available at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/812013.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because V2V is a communications-based technology, it is relevant to 
crashes where more than one vehicle is involved: if a single vehicle 
crashes by itself, like by losing control and leaving the roadway and 
hitting a tree, V2V would not have been able to help the driver avoid 
losing control because there would have been no other vehicle to 
communicate with. Of the 5.5 million crashes described above, 3.8 
million (69 percent of all crashes) were multi-vehicle crashes that 
V2V-based warning technologies could help address, which would 
translate to approximately 13,329 fatalities, 2.1 million MAIS1-5 
injuries, and 5.2 million PDOVs.
    However, some multi-vehicle crashes involve vehicles that would not 
be covered by this rule, and therefore could not yet be assumed to have 
V2V capability. As this proposal is currently limited only to light 
vehicles,\14\ the crash population encompasses approximately 3.4 
million (62 percent of all crashes) light-vehicle to light-vehicle 
(LV2LV) crashes, which would translate to 7,325 fatalities, 1.8 million 
MAIS 1-5 injuries, and 4.7 million PDOVs. The economic and 
comprehensive costs for these crashes amount to approximately $109 
billion and $319 billion, respectively. Figure II-1 helps to illustrate 
the process for deriving the target population of 3.4 million LV2LV 
crashes that could be addressed by this proposal. All percentages are 
percentages of ``all police-reported crashes,'' rather than percentages 
of the prior line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ Light vehicles include passenger cars, vans, minivans, 
sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles and light pickup 
trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) less than or equal 
to 10,000 pounds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3861]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.000

2. Pre-Crash Scenarios Potentially Addressed by V2V Communications
    In a separate analysis that has been updated using an average of 
2010 through 2013 General Estimate System data (which does not include 
FARS data), the agency started with the initial 37 pre-crash scenarios 
that have been defined based on police-reported crashes from previous 
analyses for all crashes.\15\ Of the 37 scenarios, 17 were deemed 
potentially addressable by V2V communications. Further statistical 
analysis focusing on the frequency and severity of those 17 pre-crash 
scenarios identified the top 10 (priority) pre-crash scenarios that V2V 
could potentially address. Table II-1 provides a graphical depiction of 
the flow of the pre-crash scenario breakdown used in the analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ Najm, W.G., R. Ranganathan, G. Srinivasan, J. Smith, S. 
Toma, E. Swanson, and A. Burgett, ``Description of Light Vehicle 
Pre-Crash Scenarios for Safety Applications Based on Vehicle-to-
Vehicle Communications.'' DOT HS 811 731, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, May 
2013. http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Crash-Avoidance/Vehicle%E2%80%93to%E2%80%93Vehicle-Communications-for-Safety (last 
accessed Dec 8, 2016) see also Najm, W.G., J. Smith, and M. 
Yanagisawa, ``Pre-Crash Scenario Typology for Crash Avoidance 
Research.'' DOT HS 810 767, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, April 2007. Najm, 
W.G., B. Sen, J.D. Smith, and B.N. Campbell, ``Analysis of Light 
Vehicle Crashes and Pre-Crash Scenarios Based on the 2000 General 
Estimates System.'' DOT HS 809 573, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
November 2002. Available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Crash-Avoidance/Vehicle%E2%80%93to%E2%80%93Vehicle-Communications-for-Safety (last accessed Dec 8, 2016).

               Table II--1 37 Pre-Crash Scenario Typology
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Vehicle Failure.
 2. Control Loss with Prior Vehicle Action.
 3. Control Loss without Prior Vehicle Action.
 4. Running Red Light.
 5. Running Stop Sign.
 6. Road Edge Departure with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
 7. Road Edge Departure without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
 8. Road Edge Departure While Backing Up.
 9. Animal Crash with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
10. Animal Crash without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
11. Pedestrian Crash with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
12. Pedestrian Crash without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
13. Pedalcyclist Crash with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
14. Pedalcyclist Crash without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
15. Backing Up into Another Vehicle.
16. Vehicle(s) Turning--Same Direction.
17. Vehicle(s) Parking--Same Direction.
18. Vehicle(s) Changing Lanes--Same Direction.
19. Vehicle(s) Drifting--Same Direction.
20. Vehicle(s) Making a Maneuver--Opposite Direction.
21. Vehicle(s) Not Making a Maneuver--Opposite Direction.
22. Following Vehicle Making a Maneuver.
23. Lead Vehicle Accelerating.
24. Lead Vehicle Moving at Lower Constant Speed.
25. Lead Vehicle Decelerating.
26. Lead Vehicle Stopped.
27. Left Turn Across Path from Opposite Directions at Signalized
 Junctions.
28. Vehicle Turning Right at Signalized Junctions.
29. Left Turn Across Path from Opposite Directions at Non-Signalized
 Junctions.
30. Straight Crossing Paths at Non-Signalized Junctions.

[[Page 3862]]

 
31. Vehicle(s) Turning at Non-Signalized Junctions.
32. Evasive Action with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
33. Evasive Action without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
34. Non-Collision Incident.
35. Object Crash with Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
36. Object Crash without Prior Vehicle Maneuver.
37. Other.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.001

    The 10 priority pre-crash scenarios listed in Table II-2 can be 
addressed by the corresponding V2V-based safety applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Average of 2010-2013-GES data; * Includes only 2&3 vehicle 
crashes; ** Includes running red-light and running stop sign.

      Table II-2--Pre-Crash Scenario/Safety Application Association
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Associated safety
     Pre-crash scenarios       Pre-crash groups        application
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lead Vehicle Stopped.........  Rear-end........  Forward Collision
                                                  Warning.
Lead Vehicle Moving..........  Rear-end........  Forward Collision
                                                  Warning.
Lead Vehicle Decelerating....  Rear-end........  Forward Collision
                                                  Waring/Emergency
                                                  Electronic Brake
                                                  Light.
Straight Crossing Path @ Non   Junction          Intersection Movement
 Signal.                        Crossing.         Assist.
Left-Turn Across Path/         Left Turn @       Left Turn Assist.
 Opposite Direction.            crossing.
Opposite Direction/No          Opposite          Do Not Pass Warning.
 Maneuver.                      Direction.
Opposite Direction/Maneuver..  Opposite          Do Not Pass Warning.
                                Direction.
Change Lanes/Same Direction..  Lane Change.....  Blind Spot/Lane Change
                                                  Warning.
Turning/Same Direction.......  Lane Change.....  Blind Spot/Lane Change
                                                  Warning.
Drifting/Same Direction......  Lane Change.....  Blind Spot/Lane Change
                                                  Warning.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The six applications listed in Table II-2 were developed and tested 
in the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment.\17\ These 
safety warning applications were (1) Forward Collision Warning (FCW), 
(2) Emergency Brake

[[Page 3863]]

Light (EEBL), (3) Intersection Move Assist (IMA), (4) Left Turn Assist 
(LTA), (5) Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW), and (6) Blind Spot/Lane Change 
Warning (BS/LCW). A description of each safety application and 
relationship to the pre-crash scenarios is provided below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ The Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot (``Safety Pilot'') 
Program was a scientific research initiative that features a real-
world implementation of connected vehicle safety technologies, 
applications, and systems using everyday drivers. The effort will 
test performance, evaluate human factors and usability, observe 
policies and processes, and collect empirical data to present a more 
accurate, detailed understanding of the potential safety benefits of 
these technologies. The Safety Pilot program includes two critical 
test efforts--the Safety Pilot Driver Clinics and the Safety Pilot 
Model Deployment. See http://www.its.dot.gov/research_archives/safety/cv_safetypilot.htm for more information. (last accessed Dec 
7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (1) Forward Collision Warning (FCW): Warns drivers of stopped, 
slowing, or slower vehicles ahead. FCW addresses rear-end crashes that 
are separated into three key scenarios based on the movement of lead 
vehicles: Lead-vehicle stopped (LVS), lead-vehicle moving at slower 
constant speed (LVM), and lead-vehicle decelerating (LVD).
    (2) Emergency Electronic Brake Light (EEBL): Warns drivers of heavy 
braking ahead in the traffic queue. EEBL would enable vehicles to 
broadcast its emergency brake and allow the surrounding vehicles' 
applications to determine the relevance of the emergency brake event 
and alert the drivers. EEBL is expected to be particularly useful when 
the driver's visibility is limited or obstructed.
    (3) Intersection Movement Assist (IMA): Warns drivers of vehicles 
approaching from a lateral direction at an intersection. IMA is 
designed to avoid intersection crossing crashes, the most severe 
crashes based on the fatality counts. Intersection crashes include 
intersection, intersection-related, driveway/alley, and driveway access 
related crashes. IMA crashes are categorized into two major scenarios: 
Turn-into path into same direction or opposite direction and straight 
crossing paths. IMA could potentially address five of the pre-crash 
scenarios identified in Table II-2.
    (4) Left Turn Assist (LTA): Warns drivers to the presence of 
oncoming, opposite-direction traffic when attempting a left turn. LTA 
addresses crashes where one involved vehicle was making a left turn at 
the intersection and the other vehicle was traveling straight from the 
opposite direction.
    (5) Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW): Warns a driver of an oncoming, 
opposite-direction vehicle when attempting to pass a slower vehicle on 
an undivided two-lane roadway. DNPW would assist drives to avoid 
opposite-direction crashes that result from passing maneuvers. These 
crashes include head-on, forward impact, and angle sideswipe crashes.
    (6) Blind Spot/Lane Change Warning (BS/LCW): Alerts drivers to the 
presence of vehicles approaching or in their blind spot in the adjacent 
lane. BS/LCW addresses crashes where a vehicle made a lane changing/
merging maneuver prior to the crashes.
    The final table, Table II-3, merges the estimated target crash 
population for LV2LV crashes detailed in Table II-2 with the separate 
analysis that provided the breakdown of V2V pre-crash scenarios and 
relationships to prototype V2V safety applications. The 3.4 million 
LV2LV are distributed among the pre-crash scenarios that are associated 
with V2V safety applications and the economic and comprehensive costs. 
More specifically, Table II-3 provides a breakdown of crashes 
associated with FCW, IMA, LTA, and LCW scenarios that are used later 
when discussing potential benefits in Section VII. Crash scenarios 
associated with DNPW and EEBL are grouped with all remaining crashes 
under the ``other'' category due to the fact they are not used when 
discussing benefits. The agency grouped these two potential 
applications into the ``other'' category because of EEBL's advisory 
nature that cannot be directly attributed to avoiding a specific crash 
and the agency's current understanding of DNPW indicates it only 
addresses a limited amount of crashes per a specific situation and 
where there are three equipped vehicles present, limiting the amount of 
information available to develop comprehensive effectiveness estimates.
    Overall the agency estimates that, together, these four potential 
safety applications that could be enabled by this proposal could 
potentially address nearly 89 percent of LV2LV crashes and 85 percent 
of their associated economic costs.

                                                 Table II-3--Crash Scenarios for LV2LV Safety Population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                             Economic
    V2V Safety applications--crashes            Crash scenarios          Crashes      MAIS 1-5    Fatalities     PDOVs        costs       Comprehensive
                                                                                      injuries                              (billion)    costs (billion)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FCW Rear-End Crashes....................  Lead Vehicle Stopped.......      998,664      497,907          242       68,508        $27.4             $65.7
                                          Lead Vehicle Moving........      146,247       80,508          242       12,605         $4.6             $12.9
                                          Lead Vehicle Decelerating..      343,183      173,538           78       25,599         $9.5             $23.1
                                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Total......................    1,488,094      751,953          562      106,712        $41.5            $101.6
                                                                      ==================================================================================
IMA Intersection Crossing Crashes.......  Turn-Into Path, Into Same        425,145      218,852          472       48,423        $12.6             $34.8
                                           Direction or Opposite
                                           Direction.
                                          Straight Cross Path........      346,187      251,488        1,399       66,580        $14.4             $49.4
                                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Total......................      771,332      470,340        1,871      115,003        $26.9             $84.3
                                                                      ==================================================================================
LTA Left-Turning Crashes................  Turn Across Path, Initial        298,542      224,336          613       64,233        $11.7             $37.9
                                           Opposite Direction.
BS/LCW Lane Change/Merge Crashes........  Vehicle Changing Lane, Same      475,097      175,044          397       20,816        $11.4             $26.6
                                           Direction.
Others..................................                                   378,659      192,152        3,882    4,416,890        $16.7             $66.4
                                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................  ...........................    3,411,724    1,813,825        7,325    4,723,654       $108.2            $316.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, the total might not be equal to the sum of each componment.

B. Ways To Address the Safety Need

    The most effective way to reduce or eliminate the property damage, 
injuries, and fatalities that occur annually from motor vehicle crashes 
is to lessen the severity of those crashes, or prevent those crashes 
from ever occurring. In recent years, vehicle manufacturers have begun 
to offer, or have announced plans to offer, various types of crash 
avoidance technologies that are

[[Page 3864]]

designed to do just that. These technologies are designed to address a 
variety of crashes, including rear end, lane change, and intersection.
1. Radar and Camera Based Systems
    Many of the advanced crash avoidance technologies currently 
available in the marketplace employ on-board sensor technologies such 
as cameras, RADAR, or LIDAR, to monitor the vehicles' surroundings.\18\ 
These technologies are what we call ``vehicle-resident'' systems 
because they are systems installed on one vehicle and, unlike V2V, do 
not communicate with other vehicles. Cameras, RADAR, and LIDAR that are 
installed on the vehicle can gather information directly by sensing 
their surroundings, and vehicle-resident crash avoidance technologies 
can use that information to warn the driver of impending danger so the 
driver can take appropriate action to avoid or mitigate a crash. Crash 
scenarios that can currently be addressed by existing crash avoidance 
technologies include, but are not limited to, Forward Collision Warning 
(FCW),\19\ Blind Spot Warning (BSW), and Lane Change Warning (LCW).\20\ 
Additionally, some crash-predicting safety applications leveraging 
these existing sensing technologies are beginning to emerge and NHTSA 
is aggressively pursuing those technologies that demonstrate safety 
benefits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ A LIDAR device detects distant objects and determines their 
position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed 
laser light reflected from their surfaces. Lidar operates on the 
same principles as radar and sonar.
    \19\ FCW warns the driver of an impending rear-end collision 
with a vehicle ahead in traffic in the same lane and direction of 
travel.
    \20\ BSW and LCW technologies warn the driver during a lane 
change attempt if the zone into which the driver intends to switch 
to is, or will soon be, occupied by another vehicle traveling in the 
same direction. The technology also provides the driver with 
advisory information that a vehicle in an adjacent lane is 
positioned in his/her vehicle's ``blind spot'' zone even when a lane 
change is not being attempted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Vehicle-resident systems can be highly effective in mitigating 
certain crash types, although their performance varies by sensor type, 
and is limited in certain situations. Perception range varies from 10 
meters to 200 meters for LIDAR and 77 GHz radar, respectively, while 
field-of-view ranges from 18 degrees to 56 degrees for 77 GHz radar and 
24 GHz radar,\21\ respectively. On-board sensors can also exhibit 
reduced reliability in certain weather conditions (e.g., snow, fog, and 
heavy rain), and camera systems, in particular, can exhibit reduced 
performance when encountering lighting transitions and shadows. Most if 
not all current sensing technologies are susceptible to performance 
reductions through foreign objects such as dirt or snow. For camera-
based systems, some manufacturers have implemented devices that attempt 
to keep the camera clear for maximal operation. Both sensor types can 
be vulnerable to misalignment or damage over time. On-board sensors do, 
however, perform reliably in ``urban canyons'' and other situations in 
which a clear view of the sky is not needed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ ``Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications: Readiness of V2V 
Technology for Application'', August 2014, pp. 105.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Communication-Based Systems
    Devices enabling vehicles to communicate with one another or with 
road-side equipment and/or infrastructure have been prototyped and 
tested in field operational tests like the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment. These devices, when eventually developed for mass 
production, could be fully integrated into a vehicle when manufactured, 
or could be standalone aftermarket units not restricted to a single 
vehicle. These devices offer varying degrees of functionality, but all 
are designed to communicate safety information to help mitigate 
crashes.
    Safety information that can help mitigate crashes includes data 
elements like vehicle position, heading, speed, and so forth--data 
elements that could help a computer-based safety application on a 
vehicle calculate whether it and another vehicle were in danger of 
crashing without driver intervention. These pieces of information are 
collected into what is known as a ``Basic Safety Message,'' or ``BSM.'' 
In a fully-integrated vehicle communication system, the system is built 
into the vehicle during production, and consists of a general purpose 
processor and associated memory, a radio transmitter and transceiver, 
antennas, interfaces to the vehicle's sensors, and a GPS receiver. It 
generates the BSM using in-vehicle information obtained from the 
vehicle's on board sensors. An integrated system can both transmit and 
receive BSMs, and can process the content of received messages to 
provide advisories and/or warnings to the driver of the vehicle in 
which it is installed. Since the vehicle data bus provides a rich data 
set, integrated systems have the potential to obtain information that 
could indicate driver intent, which can help inform safety applications 
such as Left Turn Assist (LTA),\22\ Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW),\23\ and 
BSW/LCW safety applications, all of which can benefit from, or require, 
information on turn signal status or steering wheel angle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ LTA warns the driver of a vehicle, when entering an 
intersection, not to turn left in front of another vehicle traveling 
in the opposite direction. LTA applications currently trigger only 
when the driver activates the turn signal.
    \23\ DNPW warns the driver of a vehicle during a passing 
maneuver attempt when a slower-moving vehicle, ahead and in the same 
lane, cannot be safely passed using a passing zone that is occupied 
by vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. The application 
may also provide the driver an advisory warning that the passing 
zone is occupied when a passing maneuver is not being attempted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Aftermarket devices, which are added to a vehicle after its 
assembly, can vary significantly from both fully-integrated vehicle 
communication systems, and from one another. The simplest designs may 
only transmit (and not also receive) a BSM, may only connect to a power 
source and otherwise operate independently from the systems in the 
vehicle, and may not run safety applications or provide advisories/
warnings to a driver.\24\ More sophisticated options may have the 
ability to both receive and transmit a BSM to nearby vehicles, may 
connect to the vehicle data bus (similar to fully integrated devices), 
and may contain safety applications that can provide advisories/
warnings to the driver. Depending on the type of aftermarket device, 
different data elements may or may not be available. This may limit 
what safety applications can be supported. For example, a device that 
does not connect to a vehicle data bus may support FCW, but without 
having access to turn signal information, may not be able to support 
LTA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ Such a device could still be useful to users, because it 
would alert other drivers to the presence of their vehicle (i.e., it 
would help them be ``seen better'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regardless of whether they are integrated or aftermarket, all 
communication-based systems are designed to, at a minimum; transmit BSM 
information such as vehicle position and heading to nearby vehicles. 
That information may be transmitted using various communication 
methods--like cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite radio, or dedicated short-
range communication (DSRC)--each of which has its own advantages and 
disadvantages. At this time, DSRC is the only mature communication 
option that meets the latency requirements to support vehicle 
communication based crash avoidance, although future V2V standards may 
also meet the latency requirements.
    Cellular networks currently offer fairly widespread coverage 
throughout the nation and are continuing to expand; however, there are 
still areas (dead spots) where cellular service is

[[Page 3865]]

not available. And, although the advancement of long-term evolution 
(LTE) technology is helping to deliver large amounts of data to 
cellular users more quickly, transmission rates slow down if a user is 
moving or is in a high-capacity area with many other LTE users. While 
many new vehicles today already are equipped with cellular capability, 
this communication method could possibly introduce security risks, such 
as cyberattacks or privacy concerns,\25\ and high costs stemming from 
cellular data costs and fitting new vehicles with cellular capability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ BAH CDDS Final Report. See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Wi-Fi technology offers generally higher data rates than the other 
options, but because of its intrinsic design for stationary terminals, 
and the need for a vehicle to provide its MAC (media access control) 
address, and obtain the MAC address of all other vehicles in a Wi-Fi 
hotspot before it can send communications, transmission rates are 
significantly reduced if a user is moving. Cost concerns and potential 
security risks for Wi-Fi are similar to those for cellular 
communication.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ BAH CDDS Final Report. See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Satellite radio, or Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS), 
uses satellites to provide digital data broadcast service nearly 
nationwide (across approximately 98% of the U.S. land mass--
fundamentally not covering Alaska and Hawaii and covering the southern 
parts of Canada and northern parts of Mexico. Data download time for 
satellite communication, however, is slow compared to the other 
communication options which limits its capability to ``back office'' 
type communications versus actual vehicle to vehicle safety 
communications, and the costs and security risks associated with 
cellular and Wi-Fi communication also apply to satellite.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ ``Organizational and Operational Models for the Security 
Credentials Management System (SCMS); Industry Governance Models, 
Privacy Analysis, and Cost Updates,'' dated October 23, 2013, 
prepared by Booz Allen Hamilton under contract to DOT, non-
deliberative portions of which may be viewed in docket: NHTSA-2014-
0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DSRC is a two-way short-range wireless technology that provides 
local, nearly instantaneous network connectivity and message 
transmission. It has a designated licensed bandwidth to permit secure, 
reliable communication, and provides very high data transmission rates 
in high-speed vehicle mobility conditions which are critical 
characteristics for detecting potential and imminent crash 
scenarios.\28\ Cost concerns and potential security risks are also 
inherent to DSRC technology.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ Report and Order FCC-03-0324.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In this NPRM, the proposal would require V2V communication to use 
DSRC devices to transmit messages about a vehicle's speed, heading, 
braking status, etc. to surrounding vehicles, as well as to receive 
comparable information from surrounding vehicles. As DSRC is based on 
radio signals, which are omnidirectional (i.e., offer 360 degrees of 
coverage), V2V offers the ability to ``see'' around corners and ``see'' 
through other vehicles. Consequently, V2V is not restricted by the same 
line-of-sight limitations as crash avoidance technologies that rely on 
vehicle-resident sensors. V2V also offers an operational range of 300 
meters, or farther, between vehicles, which is nearly double the 
detection distance afforded by some current and near-term vehicle-
resident systems. These unique characteristics allow V2V-equipped 
vehicles to perceive and warn drivers of some threats sooner than 
current vehicle-resident sensors can. The proposal would also allow 
vehicles to comply using non-DSRC technologies that meet certain 
performance and interoperability standards.
    V2V is subject to the current limitations of GPS technology. This 
includes accuracy levels that are perceived to be only sufficient for 
warning applications vs. control applications such as automatic 
braking. The GPS dependency also poses challenges where sky visibility 
is limited (e.g., under bridges, in tunnels, in areas of heavy foliage, 
and in highly dense urban areas). Some of these issues, however, can be 
resolved through techniques such as ``dead-reckoning.'' \29\ V2V also 
requires that a significant number of vehicles be equipped with V2V 
technology to realize the effectiveness of the system, and similarly, 
whereas vehicle-resident sensors can ``see'' stop signs and traffic 
lights (and use that information to slow or stop the vehicle), the 
infrastructure also would need to be able to send messages to V2V-
equipped vehicles if V2V was to have similar capability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ The process of calculating one's position, especially at 
sea, by estimating the direction and distance traveled rather than 
by using landmarks, astronomical observations, or electronic 
navigation methods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Fusion of Vehicle-Resident and Communication-Based Systems
    Both vehicle-resident and communication-based safety systems have 
certain strengths and limitations, and as such, NHTSA and many 
commenters to the ANPRM, like the Automotive Safety Council, Hyundai 
Motor Group, IIHS, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, and 
Volvo Cars, believe that combining (``fusing'') communication-based 
systems with vehicle-resident crash avoidance systems to exploit the 
functionality of both system types presents a significant opportunity. 
Given the proposed V2V system, we are confident that the technology 
could be easily combined with other vehicle-resident crash avoidance 
systems to enhance the functionality of both types of systems. 
Together, the two systems can provide even greater benefits than either 
system alone.
    For vehicles equipped with current on-board sensors, V2V can offer 
a fundamentally different, but complementary, source of information 
that can significantly enhance the reliability and accuracy of the 
information available. Instead of relying on each vehicle to sense its 
surroundings on its own, V2V enables surrounding vehicles to help each 
other by reporting safety information to each other. V2V communication 
can also detect threat vehicles that are not in the sensors' field of 
view, and can validate a return from a vehicle-based sensor. This added 
capability can potentially lead to improved warning timing and a 
reduction in the number of false warnings, thereby adding confidence to 
the overall safety system, and increasing consumer satisfaction and 
acceptance. Similarly, vehicle-resident systems can augment V2V systems 
by providing the information necessary to address other crash scenarios 
not covered by V2V communications, such as lane and road departure. 
These systems can work collectively to advance motor vehicle safety, as 
was further evidenced in the comments submitted by the Automotive 
Safety Council and IIHS.
    The Automotive Safety Council commented that, in addition to the 
safety advantages from increased sensing range and the environment use 
cases, V2V also offers advantages with respect to operation status 
(e.g., brake pedal status, transmission state, stability control 
status, vehicle at rest versus moving, etc.) IIHS suggested that 
whereas current FCW systems are designed to operate off the 
deceleration of the vehicle directly ahead, V2V could permit 
communication with all vehicles ahead in the lane of travel, thus 
warning all vehicles, not just those equipped with FCW, of the eminent 
need to slow down or stop.
    IIHS contended, however, that onboard sensing systems may evolve 
during the time it will take V2V to penetrate the fleet, potentially to 
the

[[Page 3866]]

point where they have similar ranges to V2V transmissions, such that it 
may be difficult to quantify how much V2V will reduce collision 
frequency and severity beyond the capabilities of sensor-based systems. 
Along similar lines, the Automotive Safety Council countered some of 
its earlier comments by stating that ``it is possible that DSRC 
technology may be obsolete before the safety goals of V2V systems are 
realized'' such that it may be a better approach to pursue the 
installation of well-tested, standalone technologies that are currently 
available.
    The agency appreciates the commenters' views on the co-existence of 
the technologies with varying capability and expressing support for the 
agency's approach in this proposal. We do disagree, however, with the 
comments indicating that V2V should not be pursued because onboard 
sensing systems exist in the marketplace. The agency views these 
technologies as complementary and not competing. Providing a data rich 
information environment should, most likely, enable more capability to 
enhance vehicle safety.
    The agency requests comments its views concerning the potential of 
fusing connected and vehicle-resident technologies. In particular, the 
agency requests comment on what specific applications could use both 
technologies to enhance safety. The agency also seeks comment on 
whether an if-equipped option for V2V would be preferable, given the 
development of vehicle-resident technologies.
4. Automated Systems
    Automated systems perform at least some aspects of a safety-
critical control function (e.g., steering, throttle, or braking) 
automatically--without direct input by a human driver. Examples of 
automated systems include Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) and Dynamic 
Brake Support (DBS). These systems are designed, respectively, to 
automatically apply the vehicle's brakes if the human driver does not 
respond at all to warnings that are provided, or to supplement the 
human driver's braking effort if the driver's response is determined 
(by the system) to be insufficient, in order to mitigate the severity 
of a rear-end crash, or to avoid it altogether.
    Although many automated systems currently rely on data obtained 
from on-board sensors and cameras to judge safety-critical situations 
and respond with an appropriate level of control, data acquired from 
GPS and telecommunications like V2V could significantly augment such 
systems, since, as mentioned previously, vehicle communication-based 
systems, like V2V, are capable of providing warnings in several 
scenarios where vehicle-based sensors and cameras cannot (e.g., 
vehicles approaching each other at intersections).\30\ Honda Motor Col, 
Ltd commented that ``. . . the ability of vehicles to directly 
communicate with one another will greatly assist in the ability to 
safety and effectively deploy'' higher-level driver assistance and 
automated technologies in Honda vehicles. Along similar lines, Meritor 
WABCO and the Automotive Safety Council both mentioned that V2V safety 
applications with warning capability will enhance current active safety 
systems, but should not be considered a replacement for them.
    Systems Research Associates, Inc. stated that ``it is irrefutable 
that V2V, V2I, and V2P communications will be absolutely critical to 
the successful development of self-driving vehicles that can avoid 
collisions, navigate responsibly, and achieve a transport objective 
efficiently and in a timely manner.'' Similarly, IEEE USA commented 
that V2V can provide the trusted map data and situation awareness 
messages necessary for innovative safety functions, and support the 
flow of traffic with self-driving cars.
    Other commenters, including Robert Bosch LLC and Motor & Equipment 
Manufacturers Association expressed that V2V data should serve as a 
supplemental input in developing automated vehicles, but cautioned the 
agency that vehicles should not have an external, V2V exclusive 
infrastructure and communication medium dependency. This approach may 
unnecessarily limit the adoption or implementation of automated 
systems. Furthermore, the Automotive Safety Council commented that 
``V2V should be considered as one of the supporting sensor sets for 
automated vehicle applications, where it can augment the information 
available to the vehicle about the surrounding environment'' by 
increasing the range and/or reliability of data from sensors, but it is 
``. . . not sufficient alone as a sensor to support automated vehicles 
nor a technology that will inhibit the development of automated 
applications. In order to ensure robust decisions for autonomous 
functions, sensing redundancy at the vehicle level may still be 
required to meet functional safety requirements, and/or for functions 
where the V2V technology is not capable of providing the necessary data 
or inputs to the vehicle.''
    Competitive Enterprise Institute expressed concerns that a V2V 
mandate may harm vehicle automation efforts. The company cited Google 
and Bosch's ability to develop vehicle automation systems that use 
onboard sensors and computers to map vehicle surroundings in real-time 
and make direction decisions without widespread vehicle-to-vehicle 
connectivity as reason to suggest that V2V is unnecessary for full-
scale automation. The company also commented that if automated systems 
were required to interact with V2V under a new Standard, this would 
generate ``large and as yet uncontemplated cybersecurity, crash, and 
products liability risks.'' Similarly, the Automotive Safety Council 
commented that the security system described in the V2V Readiness 
report ``does not provide sufficient protection against all abuse of 
the V2V system'' in the event that active safety applications which 
leverage the V2V infrastructure, are considered in the future. The 
group suggested that because ``the data fed into the DSRC device from 
the vehicle sensors is not cryptographically protected,'' an attacker 
``could simply feed a DSRC device bad data, which is subsequently 
cryptographically signed using the proposed PKI system and transmitted 
to nearby vehicles.'' The Automotive Safety Council suggested that this 
could allow an attacker to ``cause a vehicle to rapidly swerve off the 
road to avoid a collision with a car that does not exist in reality but 
was interpreted to exist'' because the vehicle received false, but 
cryptographically signed and thus trusted, data from a nearby malicious 
vehicle.
    QUALCOMM Incorporated maintained an opposing position to 
Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Automotive Safety Council. The 
company commented that, ``while it is possible to implement a certain 
level of vehicle automation . . . without V2V, V2V can enhance the 
overall reliability and coverage of autonomous vehicle technology.'' 
Consequently, the company contended that there is no conflict between 
the deployment of DSRC and automated vehicles, and further suggested 
that the two technological advances should be pursued simultaneously so 
that the additional safety benefits offered by DSRC can penetrate the 
fleet and be realized in both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles. 
Overall, this approach is aligned with the agency's view that V2V is 
complementary, and not competing, with automated vehicle deployment.
    The agency requests comment on the interplay between V2V and 
autonomous technologies.

[[Page 3867]]

C. V2V Research Up Until This Point

1. General Discussion
    The U.S. Department of Transportation, along with other research 
partners in State DOTs, academia, and industry, has been evaluating how 
to incorporate communication technology into transportation 
infrastructure since the mid-1980s, in order to improve transportation 
(particularly on-road vehicle) safety, mobility, and emissions. That 
broad research topic is generally referred to as ``intelligent 
transportation systems'' or ``ITS.'' V2V research developed out of ITS 
research in the mid-2000s, when NHTSA and CAMP began to look at the 
potential for DSRC as a vehicle communication technology, for the 
purpose of warning drivers of imminent crash risks in time to avoid 
them. NHTSA's decision to begin the rulemaking process to require V2V 
communications capability on new light vehicles thus represented the 
culmination of several decades of research by government and industry 
to develop this communications technology for vehicles from the ground 
up. In the interest of brevity, NHTSA refers readers to the V2V 
Readiness Report for a summary of the history of ITS research and 
NHTSA's work with CAMP and other partners prior to 2014.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ See Section II.B of the Readiness Report, available at 
http://www.safercar.gov/v2v/ (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One element of the V2V research that took place prior to 2014 is 
the Safety Pilot Model Deployment. The Model Deployment was the 
culmination of the V2V research that had taken place in prior years. 
Using the Model Deployment, DOT deployed prototype V2V DSRC devices on 
real roads with real drivers that interacted for over a year and 
provided the data that allowed DOT to evaluate the functional 
feasibility of V2V under real world conditions.
    The Model Deployment was conducted in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and ran 
from August 2012 to February 2014. Sponsored by DOT and conducted by 
the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the 
experiment was designed to support evaluation of the functionality of 
V2V technology. Approximately 2,800 vehicles--a mix of cars, trucks, 
and transit vehicles operating on public streets within a highly 
concentrated area--were equipped with integrated in-vehicle safety 
systems, aftermarket safety devices, or vehicle awareness devices, all 
using DSRC to emit wireless signals of vehicle position and heading 
information. Vehicles equipped with integrated in-vehicle or 
aftermarket safety devices have the additional design functionality of 
being able to warn drivers of an impending crash situation involving 
another equipped vehicle.
    Data collected during the Model Deployment was used to support an 
evaluation of functionality of the V2V safety applications used in the 
Model Deployment--in effect, whether the prototypes and the system 
worked, but not necessarily how well they worked. Overall, the Model 
Deployment demonstrated that V2V technology can be deployed in a real-
world driving environment. The experimental design was successful in 
creating naturalistic interactions between DSRC-equipped vehicles that 
resulted in safety applications issuing warnings in the safety-critical 
driving scenarios that they were designed to address. The data 
generated by warning events indicated that all the devices were 
interoperable, meaning that they were successfully communicating with 
each other.
    The Model Deployment was the first and largest test of V2V 
technology in a real-world environment. The Model Deployment was a key 
step in understanding whether the technology worked, the potential of 
this technology to help avoid crashes, and increase the vehicle safety.
    Besides explaining the history of the research that led to NHTSA's 
decision to initiate rulemaking to require V2V communications 
capability, the Readiness Report also described NHTSA's understanding 
of the current state of the research in mid-2014, and identified a 
number of areas where additional research could be necessary either to 
develop mandatory requirements for new vehicles equipped with DSRC, or 
to further develop information needed to inform potential future 
requirements for DSRC-based safety applications. The following sections 
summarize the agency's research-based findings in the Readiness Report; 
list the areas where the agency identified additional research as 
necessary; and explain the status of research conducted since the 
Readiness Report in response to those identified research needs.
2. Main Topic Areas in Readiness Report
    Based on the agency's research and thinking at the time of 
issuance, the V2V Readiness Report comprehensively covered several key 
topic areas:
     What the safety need is that V2V can address, and how V2V 
addresses it;
     The legal and policy issues associated with requiring V2V 
for light vehicles, the secure operation of the technology, and the 
implications of these issues for privacy;
     A description of the technology required for V2V 
capability, the different types of devices, and the security needed for 
trusted communications; and
     Based on preliminary data, how much the technology may be 
expected to cost (both for purchasers of new vehicles, and for the 
entities who develop and build out the security and communications 
networks, in terms of initial capital investments), and the potential 
effectiveness (and thus, benefits) of certain V2V-based safety 
applications at helping drivers avoid crashes.
(a) Key Findings of Readiness Report
    The Readiness Report listed the key findings of the research up to 
that point, as follows:
     V2V (specifically, DSRC) devices installed in light 
vehicles as part of the Safety Pilot Model Deployment were able to 
transmit and receive messages from one another, with a security 
management system providing secure communications among the vehicles 
during the Model Deployment. This was accomplished with relatively few 
problems given the magnitude of this first-of-its-kind demonstration 
project.
     The V2V devices tested in the Model Deployment were 
originally developed based on existing communication protocols found in 
voluntary consensus standards from SAE and IEEE. NHTSA and its research 
partners participating in the Model Deployment (e.g., its vehicle 
manufacturers and device suppliers) found that the standards did not 
contain enough detail as-is and left too much room for interpretation 
to achieve interoperability. They therefore developed additional 
protocols that enabled interoperability between devices participating 
in the study. The valuable interoperability information learned during 
the execution of Model Deployment is planned to be included in future 
versions of voluntary consensus standards that would support a larger, 
widespread technology roll-out.
     As tested in the Model Deployment, safety applications 
enabled by V2V, examples of which include IMA, FCW, and LTA, have 
proven effective in mitigating or preventing potential crashes, but the 
agency recognized that additional refinement to the prototype safety 
applications used in the Model Deployment would be needed before 
minimum performance standards could

[[Page 3868]]

be finalized and issued.\32\ Based on the agency's understanding of how 
these prototype safety applications operate, preliminary effectiveness 
estimates in the Readiness Report indicated substantial ability to 
mitigate crashes, injuries or fatalities in these crash scenarios. 
Also, the agency concluded that some safety applications could be 
better tailored to the safety problem that they are intended to solve 
(e.g., LTA applications currently trigger only when the driver 
activates the turn signal, but many drivers do not always activate 
their turn signals in dedicated turn lanes).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ See, e.g., Nodine et al., ``Independent Evaluation of 
Light-Vehicle Safety Applications Based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle 
Communications Used in the 2012-2013 Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment,'' USDOT Volpe Center, DOT HS 812 222, December 2015. 
Available at Docket NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The agency has the legal authority to mandate V2V 
(specifically, DSRC) devices in new light vehicles, and could also 
require them to be installed in commercial vehicles already in use on 
the road if we also required them for new medium and heavy duty 
vehicles. The agency also has the authority to mandate safety 
applications that are V2V-based, and to work with an outside entity to 
develop the security and communications infrastructures needed to 
support deployment of V2V technologies in motor vehicles.
     Based on preliminary information used for the report, 
NHTSA estimated that the V2V equipment and supporting communications 
functions (including a security management system) would cost 
approximately $341 to $350 per vehicle in 2020, and it is possible that 
the cost could decrease to approximately $209 to $227 by 2058, as 
manufacturers gain experience producing this equipment (the ``learning 
curve'' effect). These costs would also include an additional $9 to $18 
per year in fuel costs due to added vehicle weight from the V2V system. 
Estimated costs for the security management system ranged from $1 to $6 
per vehicle, and were estimated to increase over time due to the need 
to support an increasing number of vehicles with V2V technology. The 
estimated communications costs ranged from $3 to $13 per vehicle. Cost 
estimates were not expected to change significantly by the inclusion of 
V2V-based safety applications, since the applications themselves are 
software and their costs are negligible.
     Based on preliminary estimates used for the report, the 
total projected preliminary annual costs of the V2V system fluctuated 
year after year but generally indicated a declining trend. The 
estimated total annual costs ranged from $0.3 to $2.1 billion in 2020, 
with the specific costs depending upon the technology implementation 
scenarios and discount rates. The costs peaked to $1.1 to $6.4 billion 
between 2022 and 2024, and then gradually decreased to $1.1 to $4.6 
billion.
     The analysis conducted for the V2V Readiness Report 
estimated that just two of many possible V2V safety applications, IMA 
and LTA, would on an annual basis potentially prevent 25,000 to 592,000 
crashes, save 49 to 1,083 lives, avoid 11,000 to 270,000 MAIS 1-5 
injuries, and reduce 31,000 to 728,000 property-damage-only crashes by 
the time V2V technology had spread through the entire fleet, if 
manufacturers implemented them.\33\ These two applications were used 
for analysis because they were illustrations of benefits that V2V can 
provide above and beyond the safety benefits of radar and camera based 
systems. Of course, the number of lives potentially saved would 
increase with the implementation of additional V2V- and V2I-based 
safety applications that could be enabled if vehicles were equipped 
with V2V communications capability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ The benefits estimated for this proposal vary from those 
developed for the V2V Readiness Report. Please refer to Section VII 
for details on the costs and benefits of this proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Additional V2V-Related Issues That Required the Agency's 
Consideration
    The Readiness Report also recognized that additional items need to 
be in place for a potential V2V system to be successful. These items 
were listed as follows:
     Wireless spectrum: V2V communications transmit and receive 
messages at the 5.85-5.925 GHz frequency. The FCC, as part of an 
ongoing rulemaking proceeding, is considering whether to allow 
``Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure'' devices (that 
provide short-range, high-speed, unlicensed wireless connections for, 
among other applications, Wi-Fi-enabled radio local area networks, 
cordless telephones, and fixed outdoor broadband transceivers used by 
wireless Internet service providers) to operate in the same area of the 
wireless spectrum as V2V.\34\ Given that Wi-Fi use is growing 
exponentially, ``opening'' the 5.85-5.925 GHz part of the spectrum 
could result in many more devices transmitting and receiving 
information on the same or similar frequencies, which could potentially 
interfere with V2V communications in ways harmful to its safety intent. 
More research is needed on whether these Wi-Fi enabled devices can 
share the spectrum successfully with V2V, and if so, how. In December 
2015 and January 2016, the DOT, FCC, and the Department of Commerce 
sent joint letters to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation, delineating a collaborative multi-phased 
approach that will be used to provide real-world data on the 
performance of unlicensed devices that are designed to avoid 
interfering with DSRC operations in the 5.85-5.925 GHz band.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ See Revision of Part 15 of the Commission's Rules to Permit 
Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) Devices in 
the 5 GHz Band, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, ET Docket No. 13-49 
(Feb. 2013). Under the FCC Part 15 rules U-NII devices cannot cause 
interference to DSRC operations and must accept interference from 
DSRC operations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     V2V device certification issues: V2V devices are different 
from other technologies regulated by NHTSA under the Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standards, insofar as part of ensuring their successful 
operation (and thus, the safety benefits associated with them) requires 
ensuring that they are able to communicate with all other V2V devices 
participating in the system. This means that auto manufacturers (and 
V2V device manufacturers) attempting to comply with a potential V2V 
mandate could have a significant testing obligation to guarantee 
interoperability among their own devices and devices produced by other 
manufacturers. At the time of the Readiness Report, it was an open 
question whether individual companies could meet such an obligation 
themselves, or whether independent testing facilities might need to be 
developed to perform this function. Based on the security design 
evaluated for the report, it was thought likely that an entity or 
entities providing the security management system would require that 
device manufacturers comply with interoperability certification 
requirements to ensure the reliability of message content. The agency 
currently believes the creation of a standardized test device should 
mitigate manufacturer to manufacturer communication variances to help 
ensure interoperability.
     Test procedures, performance requirements, and driver-
vehicle interface (DVI) issues: Test procedures, performance 
requirements, and driver-vehicle interfaces appeared to work well 
enough for purposes of the Model Deployment (as compared to a true 
production, real-world environment), but NHTSA concluded that 
additional research and development would be necessary to produce 
FMVSS-level test procedures for V2V inter-device

[[Page 3869]]

communication and potential safety applications.
     As a result of this item from the Readiness Report, NHTSA 
undertook additional research to examine the minimum performance 
measures for DSRC communication and system security.\35\ The research 
included functional and performance requirements for the DSRC device, 
the results of which directly informed the development of this 
proposal. As we concluded in the Readiness Report, to eventually go 
forward with rulemaking involving safety applications, V2V and safety 
application standards need to be objective and practicable, meaning 
that technical uncertainties are limited, that tests are repeatable, 
and so forth. Additionally, the agency deferred consideration of 
whether standardization of DVIs would improve the effectiveness of 
safety applications, and whether some kind of standardization could 
have significant effects on costs and benefits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ ``Development of DSRC Device and Communication System 
Performance Measures'' Booz Allen Hamilton, Final Report--May, 2016; 
FHWA-JPO-17-483 available at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60500/60536/FHWA-JPO-17-483.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016) and, CAMP 
research supporting SAE J2945-1, ``On-Board System Requirements for 
V2V Safety Communications'' April, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Standing up security and communications systems to support 
V2V: In order to function safely, a V2V system needs security and 
communications infrastructure to enable and ensure the trustworthiness 
of communication between vehicles. The source of each message needs to 
be trusted and message content needs to be protected from outside 
interference. A V2V system must include security infrastructure to 
credential each message, as well as a communications network to get 
security credentials and related information from vehicles to the 
entities providing system security (and vice versa).\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ Section II.F discusses NHTSA's Request for Information 
(RFI) regarding the development of a potential Security Credential 
Management System (SCMS).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Liability concerns from industry: Auto manufacturers 
repeatedly have expressed concern to the agency that V2V technologies 
will increase their liability as compared with other safety 
technologies. In their view, a V2V system exposes them to more legal 
risk than on-board safety systems because V2V warning technologies rely 
on information received from other vehicles via communication systems 
that they themselves do not control. However, the decision options 
under consideration by NHTSA at the time of the Readiness Report 
involved safety warning technologies--not control technologies. NHTSA's 
legal analysis indicated that, from a products liability standpoint, 
V2V safety warning technologies, analytically, are quite similar to on-
board safety warnings systems found in today's motor vehicles. For this 
reason, NHTSA did not view V2V warning technologies as creating new or 
unbounded liability exposure for the industry.
     Privacy: NHTSA explained in the Readiness Report that, at 
the outset, readers should understand some very important points about 
the V2V system as then contemplated and understood by NHTSA. The system 
will not collect or store any data directly identifying specific 
individuals or their vehicles, nor will it enable the government to do 
so. There is no information in the safety messages exchanged by 
vehicles or collected by the V2V system that directly identifies the 
driver of a speeding or erratic vehicle for law enforcement purposes, 
or to third parties. The system--expected to be operated by private 
entities--will make it difficult to track through space and time 
specific vehicles, owners or drivers on a persistent basis. Third 
parties attempting to use the system to track a vehicle would find that 
it requires significant resources and effort to do so, particularly in 
light of existing means available for that purpose. The system will not 
collect financial information, personal communications, or other 
information directly linked to individuals. The system will enroll V2V 
enabled vehicles automatically, without collecting any information that 
identifies specific vehicles or owners. The system will not provide a 
``pipe'' into the vehicle for extracting data. The system is designed 
to enable NHTSA and motor vehicle manufacturers to find lots or 
production runs of potentially defective V2V equipment without use of 
VIN numbers or other information that could identify specific drivers 
or vehicles. Our research to date suggests that drivers may be 
concerned about the possibility that the government or a private entity 
could use V2V communications to track their daily activities and 
whereabouts. However, NHTSA has worked hard to ensure that the V2V 
system both achieves the agency's safety goals and protects consumer 
privacy appropriately.
     Consumer acceptance: If consumers do not accept a required 
safety technology, the technology will not create the safety benefits 
that the agency expects. At the time of the report, the agency believed 
that one potential issue with consumer acceptance could be maintenance. 
More specifically, if the security system is designed to require 
consumers to take action to obtain new security certificates--depending 
on the mechanism needed to obtain the certificates--consumers may find 
the required action too onerous. For example, rather than accept new 
certificate downloads, consumers may choose instead to live with non-
functioning V2V capabilities.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \37\ As follow-up to other consumer acceptance topics, the 
agency undertook additional consumer acceptance research (both 
qualitative and quantitative) to better understand potential 
consumer concerns. This research was used to directly inform this 
proposal. See Section III for discussion of this research and how 
the agency used it to develop this proposal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Research Conducted Between the Readiness Report and This Proposal
    The findings of the V2V Readiness Report also yielded a series of 
research, policy and standards needs. The agency believed some of these 
needs were significant enough that they should be addressed to properly 
inform any potential regulatory action; such as this NPRM. The agency 
also identified some needs from the Readiness Report that could be 
addressed later to potentially support other aspects of V2V deployment 
such as safety applications. Following is a list of needs identified in 
the V2V Readiness Report and their current status. The agency has 
completed what it believes is the necessary research for to inform and 
support this proposal, although the agency is continuing to study these 
and other issues. The agency notes that Table II-4 shows the status of 
the research related to safety applications, which are not being 
proposed in this NPRM.

[[Page 3870]]

                    Table II-4--DSRC Performance Requirements and Compliance Testing Research
                                                 [NPRM RELEVANT]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Research projects
 Readiness report research need       Description        initiated to         Description       Completion date
                                                            address
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standards Need V-1 SAE Standards  Currently           Crash Avoidance     Crash Avoidance     April 2016.
 Maturity.                         Standards are       Metrics             Metrics
                                   being developed     Partnership V2V     Partnership
                                   by outside          Interoperability    providing results
                                   standards           and V2V System      of DSRC device
                                   organizations.      Engineering         performance
                                                       Projects.           requirements to
                                                                           SAE standards
                                                                           development
                                                                           committee for SAE
                                                                           J2735 and J2945.
Research Need V-2 Impact of       [V-2] V2V device    DSRC On-Board Unit  BAH project will    BAH Completion
 Software Implementation on DSRC   software updates    Performance         Develop             date--Requirement
 Device Performance.               may be required     Measures Booze      performance         s October 2015/
                                   over its            Allen and           measures for        Test Procedures
                                   lifecycle. NHTSA    Hamilton.           Dedicated Short     October 2015.
                                   will need to       Crash Avoidance      Range              CAMP System
                                   determine how to    Metrics             Communication       Engineering
                                   ensure necessary    Partnership--Docu   (DSRC) device;      Completion date--
                                   V2V device          mentation of On-    and develop         Requirements Aug
                                   software updates    Board Unit          security            2015/Test
                                   are seamless for    Requirements and    performance         Procedures Sept
                                   consumers and       Certification       measures for the    2015.
                                   confirmed.          Procedures for      following, but
                                                       V2V Systems         not limited to
                                                       (System             Critical
                                                       Engineering         components on the
                                                       Project).           DSRC device,
                                                      and...............   Firmware on the
                                                      V2V-Comminication    DSRC device,
                                                       Research project.   Predominant
                                                                           elements in a
                                                                           Public Key
                                                                           Infrastructure
                                                                           (PKI).
Research Need V-3 DSRC Data       [V-3] The purpose   ..................  ..................  CAMP
 Communication System              of this research                                            Communications
 Performance Measures.             is to finalize                                              research
                                   the operational                                             completion date--
                                   modes and                                                   August 2016.
                                   scenarios, key
                                   functions, and
                                   qualitative
                                   performance
                                   measures that
                                   indicate minimum
                                   operational
                                   performance to
                                   support DSRC
                                   safety and
                                   security
                                   communication
                                   functions.
Research Need V-5 BSM Congestion  [V-5] Complete      ..................  CAMP will develop
 Sensitivity.                      congestion                              a single
                                   mitigation and                          comprehensive
                                   scalability                             document
                                   research to                             summarizing the
                                   identify                                minimum level of
                                   bandwidth                               Connected Vehicle
                                   congestion                              (CV) V2V safety
                                   conditions that                         system on-board
                                   could impair                            requirements and
                                   performance of                          certification
                                   safety or other                         procedures..
                                   applications, and
                                   develop
                                   appropriate
                                   mitigation
                                   approaches.
Research Need V-6 Relative        [V-6] Research      ..................  CAMP V2V
 Positioning Performance Test.     will be required                        Communications
                                   to determine how                        Research Project
                                   to test relative                        will identify
                                   positioning                             requirement in
                                   performance                             relation to BSM
                                   across GPS                              message
                                   receivers                               congestion
                                   produced by                             mitigation and
                                   different                               misbehavior
                                   suppliers and                           detection.
                                   yield a
                                   generalized
                                   relationship
                                   between relative
                                   and absolute
                                   positioning.
Research Need V-7 Vehicle and     [V-7] Research to
 Receiver Positioning Biases.      understand
                                   potential
                                   erroneous
                                   position
                                   reporting due to
                                   positional biases
                                   across multiple
                                   GPS receiver
                                   combinations.
Research Need VI-7 Compliance     [VI-7] Development
 Specifications and Requirements.  of performance
                                   requirements,
                                   test procedures,
                                   and test
                                   scenarios to
                                   evaluate a
                                   device's
                                   compliance with
                                   interoperability
                                   standards,
                                   security
                                   communication
                                   needs; and to
                                   support safety
                                   applications.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              Table II-5--System, Security, and Acceptance Research
                                                 [NPRM RELEVANT]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Research projects
 Readiness report research need       Description        initiated to         Description       Completion date
                                                            address
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Policy Need IV-1 Road Side        NHTSA will          Authority           ..................  Issuance of NPRM.
 Equipment Authority.              evaluate the need   evaluation
                                   for DOT to          conducted for
                                   regulate aspects    NPRM.
                                   of RSE operation
                                   and assess its
                                   authority for
                                   doing so.

[[Page 3871]]

 
Policy Need IV-2 V2V Device       V2V device          Crash Avoidance     The System          Completion Date
 Software Updates.                 software updates    Metrics             Engineering         for Requirements--
                                   may be required     Partnership V2V     project will        Sept 2015.
                                   over its            System              investigate
                                   lifecycle. NHTSA    Engineering         software update
                                   will need to        project and Crash   requirements from
                                   determine how to    Avoidance Metrics   the vehicle
                                   ensure necessary    Partnership         perspective as
                                   V2V device          Security            the Security
                                   software updates    Credential          Credential
                                   are seamless for    Management System   Management
                                   consumers and       Proof of Concept    Systems project
                                   confirmed.          project.            investigates
                                                                           software update
                                                                           from the security
                                                                           system
                                                                           perspective. Both
                                                                           projects will
                                                                           identify
                                                                           requirements that
                                                                           will facilitate
                                                                           the software
                                                                           update of V2V
                                                                           devices.
Research Need V-1 Spectrum        Evaluate the        Testing spectrum    A test plan for     The evaluation of
 Sharing Interference.             impact of           sharing             testing             spectrum sharing
                                   unlicensed U-NII    feasibility.        unlicensed          interference is
                                   devices on the                          devices that        pending the
                                   transmission and                        would share the     conduct of tests
                                   reception of                            band with           with
                                   safety critical                         licensed DSRC       representative U-
                                   warnings in a                           devices has been    NII-4 devices
                                   shared spectrum                         developed. The      that operate in
                                   environment.                            testing will        the 5.9 GHz
                                                                           evaluate the        (DSRC) frequency
                                                                           feasibility of      band.Testing
                                                                           sharing spectrum    could be
                                                                           with unlicensed     completed within
                                                                           devices.            12 months of
                                                                                               receipt of
                                                                                               prototype
                                                                                               devices.
Research Need VII-1 Consumer      Supplement the      V2V Crash           This review needs   September 2015.
 Acceptance.                       driver acceptance   Avoidance Safety    to extend the
                                   analysis            Technology Public   current
                                   completed per the   Acceptance Review.  evaluation of
                                   Driver Clinics                          driver acceptance
                                   and Safety Pilot                        to a broader
                                   Model Deployment                        public acceptance
                                   with further                            context and
                                   research that                           evaluate how
                                   includes a                              public acceptance
                                   focused                                 may impact and or
                                   assessment of                           influence the
                                   privacy in                              design,
                                   relation to V2V                         performance,
                                   technology.                             operation, and
                                                                           implementation of
                                                                           this technology.
Research Need VIII-1 V2V          [VIII-1] Assess     Independent         The objective of    March 2016.
 Location Tracking via BSM.        the availability    Evaluation of V2V   this Task Order
                                   of information      Security Design     is to perform:
                                   and technologies    and Technical       (1) an
                                   that facilitate     Analysis of the     independent and
                                   linking data in     Potential Privacy   comprehensive
                                   the BSM to          Risk of V2V         technical
                                   determine a motor   Systems.            analysis of the
                                   vehicle's path.                         V2V security
                                                                           system design
                                                                           that is currently
                                                                           proposed
                                                                           specifically for
                                                                           a V2V connected
                                                                           vehicle
                                                                           environment; and
                                                                           (2) a technical
                                                                           analysis of the
                                                                           potential privacy
                                                                           risks of the
                                                                           entire V2V system
                                                                           that includes
                                                                           security but also
                                                                           focuses on the
                                                                           operation of V2V
                                                                           communications in
                                                                           support of crash
                                                                           avoidance safety
                                                                           applications.
Research Need VIII-2 V2V          [VIII-2]
 Identification Capabilities.      Understanding and
                                   quantifying risk
                                   of linking
                                   vehicle tracking
                                   or other
                                   information in
                                   the BSM to a
                                   specific vehicle,
                                   address, or
                                   individual via
                                   available
                                   resources
                                   (including but
                                   not limited to
                                   database matching
                                   or data mining).
Research Need VIII-3 V2V          [VIII-3] Inventory
 Inventory of Privacy Controls.    and assess the
                                   privacy controls
                                   applicable to the
                                   SCMS in
                                   connection with
                                   our comprehensive
                                   privacy
                                   assessment.
Research Need VIII-4 V2V Privacy  [VIII-4] A
 Risk Assessment.                  comprehensive
                                   privacy risk
                                   analysis of all
                                   aspects of the
                                   V2V system
                                   including
                                   infrastructure
                                   equipment, on-
                                   board vehicle
                                   systems, wireless
                                   and wired
                                   communications,
                                   as well as
                                   organizational
                                   and management
                                   issues.

[[Page 3872]]

 
Research Need IX-2 Cryptographic  [IX-2] The chosen
 flexibility.                      cryptographic
                                   algorithms are
                                   estimated to be
                                   resilient against
                                   brute force
                                   attack for a few
                                   decades with some
                                   susceptibility
                                   through an
                                   unanticipated
                                   weakness. In the
                                   future new
                                   algorithms could
                                   enable better
                                   performance but
                                   may require
                                   redesign of
                                   functions or
                                   operations within
                                   the SCMS.
Research Need IX-3 Independent    [IX-3] Independent
 Security Design Assessment.       evaluation of
                                   CAMP/USDOT
                                   security design
                                   to assess
                                   alignment with
                                   Government
                                   business needs,
                                   identify minimum
                                   requirements,
                                   assess the
                                   security designs
                                   ability to
                                   support trusted
                                   messages and
                                   appropriately
                                   protect privacy,
                                   identify and
                                   remove
                                   misbehaving
                                   devices, and be
                                   flexible enough
                                   to support future
                                   upgrades.
Research Need IX-1 Misbehavior    Development of the  Crash Avoidance     The CAMP System     Initial
 Authority.                        processes,          Metrics             engineering         Misbehavior
                                   algorithms,         Partnership         project will        Detection
                                   reporting           System              investigate the     information to be
                                   requirements, and   Engineering         implementation      completed
                                   data requirements   project, Security   and device          December 2015.
                                   for both local      Credential          requirements for
                                   and global          Management Proof    local (vehicle
                                   detection           of Concept          based)
                                   functions; and      project, and        misbehavior
                                   procedures to       Communication       detection and
                                   populate and        Research Project.   global (system-
                                   distribute the                          wide) misbehavior
                                   CRL.                                    detection. The
                                                                           Communication
                                                                           Research project
                                                                           will research
                                                                           local and global
                                                                           misbehavior
                                                                           detection needs.
                                                                           The SCMS Proof of
                                                                           Concept will
                                                                           investigate
                                                                           implementation
                                                                           aspects from the
                                                                           security system
                                                                           perspective.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

              Table II-6--V2V Safety Application Improvement and Performance Verification Research
                                                [NPRM IRRELEVANT]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Research projects
 Readiness report research need       Description        initiated to         Description       Completion date
                                                            address
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research Need V-4 Development of  [V-4] This          Volpe False Alert   The Volpe project   Volpe Completion
 Safety Application Test Metrics   research will       Scenarios and       will support        Date--December
 and Procedures.                   take the            Objective Test      NHTSA development   2018.
Research Need VI-2 Safety          performance         Procedures for      of false-positive  VRTC Completion
 Application Performance Measure   measures and        Crash Avoidance     warning objective   Date--April 2019.
 Rationale.                        objective test      Applications        test procedures
                                   procedures used     project and         in conjunction
                                   during the          Vehicle Research    with development
                                   research of V2V     and Test Center     of objective test
                                   applications and    project.            procedures and
                                   develop FMVSS                           performance
                                   level performance                       criteria for IMA,
                                   measures and                            LTA, FCW, and BS/
                                   safety                                  LCW applications.
                                   application                             The results of
                                   objective tests.                        this IAA will
                                                                           contribute to
                                                                           potential Federal
                                                                           Motor Vehicle
                                                                           Safety Standards
                                                                           (FMVSS) for these
                                                                           crash avoidance
                                                                           applications.
Research Need VI-3                [VI-1] Assess the   ..................  The VRTC project
 Practicability of Non-Ideal       capability and                          will incorporate
 Driving Condition Testing.        capacity of                             results and
                                   possible                                information from
                                   refinements to                          the Volpe project
                                   reduce frequency                        to develop
                                   of false positive                       Federal Motor
                                   warning while                           Vehicle Safety
                                   maintaining crash                       Standards (FMVSS)
                                   avoidance                               for these crash
                                   effectiveness.                          avoidance
                                                                           applications.
                                  [VI-2] Develop a
                                   rationale to
                                   support each
                                   performance and
                                   test metric
                                   recommended for
                                   incorporation
                                   into an FMVSS.

[[Page 3873]]

 
                                  [VI-3] Evaluate
                                   test variations
                                   for non-ideal
                                   driving
                                   conditions (e.g.,
                                   curved roads,
                                   turn signal use,
                                   weather, oblique
                                   intersections)
                                   and develop a
                                   rationale
                                   supporting the
                                   inclusion or
                                   exclusion of
                                   those test
                                   conditions.
Research Need VI-4 Fused and Non- [VI-4] Develop
 Fused V2V Safety Application      test procedures
 Test Procedures.                  that can be
                                   applied to
                                   systems relying
                                   solely on V2V
                                   information as
                                   well as ``fused''
                                   systems, those
                                   relying on both
                                   V2V and other
                                   sources of
                                   information
                                   (e.g., on-board
                                   sensors).
Research Need VI-5 Performance    [VI-5] Conduct
 and Test Metric Validation.       test validation
                                   to ensure that
                                   the performance
                                   and test metrics
                                   are objective,
                                   repeatable, and
                                   practicable.
Research Need VI-1 False          Assess the          Volpe False Alert   The Volpe project   Volpe Completion
 Positive Mitigation.              capability and      Scenarios and       will support        Date--December
                                   capacity of         Objective Test      NHTSA development   2018.
                                   possible            Procedures for      of false-positive
                                   refinements to      Crash Avoidance     warning objective
                                   reduce frequency    Applications        test procedures
                                   of false positive   project and.        in conjunction
                                   warning while                           with development
                                   maintaining crash                       of objective test
                                   avoidance                               procedures and
                                   effectiveness.                          performance
                                                                           criteria for IMA,
                                                                           LTA, FCW, and BS/
                                                                           LCW applications.
Research Need VI-6 DVI Minimum    Determine DVI's     V2V On-Road DVI     Testing DVIs for    VTTI Completion
 Performance Requirements.         impact on           Project.            Intersection        Date: November
                                   effectiveness of                        Movement Assist     2016.
                                   system and safety                       and Left Turn
                                   benefits                                Assist for
                                   applications to                         stopped vehicles.
                                   establish minimum
                                   performance for
                                   crash avoidance
                                   and objective
                                   test procedures.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. V2V International and Harmonization Efforts

    Section V.F of NHTSA's Readiness Report detailed key similarities 
and some differences between U.S., European, and Asian V2X 
implementation approaches. There are several organizations in Europe 
and Asia conducting activities related to V2V and V2I communications 
and the U.S. DOT has established ongoing coordination activities with 
these regions and their representing organizations. For Europe, these 
organizations include DG CONNECT and the CAR 2 CAR Communications 
Consortium (C2C-CC). DG CONNECT is the EU directorate responsible for 
conducting research and pilot projects related to connected vehicles 
and C2C-CC has been working closely with CAMP as part of the EU-US V2X 
Harmonization Program.
    A number of commenters to the ANPRM/Readiness Report addressed the 
issue of global harmonization. Most commenters addressing the issue 
encouraged the agency to pursue global harmonization between the U.S., 
EU, and Asia-Pacific regions as a way to reduce costs,\38\ and also to 
facilitate cross-border traffic, as between NAFTA countries.\39\ A 
number of commenters discussed existing or under-development technical 
standards by bodies such as ETSI, ISO, and the EU-US Task Force on ITS, 
and called on NHTSA to support them,\40\ and some commenters suggested 
that NHTSA work to develop a Global Technical Regulation (GTR) and 
facilitate harmonization through that approach.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ Mercedes at 7; Alliance at 50; Automotive Safety Council at 
3; Harley-Davidson at 2; Volvo Group at 3;
    \39\ Alliance at 50; Global at 19-20; Pennsylvania DOT at 7; TRW 
Automotive at 7.
    \40\ Mercedes at 7; Systems Research Associates, Inc., at 10; 
SAE International at 5; Delphi at 10; Continental Automotive Systems 
at 3.
    \41\ Automotive Safety Council at 3; Volvo Group at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With regard to what specifically should be harmonized, commenters 
mentioned hardware,\42\ software,\43\ DVI,\44\ and BSM,\45\ although 
Cohda Automotive argued that global harmonization efforts have 
effectively already resulted in a single hardware platform being 
possible, and that different software could run in each region.\46\ 
Some industry commenters cautioned, however, that NHTSA should not let 
harmonization objectives impede safety.\47\ Mercedes expressed concern 
that harmonization should not just be global, but also consider the 
risk of a patchwork of differing State regulations for advanced 
technologies, and asked that NHTSA work with State DOTs to avoid 
this.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ Mercedes at 7.
    \43\ Mercedes at 7.
    \44\ Automotive Safety Council at 3; TRW Automotive at 7.
    \45\ TRW Automotive at 7.
    \46\ Cohda Wireless at 9.
    \47\ Alliance at 50, Global at 19-20.
    \48\ Mercedes at 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA recognizes the value of implementing V2V in a globally-
harmonized way. Consistency could reduce costs, complexity, and 
contribute to a successful, long-term sustainable deployment. As 
discussed in the V2V Readiness Report, significant V2V research and 
development activities have been completed and continue in both Europe 
and Asia. Real-world deployments have been announced in both regions 
focusing on V2I systems to

[[Page 3874]]

aid drivers and to attempt improvements in traffic flow.
    Collaboration between organizations and governmental bodies in the 
U.S. and Europe has led to extensive harmonization of the criteria for 
hardware, message sets, security, and other aspects needed to support 
V2V between the two regions. It will be possible to use common radios 
and antennas in both regions. Harmonization could potentially be 
enhanced by this proposal by prompting solidification of the work 
focusing on security and message performance requirements for common 
applications. The connected vehicle applications being developed in 
Europe place a much stronger priority on mobility and sustainability 
compared to U.S. focus on safety applications.
    Japan, Korea and Australia are the Asia-Pacific countries most 
involved in pursuing DSRC-based V2X communications. In Japan, MLIT's 
current V2X approach centers on the adaptation of their electronic 
tolling system operating at 5.8 GHz. Additionally, some Japanese OEMs 
(mainly Toyota) are actively supporting the deployment of V2X using 760 
MHz communications. Development of message sets in Japan is not yet 
complete but appears to be moving in a similar direction as the message 
sets harmonized between Europe and the U.S. Korea currently uses the 
5.835-5.855 GHz band for Electronic Toll Collection and DSRC 
experimentation. Korea has performed field tests for V2V communication 
in this band. Industry sources indicate that Korea may shift DSRC for 
ITS to 5.9 GHz to be more aligned internationally.
    In Australia, Austroads is the association of Australian and New 
Zealand road transport and traffic authorities. This organization is 
currently investigating potential interference issues, and working with 
affected license holders to evaluate the feasibility of use of the 5.9 
GHZ spectrum for V2X in Australia. Another agency, Transport 
Certification Australia, is leading the design for security 
requirements, supporting field deployments, and working with the 
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on identifying 
requirements for spectrum usage. Because the Australian vehicle market 
is predominantly comprised of imports from the U.S., Europe, and Asia, 
these Australian agencies have joined in the international 
harmonization efforts to ensure that the vehicle brought into the 
country are interoperable with each other and with the new cooperative 
infrastructure equipment and applications emerging on the market.
    Canada has reserved spectrum at 5.9 GHz for V2X and is watching 
developments in the U.S. closely.
    Harmonization and joint standardization is performed under an 
Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities. This memorandum 
between the U.S. DOT and the European Commission established a 
collaborative relationship in 2009 and it was renewed in December 
2014.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ ``Continuation of the Implementing Arrangement between the 
U.S. Department of Transportation and the European Commission'' 
http://www.its.dot.gov/press/2015/euro_commission.htm#sthash.URMW4OOH.dpuf (last accessed Dec 8, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The harmonization and collaboration on standards is governed by a 
Harmonization Work Plan that has generated a set of smaller, flexible 
task groups to focus on specific subjects. The completed and ongoing 
task groups and their status are the following:
     Harmonization Task Group (HTG) 1 on Security Standards and 
HTG3 on Communications Standards performed their analysis in 2011 with 
completion of results in 2012. HTG1 (which included experts from ISO, 
CEN, ETSI, IEEE) worked in coordination with HTG3 to identify the 
subset of available standards to provide assurance of interoperable 
security measures in a cooperative, interoperable environment. Because 
HTG 1 and HTG 3 issues were sufficiently interrelated and the HTGs had 
a significant overlap in membership, work on these topics was conducted 
jointly. The analysis documented how implementations of the protocol 
stack might not be interoperable because the specification of technical 
features from various Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) was 
different or incomplete. These differences presented interoperability 
challenges. HTG1 and 3 results provide guidance to the SDOs for actions 
to be taken that raise the assurance of security interoperability of 
deployed equipment. Vehicle connectivity through harmonization of 
standards and architecture will reduce costs to industry and consumers, 
in that hardware and/or software development costs will be spread over 
a larger user base, resulting in reduced unit costs. Differences 
between vehicles manufactured for different markets will also be 
minimized, allowing private-sector markets to have a greater set of 
global opportunities. A final outcome of the HTG1 and HTG3 work was 
recognition of the need to harmonize security policies and standards. 
To meet this need, a third HTG (HTG6) was established to explore and 
find consensus on management policies and security approaches for 
cooperative ITS.
     HTG2 on Harmonization of US BSM and EU CAM: The goal of 
HTG2 was to harmonize the vehicle-to-vehicle safety messages that had 
been developed within the EU and separately within the U.S. The group 
was able to harmonize on the hardware issues. However, differing U.S. 
and EU software approaches and institutional issues constrained the 
extent to which a single, cross-region safety message set could be 
developed. While a single message set did not result, the HTG was able 
to evolve the two messages in a manner such that simple software 
translation between the two message sets is sufficient to allow cross-
compatibility. It was a significant step to be able to have the two 
message sets become substantially closer in nature. These advancements 
will facilitate deployment across multiple regions using similar or 
identical hardware and software modules.
     HTG4/5 on Infrastructure Message Standards: HTG 4/5 is 
currently in-progress. Its scope is to address the need for 
standardized Vehicle-to-Infrastructure message sets and interfaces, 
including:
    [cir] Signalized intersections applications such as Signal Phase 
and Timing, Signal Request, Signal Status,
    [cir] In-vehicle data message sets.

    At this point, there is general agreement on the data concepts in 
these message sets, but there remain differences in how the data is 
conveyed between the infrastructure and the vehicles. These differences 
are due to project and communications restrictions. For example, the 
U.S. is planning for additional message sets for enhanced 
functionality; whereas the European approach may limit the initial 
applications and simply add data elements to the messages over time. 
ISO Technical Specification 19091, a standard covering to V2I and I2V 
communications for signalized intersections, is currently under 
development and is incorporating both harmonized content and 
recognizing region-specific content--a practical compromise resulting 
from existing differences in signal standards. Overall, 19091 allows 
for substantial hardware congruity while acknowledging that fully 
identical message standards are not viable at this time.
     HTG6 on Harmonized Development of a Cooperative-ITS 
Security Policy Framework: HTG6 assessed security policy needs across 
international,

[[Page 3875]]

regional, and local levels. Analysis was performed to determine optimal 
candidate guidelines for policy areas. HTG6's intent was to identify 
where harmonization is desirable by exploring the advantages and 
limitations of global versus local security policy alternatives, 
including economic benefits. Implementation of harmonized policies 
engenders and sustains public trust in the C-ITS system and 
applications, particularly with a highly mobile environment that 
expects C-ITS services to remain available as they cross borders as 
well as over time. The task group is identifying the largest set of 
common approaches and interfaces for harmonization, recognizing that 
there will be multiple instantiations of security entities within and 
adjacent to geographic/jurisdictional borders. Although minimizing the 
number significantly decreases cost and complexity, decisions to own 
and operate security occur for diverse reasons, specifically because of 
differing jurisdictional requirements for security levels, privacy, 
cryptographic choices, or trust model choices. The group's analysis 
recognizes the benefits for commonality and identifies those policies 
and harmonized interfaces that support regional implementations that 
might diverge. At the time of developing this proposal, most of the 
reports from this activity are posted.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ ``Harmonized security policies for cooperative Intelligent 
Transport Systems create international benefits'' October 16, 2016. 
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/news/harmonized-security-policies-cooperative-intelligent-transport-systems-create-international (last accessed: Dec 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The SCMS development activity has incorporated key outcomes of this 
activity, some of which include:
     Implementation of harmonized policies engenders and 
sustains public trust in the C-ITS system and applications, 
particularly within a highly mobile environment that expects C-ITS 
services to remain available as networks evolve over time and as 
services cross borders.
     To support cross-border/cross-jurisdictional operations of 
C-ITS applications, individual security systems (known as C-ITS 
Credential Management Systems or CCMS) require a defined range of 
harmonized processes as well as specific, secure data flows to support 
digital auditing and system transparency.
     Planning for inter-CCMS or intra-CCMS communications will 
require decisions when developing near-term operational systems but 
those decisions may have longer-term impacts on crypto-agility, system 
flexibility, and evolution of systems that must be considered from the 
start.
     Critical near-term steps for policy and decision makers to 
perform include:
    [cir] Minimize the number of CCMS: Policy makers must determine the 
number of CCMS that will be operational within a local, regional, or 
national jurisdiction. Increasing the number of CCMS, in particular the 
root authorities, significantly increases complexity and cost.
    [cir] Assess risk and set appropriate parameters for risk and 
privacy: No system will ever be without risk. Policy and decision 
makers must set acceptable levels of internal and external risk, as 
well as levels of privacy protection. Further, systems managers must 
assess these levels continuously throughout the lifecycle both of the 
security solution as well as end-entity (user) devices and 
applications. Risk and privacy levels come with trade-offs that will 
need to be assessed by policy makers.
    [cir] Choose appropriate trust models: After system managers assess 
and categorize risk, they can identify policy and technical controls to 
mitigate risk. Collectively, these controls support the implementation 
of trust models that range from no trust among security entities to 
full trust that allows users (``trusted actors'' that are accepted into 
the C-ITS security environment) to receive security services even after 
leaving their ``native'' system in which they are enrolled. Decisions 
are also required to establish criteria that define who are trusted 
actors and policies and procedures for certification, enrollment, 
removal in the event of misbehavior, and reinstatement.
    [cir] Establish Governance: These decisions include the 
identification and convening of key stakeholders who will require 
representation in ongoing decision-making. Once convened, this group 
will establish processes for decision-making, define criteria for new 
entrants into the governance process, assign roles and 
responsibilities, establish authority to provide governance and 
enforcement, and determine enforcement procedures.
    [cir] Implement harmonized processes: The HTG6 team identified the 
priority areas for harmonization in report HTG6-3 and identified the 
interfaces and data flows where the policies would be applied in HTG6-
4. Policy makers will need to examine them to determine which ones are 
appropriate both to support their choice in trust models and throughout 
the CCMS lifecycle.
    HTG group members comprise a small group of international experts 
who worked together intensively with co-leadership. Members are 
provided by the EC DG-CONNECT and U.S. DOT, and typically chosen from 
among the editors of many of the current cooperative ITS standards in 
the different SDOs providing direct linkages into those SDO activities, 
as well as representatives of the EU and U.S. DOT and the Vehicle 
Infrastructure Integration Consortium (VIIC), and expert 
representatives from roadway and infrastructure agencies, system 
integrators, and policy analysts. HTG6 expanded the membership beyond 
the EC and U.S. DOT to include Transport Certification Australia (TCA) 
plus observers from Canada and Japan.
    As the U.S. is taking the lead in potential V2V deployment, whereas 
Asia and Europe are focusing primarily on V2I implementation, the 
agency expects that a finalized implementation driven by this proposal 
will set precedent and potentially adjust standards for V2V 
implementation globally.

E. V2V ANPRM

    To begin the rulemaking process, NHTSA issued an ANPRM on August 
20, 2014.\51\ Accompanying the ANPRM, NHTSA also published a research 
report discussing the status of V2V technology and its readiness for 
application (``V2V Readiness Report'').\52\ NHTSA's goal in releasing 
these two documents in 2014 was to not only announce the agency's 
intent to move forward with the rulemaking process, but also to 
comprehensively collect all of the available information on V2V and 
present this information to the public to collect comments that would 
further help the agency refine its approach with regard to V2V.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ 79 FR 49270.
    \52\ Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Summary of the ANPRM
    In the ANPRM and the accompanying V2V Readiness Report, we 
emphasized the capability of V2V to be an enabler for many advanced 
vehicle safety applications as well as an additional data stream for 
future automated vehicles.\53\ We also stated our belief that a mandate 
to include DSRC devices in all vehicles would facilitate a market-
driven approach to safety, and possibly other, application 
deployment.\54\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \53\ 79 FR 49270.
    \54\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Current advanced vehicle safety applications (e.g., forward 
collision warning, automated braking, lane keeping, etc.) use on-board 
sensors (e.g., cameras, radars, etc.) to perceive a vehicle's 
surroundings. Because each

[[Page 3876]]

type of sensor has advantages and disadvantages under different 
conditions, manufacturers seeking to incorporate advanced functions in 
their vehicles are increasingly relying on sensor fusion (i.e., merging 
information from different sources) to ensure reliable information is 
available to the vehicle when it makes crash-imminent decisions. When 
compared to on-board sensors, V2V is a complementary, and unique, 
source of information that can significantly enhance the reliability of 
information available to vehicles. Instead of relying on each vehicle 
to sense its surroundings on its own, V2V enables surrounding vehicles 
to help each other by communicating safety information to each other. 
In addition, V2V enables new advanced vehicle safety functionality 
because it enables vehicles to receive information beyond the range of 
``traditional'' sensing technology.
    One important example that we mentioned in the ANPRM is 
intersection crashes.\55\ Because of V2V's ability to provide vehicles 
with information beyond a vehicle's range of perception, V2V is the 
only source of information that supports applications like Intersection 
Movement Assist (IMA) and Left Turn Assist (LTA). These applications 
have the unique ability to address intersection crashes, which are 
among the most deadly crashes that drivers currently face in the 
U.S.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \55\ Id.
    \56\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, in spite of the benefits of the technology, we explained 
in the ANPRM that we did not expect that V2V technology would be 
adopted in the vehicle fleet absent regulatory action by the 
agency.\57\ Due to the cooperative nature of V2V, we stated that early 
adopters of the technology would not realize immediate safety benefits 
until a sufficient number of vehicles in their geographical area have 
the technology.\58\ In other words, early adopters incurring the costs 
to equip their vehicle to transmit BSM information about their vehicle 
would not realize the benefit of the V2V information environment unless 
other vehicles in their surroundings are also transmitting and 
receiving BSM information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ Id.
    \58\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the V2V Readiness Report,\59\ we observed that, based on the 
data collected from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment Project, V2V 
systems work in real world testing. V2V-equipped vehicles successfully 
exchanged BSM information with each other and issued warnings to their 
drivers.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \59\ V2V Readiness Report. Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0001. Page 
xv.
    \60\ Id. at xv.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We further discussed and summarized our preliminary information 
regarding many of the technical aspects of a potential rule including: 
The types of safety problems that could be addressed by V2V,\61\ the 
potential technological solutions to those problems (V2V-based or 
otherwise),\62\ the potential hardware/software component that could be 
used in DSRC devices,\63\ the applications that could be enabled by 
V2V,\64\ and preliminary design concepts for a security system for the 
V2V environment.\65\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \61\ Id. at 15.
    \62\ Id. at 25.
    \63\ Id. at 65.
    \64\ Id. at 119.
    \65\ Id. at 158.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The report also explored various important policy issues including: 
the agency's legal authority over the various aspects of the V2V 
environment (e.g., the vehicle components, aftermarket devices, 
etc.),\66\ issues that may be outside the scope of NHTSA's 
activities,\67\ privacy and public acceptance concerns over V2V 
technology,\68\ and potential legal liability implications.\69\ In 
addition, we began the process of analyzing the costs of a potential 
rule to require V2V capability in vehicles based on different 
technology assumptions and different scenarios for adoption.\70\ While 
we acknowledged that there are a variety of potential benefits of V2V, 
we conducted a preliminary estimate of the benefits attributable to two 
V2V-specific safety applications.\71\ Finally, throughout the V2V 
Readiness Report, we also identified various research and policy gaps 
in each of the substantive areas that we discussed.\72\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \66\ Id. at 33.
    \67\ Id. at xvi.
    \68\ Id. at 133.
    \69\ Id. at 208.
    \70\ Id. at 216.
    \71\ Id. at 259.
    \72\ See e.g., id. at xix.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the context of the V2V Readiness Report, the ANPRM asked 57 
questions to help solicit comments from the public more 
effectively.\73\ While the questions we asked in the ANPRM covered a 
variety of subjects, many of our questions covered issues relating to 
estimating costs and benefits.\74\ For example, we asked the public 
about potential ways to obtain real-world test data concerning the 
effectiveness of V2V safety applications and whether we have identified 
the relevant potential crash scenarios for calculating benefits.\75\ On 
the same subject, we asked if preferring certain technologies over 
others in the situation of a network good \76\ such as V2V would lead 
to any detrimental impact.\77\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \73\ 79 FR 49270, 49271.
    \74\ Id. See also id. at 49273-24.
    \75\ Id. at 49271.
    \76\ A network good's value to each user increases when the 
number of users of that good increase (e.g., telephone). In other 
words, increasing the number of users creates a positive 
externality.
    \77\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ANPRM questions also covered policy issues such as legal 
interpretation of NHTSA's authorities under the Motor Vehicle Safety 
Act,\78\ and how commenters view the public's potential acceptance/non-
acceptance of V2V technology.\79\ The ANPRM also posed technical 
questions such as, how can the agency mandate V2V can help ensure 
interoperability, whether the Safety Pilot Model Deployment 
sufficiently demonstrated interoperability, and whether standards under 
development by organizations such as IEEE and SAE could help ensure 
interoperability.\80\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ Id.
    \79\ Id. at 49273.
    \80\ Id. at 49272.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We raised important questions regarding the potential sharing of 
the DSRC spectrum allocation by soliciting comments on potential 
sharing and, if so, ideas on how to share the spectrum safely.\81\ In 
addition, we requested comment on the usefulness of our concepts for a 
potential security design (i.e., PKI)--including specific elements like 
the certificate revocation list (CRL), whether the system would create 
new ``threat vectors,'' sufficiently protect privacy, how DSRC devices 
could be updated, and potential cybersecurity threats.\82\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \81\ Id.
    \82\ Id. at 49273.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Comments to the ANPRM
    In response to the ANPRM, the V2V Readiness Report, and our 
questions, we received more than 900 comments.\83\ The agency received 
responses to the ANPRM from a diverse set of commenters representing a 
wider range of perspectives than with other agency safety rules. They 
range from more traditional commenters to NHTSA safety rulemakings 
(e.g., automobile manufacturers/suppliers, trade associations, 
standards development organizations, safety advocacy groups, individual 
citizens, etc.) to newer participants in such rulemakings such as 
technology/communications companies, other state/federal agencies, and 
privacy groups. The comments also

[[Page 3877]]

covered a wide variety of topics ranging from the technical details of 
V2V technology to the policy implications of any potential rule. While 
this document discusses the relevant comments in much greater detail 
when discussing each aspect of the proposal (in the sections that 
follow), the paragraphs here contain a sampling of the types of 
commenters and the major issues they raised.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \83\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While expressing general support, the automotive manufacturers 
stated their belief that the Federal government needs to assume a large 
role in establishing key elements of the V2V environment (e.g., 
establishing common operating criteria for V2V devices, establishing a 
security credentials system, preserving the 5.9 GHz spectrum for V2V 
safety, and mandating devices in new vehicles).\84\ The automotive 
manufacturer commenters discussed their legal concerns (including 
concerns over practicability of an FMVSS if certain aspects of the V2V 
environment are missing and potential legal liability for 
manufacturers).\85\ While generally agreeing with our assessment 
regarding the readiness of some of the industry technical standards to 
ensure that V2V communications work, the automotive manufacturer 
commenters also emphasized the importance of privacy and public 
acceptance to the success of the technology.\86\ In spite of some of 
these open policy and technical questions, many automotive manufacturer 
commenters also agreed that a regulation or requirement defining key 
items needed for interoperability is necessary to realize the full 
potential benefits of V2V.\87\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \84\ See e.g., Comments from the Alliance of Automobile 
Manufacturers, Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0603.
    \85\ See id.
    \86\ See id.
    \87\ See e.g., Comments from Ford Motor Company, Docket No. 
NHTSA-2014-0022-0953.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Automotive suppliers generally expressed support for the technology 
as well. They further generally opined that the technology and 
standards for the technology are mature enough for initial deployment. 
For example, DENSO \88\ stated that DSRC is a suitable technology for 
implementing V2V safety applications and that the current BSM is 
adequate to support those purposes. Continental further commented that 
V2V demonstrations thus far show that the system works and is 
interoperable.\89\ Raising different points, Delphi commented that the 
coverage of a potential V2V rule should include more than just the 
vehicles contemplated in the ANPRM and that the technology should be 
developed in conjunction with the vehicle-resident systems.\90\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \88\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0655.
    \89\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0414.
    \90\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0266.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Safety advocacy groups also expressed support, but emphasized the 
importance of ensuring interference-free spectrum for V2V. For example, 
the American Motorcyclist Association stressed the need for 
interference-free spectrum to ensure the safety applications will 
function. V2V, in their view, has the unique capability to address 
crashes that represent a significant portion of motorcycle crashes 
(e.g., left turn across path crashes).\91\ They also emphasized the 
importance of a uniform human-machine interface for safety applications 
(regardless of whether the applications use V2V or vehicle-resident 
based information).\92\ Other safety advocacy groups (e.g., the 
Automotive Safety Council) covered a large variety of topics (e.g., 
emphasizing the importance of interoperability, the ability of V2V to 
work in conjunction with vehicle-resident systems, and expressing 
concern that the security system described in the report would not 
sufficiently protect against all forms of ``abuse'' of the V2V 
environment).\93\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \91\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0646.
    \92\ Consumers Union discussed the HMI and how warnings need to 
be effectively communicated to the driver. See Docket No. NHTSA-
2014-0022-0533.
    \93\ See e.g., Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0511.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Two standards development organizations also submitted comments. 
The two organizations (SAE and IEEE) were involved in developing 
various standards incorporated in this proposed rule. Both generally 
expressed support for the agency's proposal and stated that--in spite 
of on-going research--the standards are mature enough to support 
deployment of DSRC devices and ensure that they are interoperable.\94\ 
Where the standards organizations differed was their opinion concerning 
spectrum availability. SAE reiterated its concern that ``interference-
free spectrum'' is critical for the V2V environment.\95\ While IEEE 
suggested that spectrum sharing is feasible, they opined that DSRC 
deployment should not wait for further research on spectrum 
sharing.\96\ Instead ``acceptable sharing parameters'' may be 
determined at a later date after DSRC deployment and further 
research.\97\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \94\ See e.g., Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0597.
    \95\ See id.
    \96\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0693.
    \97\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While expressing general support for the technology and NHTSA's 
efforts in this area, technology/communications device manufacturers 
expressed two general concerns. Through their trade associations,\98\ 
such manufacturers raised questions about NHTSA's authority to regulate 
software and mobile devices.\99\ In addition, individual companies 
(e.g., Qualcomm \100\) and other associations (e.g., the Wi-Fi Alliance 
\101\) expressed their opinion regarding the viability of spectrum 
sharing with unlicensed Wi-Fi devices and the ability of V2V to 
flourish alongside other technologies that will benefit automotive and 
highway safety. Finally, the Information Technology Industry Council 
stated its belief that NHTSA needs to ensure that connected vehicle 
technologies are allowed to develop using different technological 
solutions (e.g., other communications mediums beyond DSRC).\102\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \98\ CTIA--The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics 
Association.
    \99\ See e.g., Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0483.
    \100\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0665.
    \101\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0644.
    \102\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0403.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other government agencies also submitted comments. The NTSB 
commented that both V2V and vehicle-resident crash avoidance 
technologies are important and they are complementary--especially when 
one (vehicle-resident) fills the gap during the deployment of the other 
(V2V).\103\ State agencies also commented.\104\ AASHTO also mentioned 
that interference-free spectrum is critical and commented that 
supporting future upgrades to the system through software rather than 
hardware changes would be important for state agencies.\105\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \103\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0267.
    \104\ State DOTs from also stress the need to have uniform HMI--
serving a purpose similar to the MUTCD for traffic signs and 
signals. They also commented that other vehicle types that could 
benefit from V2V (e.g., vehicles with GVWR greater than 10,000) and 
mentioned the potential of other V2X applications (e.g., vehicle to 
rail, agricultural equipment, horse-drawn vehicles). Further they 
opine that mandate is needed to deploy quickly. See e.g., Comment 
from PennDOT, Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0371; TxDOT, Docket No. 
NHTSA-2014-0022-0218; Wisconsin DOT, Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-
0507.
    \105\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0420.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A significant number of commenters also raised privacy concerns 
with this rulemaking. In addition to a large number of individual 
commenters, organizations such as EPIC stated that, since a potential 
rule would create significant privacy risks, they recommend that the 
government take various actions to protect the information (e.g., 
establish when PII can be collected, when/where information can be 
stored, additional encryption

[[Page 3878]]

methods, and require adherence to Consumer Privacy Bill of 
Rights).\106\ In addition, Professor Dorothy Glancy expressed concern 
that NHTSA plans to conduct its privacy analysis after the ANPRM stage 
of the rulemaking process and is concerned that not all potential data 
collection is accurately portrayed in the ANPRM.\107\ On the other 
hand, while the FTC agreed that privacy concerns could exist in the V2V 
environment related to (1) obtaining the vehicle location information 
and (2) pricing insurance premiums over the driving habits, it believes 
NHTSA has taken these concerns into account.\108\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \106\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0689.
    \107\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0331.
    \108\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0502.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, many individual citizen commenters (in addition to the 
topics covered above) discussed their perception that this rulemaking 
proposes to mandate a technology that poses a potential health concern. 
The EMR Policy Institute \109\ expressed similar concerns stating that 
NHTSA should postpone this rulemaking until the FCC changes their 
guidelines regarding human radiation exposure to wireless 
communications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \109\ See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022-0682.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. SCMS RFI

    Approximately 30 days after issuing the agency's Advance Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) \110\ and V2V Readiness Report, NHTSA 
released a Request for Information (RFI) \111\ regarding a Security 
Credential Management System (SCMS) that could support a national 
deployment of a V2V communication system. NHTSA was interested in 
hearing from entities interested in establishing components of an SCMS 
or the SCMS, itself. The RFI was issued separately from the ANPRM and 
V2V Readiness Report to give potential respondents additional time to 
review the more-detailed V2V Readiness Report content on the SCMS, 
allowing time for respondents to formulate informed responses to the 
Agency's questions about how an SCMS should be designed and whether 
they would be interested in developing or operating components or the 
SCMS, as a whole. As discussed in the ANPRM and V2V Readiness Report, 
we explained that NHTSA would not require the SCMS by regulation and 
did not expect to establish, fund or operate the SCMS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \110\ 79 FR 49270 (Aug. 20, 2014).
    \111\ 79 FR 61927 (Oct. 15, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Questions in the RFI covered topics such as potential governance 
structures for the SCMS, requests for estimates of necessary initial 
capital investment, how respondents believed the SCMS (or the 
components that they were interested in operating) could generate 
revenue and be financially sustainable (in order to ensure its 
uninterrupted operation), what respondents thought of the current SCMS 
design and, finally, the respondent's interest in standing up and 
operating some or all of the components of the national V2V SCMS.
    NHTSA received 21 responses by the December 15, 2014 response 
closing date, and approximately 11 respondents indicated an interest in 
running some or all components of the SCMS. The remaining responses 
commented more generally on issues of potential governance and 
liability with two common themes: (1) That the Federal Government 
should take the lead in standing up and operating the SCMS; and (2) 
that the Federal Government should indemnify companies participating in 
the SCMS from liability.
    The RFI respondents included vehicle manufacturers, software 
component developers and suppliers, cryptography experts, certificate 
management entities, satellite and cellular service providers and 
academia. Because the process of deploying cooperative V2V technology 
and supporting establishment of an SCMS both are unprecedented 
activities, the agency believed it was appropriate to meet with the 
subset of eleven respondents who expressed interest in operating 
aspects of the SCMS or the SCMS as a whole. These meetings ensured that 
the agency and the individual respondents shared a mutual understanding 
of each respondent's comments, their potential role in an SCMS, and the 
agency's views on the ways in which an SCMS could be established and 
deployed.
    Meeting discussions covered a wide range of topics--including 
details of cryptography intricacies, certificate distribution 
methodologies, root storage and protection, to potential overall SCMS 
management. NHTSA found these meetings to be very beneficial in terms 
of introducing the agency to some new potential stakeholders and 
service providers different than the vehicle OEMs and suppliers with 
whom NHTSA typically. The diversity of RFI respondents exemplified the 
multi-stakeholder and cross-cutting nature of the V2V ecosystem.
    Additional details on the SCMS RFI responses can be found in 
Section V.B.4.

III. Proposal To Regulate V2V Communications

A. V2V Communications Proposal Overview

    The agency believes that it will not be possible to begin to 
address the 3.4 million crashes identified in Section II.A, especially 
the intersection crashes and left-turning crashes, given today's 
vehicle-resident technology offerings. As described earlier, the 
limitations of current sensor-based safety systems, in terms of 
direction and distance, likely will not be able to address intersection 
and left-turning crashes, among other potential crash scenarios, as 
effectively as V2V communications could.
    The agency's proposal to regulate V2V technology is broken into 
distinct functional components, some of which have alternatives that 
could potentially be employed ``in-conjunction-with'' or ``in-place-
of'' the agency's proposal. The distinct functional components are: The 
actual communications technology itself (Section III.E), proposed 
messaging format and content requirements (Section III.E.2), 
authenticating V2V messages (Section III.E.3), V2V device misbehavior 
detection and reporting (Section III.E.4), malfunction indication 
requirements (Section III.E.5), software and certificate updating 
requirements (Section III.E.6), and proposed cybersecurity related 
requirements (Section III.E.7).

B. Proposed V2V Mandate for New Light Vehicles, and Performance 
Requirements for Aftermarket for Existing Vehicles

    NHTSA's proposal would require that new light vehicles include 
vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology able to transmit 
standardized BSMs over DSRC as described in Section III.E below, 
beginning two years after issuance of a final rule and phasing in over 
the following three years at rates of 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 
percent, respectively. ``Light vehicles,'' in the context of this 
rulemaking, refers to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, 
trucks, and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds 
(4,536 kilograms) or less.\112\ The agency

[[Page 3879]]

believes that this amount of lead time and phase-in is needed based on 
the potential for device supply constraints to generate production-
level quantities of devices required by automotive OEMs to meet the 
standard \113\ and to allow flexibility for vehicle refresh and re-
design cycles. The proposal also allows vehicles to comply using non-
DSRC technologies that meet certain performance and interoperability 
standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \112\ ``Passenger cars,'' ``multipurpose passenger vehicles,'' 
``trucks,'' and ``buses'' are defined in 49 CFR 571.3. Some 
commenters suggested that the agency's proposal also cover vehicles 
like motorcycles and horse-drawn buggies (Wisconsin DOT), or heavy 
vehicles (Bendix, among others). Both motorcycles and HVs were 
included in the Safety Pilot Model Deployment, but in very small 
numbers, and the agency believes that more research is needed than 
what is available at the time of this NPRM before we are ready to 
propose requirements for those vehicles. The agency will be making a 
decision on how to proceed with V2V capability for HVs at a later 
date. For buggies, these would not be considered motor vehicles, but 
we are optimistic that V2X capability may eventually be available 
for them.
    \113\ Impact of Light Vehicle Rule on Consumer/Aftermarket 
Adoption--Dedicated Short Range Communications Market Study, 
Intelligent Transportation Society of America, FHWA-JPO-17-487, 
available at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60500/60535/FHWA-JPO-17-487_Final_.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to requiring new light vehicles to be able to transmit 
and receive BSMs over DSRC, the proposal would also require that 
similarly-capable aftermarket devices achieve the same DSRC 
performance.
    Besides being the first FMVSS to involve vehicles relying on 
information transmitted by other vehicles, this FMVSS would also be the 
first to incorporate elements of secure wireless communication 
protection directly into the performance requirements.\114\ New motor 
vehicles are increasingly computerized, and given the importance of 
ensuring the availability and integrity of safety-critical systems, we 
considered which requirements could best be incorporated into an FMVSS 
and which should be part of the V2V security system instead. V2V 
security requirements are discussed in Section III.E.3 and Section 
III.E.7, along with a discussion of privacy and security in Section IV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \114\ To be clear, the related performance requirements for V2V 
communication security will incorporate protections to ensure a 
secure vehicle communication that are distinct from other types of 
communications with the vehicle for other data transfers and 
interconnectivity. The performance requirements for V2V security 
communications do not and are not intended to provide comprehensive 
protection for other vehicle wireless communications or internal 
vehicle connectivity for operational functionality. That 
responsibility continues to belong to manufacturers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency has put forth this proposed rule on the basis that a 
fully-implemented V2V system, as currently envisioned, is a compilation 
of many elements that provide a data-rich technology platform that 
ensures secure and interoperable communications enabling safety 
warnings and advisories for drivers. As described in the V2V Readiness 
Report, V2V devices send out BSMs to alert other vehicles to their 
presence, and receive BSMs from other vehicles in order to determine 
whether to warn their drivers of an imminent crash situation. BSMs must 
be accompanied by message authentication capabilities so that the 
receiving V2V communication will allow suppliers and vehicle 
manufacturers to innovate and spur the market for applications that 
will provide consumers increased safety.
    The agency believes that a mandate for all light vehicles is 
necessary to achieve the safety goals of this proposal. The two vital 
pieces in order to achieve these crash avoidance benefits are (1) 
ensuring interoperable V2V communications, and (2) achieving a critical 
mass of communicating vehicles in the American fleet. NHTSA believes 
that this proposal is the only way to achieve these two pieces because 
of the lagging adoption of advanced safety technologies in the 
marketplace. As evidenced by the slow voluntary deployment of vehicle 
sensor-based advanced driving assistance systems, the agency believes 
that it will be even more difficult to achieve a critical V2V 
implementation level without a mandate due to the cooperative nature of 
the V2V system. If it cannot reach a critical deployment level within a 
certain timeframe, the safety benefits of V2V would drop dramatically, 
and manufacturers would have much less incentive to develop the safety 
applications (despite their relatively low costs) because they would 
not have a reason to make the initial investment to install the V2V 
communications equipment. This represents a classic ``collective 
action'' problem, of the sort that government regulation is designed to 
address. We do not believe that critical mass can be achieved, allowing 
the life-saving benefits of V2V to come to fruition, in the absence of 
a government mandate. We seek comment on these tentative conclusions.
    NHTSA received a number of comments to the ANPRM and the V2V 
Readiness Report suggesting that V2V communication technology could be 
better encouraged through what the agency refers to as an ``if-
equipped'' standard rather than a mandate for all new light vehicles--
i.e., that NHTSA should simply set a standard saying ``if a new vehicle 
is equipped with devices capable of V2V communications, then it should 
meet the following requirements.'' While both options are within the 
agency's regulatory authority, we continue to believe that requiring 
V2V communication technology for new light vehicles will be the 
quickest and most effective way to achieve fleet-wide V2V communication 
technology deployment and ensure the full safety potential of this 
technology is realized.
    Allowing manufacturers to choose whether to apply V2V technology in 
new vehicles could have two main risks in terms of holding back 
potential safety benefits. First, it is uncertain how manufacturers 
would voluntarily deploy V2V capability. Manufacturers typically have 
implemented new vehicle-resident technologies in their more expensive 
vehicles first. If manufacturers take this approach for V2V, NHTSA 
believes that a segmented approach to implementation of V2V technology 
will not be enough to quickly precipitate the data-rich environment 
needed to support development of manufacturer-supplied safety 
applications, or to support the needed establishment of a V2V 
communications security system. Leaving the pace of that development to 
the market will, we believe, delay the life-saving benefits of those 
safety applications because the effectiveness of applications depends 
on receiving messages from all other vehicles. Second, if fewer 
vehicles are equipped with V2V, there may be less incentive for 
industry to develop a sufficient security system, which will feed into 
concerns from consumers regarding perceived potential privacy and 
cybersecurity issues. Taken together, the delayed effectiveness of the 
safety applications plus potentially increased concerns about security 
may lead manufacturers not to include V2V capability in a significant 
amount of vehicles at all. For these reasons, NHTSA proposes to require 
new light vehicles to be V2V-capable.
    NHTSA and, we believe other stakeholders, will be working to 
educate consumers about V2V, and will ensure that the V2V system is 
designed to minimize security risks and protect privacy appropriately. 
We believe consumer education will alleviate fear of the unknown as V2V 
enters the vehicle fleet. Findings from our consumer research between 
the ANPRM and this NPRM are discussed below in Section IV, and NHTSA 
will be considering these issues carefully as we move forward.
    While we are proposing a V2V communications mandate, we also seek 
further comment on the costs and benefits of an ``if-equipped'' option, 
particularly considering the substantial monetary and potential social 
costs of a mandate. Do commenters believe an if-equipped option would 
be a preferable approach, and if so, why? What costs and/or benefits 
should we consider relative to an if-equipped approach, and how do 
those costs and benefits compare to our analysis of the costs and

[[Page 3880]]

benefits of a mandate? For instance, we seek additional comment on how 
an if-equipped option may potentially delay or lead to uncertainty in 
V2V technology development.
    In addition, what benefits may accrue from a more gradual, market-
based approach to a technology that has never before been widely 
deployed? What affect would such an approach have on the ability to 
iterate and test potential V2V technology solutions, including issues 
related to costs, reliability, security, and deployment? How would an 
if-equipped approach affect consumer choice and privacy protections? We 
also seek examples and information related to the success and failure 
of other network-reliant technologies, including those that evolved in 
the absence of a government mandate and those that were mandated and 
whether the example is applicable or not to a safety sensitive 
function.

C. V2V Communication Devices That Would Be Subject to FMVSS No. 150

1. Original Equipment (OE) Devices on New Motor Vehicles
    NHTSA's research thus far indicates that V2V communications 
technology is feasible for new light vehicles. The Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment demonstrated that interoperability is possible and directly 
informed the requirements in this proposed FMVSS and also in SAE 
standards such as J2735 and J2945. The agency is confident that V2V 
devices integrated into light vehicles consistent with these 
requirements will provide the technical foundation for national 
deployment of DSRC-based crash avoidance capability.
2. Aftermarket Devices
    Many consumers may not be ready to purchase a new vehicle, but may 
be interested in having V2V capabilities in their current vehicles. 
NHTSA believes that it is likely that aftermarket products may be 
developed in response to consumer interest in V2V, and we strongly 
support the innovation and accessibility that aftermarket devices could 
foster, all potentially leading to expanded and earlier benefits from 
V2V communication technology. As the name suggests, ``aftermarket'' 
refers to products that the vehicle owner purchases and adds to his or 
her vehicle after the vehicle's manufacture. Aftermarket products are 
distinguished from ``original equipment,'' which is installed on the 
vehicle during its manufacture, prior to initial purchase. Allowing 
aftermarket products to participate in the V2V system will enable the 
technology to spread faster than if introduced through new vehicles 
only--thus accelerating safety benefits.
    As part of setting standards for aftermarket V2V devices, however, 
NHTSA recognizes that some aftermarket products may not be able to 
populate optional BSM data elements if they do not have access to the 
CAN bus. Aftermarket devices will therefore need to use other methods 
to populate elements needed to calculate vehicle position in order to 
support crash avoidance warnings. Some data elements, such as turn 
signal indication, will not be able to be derived from other methods. 
As a result, the inability of some aftermarket devices to populate 
certain optional BSM data elements may impact the fidelity (ability to 
balance the level of false positive warnings) of safety applications 
that the aftermarket device supports. In the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment, there were three separate types of ``aftermarket'' 
devices--some that were fully integrated into the vehicle just like 
original equipment; some that were connected to the vehicle for power, 
but did not have access to the vehicle's data bus; and some that also 
only connected for power, and could only transmit BSMs but could not 
receive them and could not deliver crash avoidance warnings. Based on 
the information we currently have before us, we think it is reasonable 
to assume that these three types of aftermarket devices could be 
available in the rulemaking timeframe.
    For example, OEMs may choose to offer their own aftermarket V2V 
devices that can be retrofitted onto earlier vehicle models (retrofit 
means the devices can interface with the vehicle data bus), made by 
that OEM, at one of their retailers. For another example, V2V devices, 
which are not unlike today's dedicated aftermarket navigation systems 
(e.g., a Garmin or TomTom), could potentially be developed for drivers 
to purchase and have installed. The agency also foresees the potential 
for some form of a multi-use device containing a V2V-related 
application (``app'') that could be brought into a vehicle (``carry-
in'') by a driver. A carry-in device could have the capacity to simply 
send a BSM without providing any warnings to the driver or potentially 
provide more capabilities in a potential V2V, or V2I, system. Moreover, 
in the future, there could be yet other types of aftermarket devices 
that have V2V capabilities not yet envisioned by NHTSA.
    NHTSA does not wish to limit the development of different types of 
aftermarket devices, but we do seek to ensure that all devices 
participating in the system perform at a minimum or better performance 
level for V2V communication. This is important because, in order to 
ensure safe and secure crash avoidance benefits, all BSMs transmitted 
need to perform at a minimum performance level such that safety 
applications can identify imminent crash situations and issue warnings 
to the driver to avoid a crash. Therefore, the minimum performance 
requirements need to be the same for all devices with provisions that 
accommodates the optional data elements that can be used to perform 
better than the minimum.
    The proposed requirements for any V2V devices recognize that, as 
DOT discovered in the Safety Pilot Model Deployment, installation can 
significantly impact how devices perform. The agency believes there is 
high probability that a certified device installer could complete the 
installation for aftermarket safety devices. It is imperative that all 
V2V components be properly installed to ensure that an aftermarket 
device functions as intended. Whereas some vehicle owners may choose to 
replace their own brakes or install other components on their vehicles 
themselves, installation requirements for aftermarket V2V devices may 
not be conducive to a do-it-yourself approach. Improper installation of 
a GPS antenna has the potential to affect the proper population of BSM 
data elements. Faulty position data from a transmitting vehicle can 
result in false warnings, improperly timed warnings, etc. Moreover, an 
improperly installed aftermarket device may put all other V2V-equipped 
vehicles it encounters at risk until the given vehicle stops 
communicating, or until its messages are rejected for misbehavior.
    The agency seeks comment on the potential need for certification of 
aftermarket V2V device installations. If so, please provide any 
potential recommendations of appropriate retail outlets, the 
certification mechanisms, and authorizers (vehicle manufacturers, 
device manufacturers, device retailers, others) that should be 
employed. Conversely, do commenters believe that future available 
technology may allow consumers to self-install V2V devices such as web-
based tools, or other potential methods, that could verify accuracy of 
an installation? Research supporting this possibility would be very 
helpful.

[[Page 3881]]

D. Potential Future Actions

1. Potential Future Safety Application Mandate
    NHTSA has concluded that V2V communication technology combined with 
V2V-based safety applications can provide significant safety benefits 
and potentially help drivers avoid thousands of crashes per year. We 
believe that by leading with a mandate for V2V communication 
technology, NHTSA will be able to foster industry development and 
deployment of new, beneficial safety applications. As previously 
discussed in the V2V Readiness Report and in the above discussion 
concerning the safety need, there are a number of these applications 
that the agency believes could be ready to be deployed soon after a V2V 
mandate is in effect. In particular, the agency has highlighted two 
specific applications, IMA and LTA.
    The agency focused on these potential safety applications because 
prototypes of these applications were used during Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment, because we have sufficient data, and because they can be 
effectively enabled only by V2V. IMA warns drivers of vehicles 
approaching from a lateral direction at an intersection, while LTA 
warns drivers of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction when 
attempting a left turn at an intersection.
    As discussed in the V2V Readiness Report, the agency has and will 
continue to investigate other potential V2V safety applications that 
could be enabled by V2V communications.\115\ Depending on the market 
penetration of applications in response to this proposed mandate of the 
foundational V2V capability, the agency may later decide to mandate 
some or all of the potential applications discussed in the Readiness 
Report, and perhaps future applications yet to be developed. If 
mandated in the future, applications would likely be incorporated into 
NHTSA's regulations as FMVSSs, and in the interests of clarity, each 
application mandate would likely be contained in its own FMVSS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \115\ Six potential applications were mentioned in particular: 
IMA, FCW, DNPW, EEBL, BSW/LCW, and LTA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At this time, though, the agency does not have sufficient 
information to include with this NPRM proposed test procedures or 
performance standards for LTA and IMA or any other safety applications. 
To that end, we request comment on any additional information or 
research on IMA, LTA and any other applications that could inform and 
support an agency decision regarding whether to mandate safety 
applications with or shortly after a final rule requiring DSRC.
2. Continued Technology Monitoring
    NHTSA's proposal to mandate V2V communications capability for new 
light vehicles is based upon the best currently-available scientific 
data and information. Consistent with its obligations under Executive 
Order (E.O.) 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review (Jan. 
18, 2011), and E.O. 13610 on the retrospective review of regulations, 
NHTSA will review relevant new evidence and may propose revisions to a 
subsequent proposed or final rule as necessary and appropriate to 
reflect the current state of the evidence to provide an effective 
regulatory program. In obtaining that new evidence, NHTSA may consider 
collections of information that may trigger the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, and would notify the public of these collections through the 
separate Federal Register Notices required under that Act. NHTSA may 
also identify and pursue additional issues for new research or conduct 
further research with regards to existing issues addressed in this 
proposed rule. Such modifications may be necessary in the future to 
accommodate new systems and technology designs, and the agency would 
consider these modifications in consultation with the public through 
the notice and comment rulemaking process. We acknowledge that the 
research relevant for evaluating a new technology would vary depending 
on the type of technology considered.

E. Performance Criteria for Wireless V2V Communication

    In order to ensure that vehicles broadcast basic safety messages to 
support potential safety applications, the agency is proposing 
performance requirements for DSRC-based V2V communications. As part of 
this, the agency is also requesting comment on alternative 
interoperable technology provisions that would allow other technologies 
to satisfy the mandate, as long as they meet performance and 
interoperability requirements, which are based on the capabilities of 
today's DSRC-based V2V communications.
    The agency is proposing to require that V2V devices be capable of 
broadcasting V2V messages in an interoperable manner, i.e., that 
devices can both transmit and receive BSMs using V2V communications 
from all other vehicles equipped with a V2V communications technology. 
We believe that the requirements described below will ensure 
interoperability. We aim to ensure a uniform method for sending basic 
safety information about the vehicle. In this way, any vehicle seeking 
to utilize the V2V information environment to deliver safety benefits 
would have a known and uniform method for doing so.
    In order to create this uniform method, an FMVSS would need to 
contain requirements in a few areas. First, it would need to establish 
the content of the information to be sent to the surrounding vehicles 
(by not only specifying the type of information to send, but also the 
measuring unit for each information element and the level of precision 
needed). Second, the FMVSS would need to specify requirements for the 
wireless transmission of the content (i.e., how far, how often, etc.). 
Third, we may need to specify a standard approach to authenticate V2V 
messages that are received to improve confidence in message contents.
    In addition to those three points, the FMVSS would also need to 
specify other aspects of performance for a V2V-communications system in 
order to support full-scale deployment and enable full functionality 
including security. The agency recognizes that some capabilities are 
not necessarily needed to support operations during the first few years 
of deployment, but would be required as the V2V vehicle fleet grows.
    First, the devices regardless of the communication technology used 
would need a uniform method for dealing with possible occurrences of 
high volumes of messages (e.g.., potentially reducing the frequency or 
range of messages in high congestion situations. Second, to help 
identify and reduce the occurance of misconfigured or malicious devices 
transmitting BSM messages, the FMVSS may need to specify methods for 
identifying misbehaving devices. Finally, to support the above 
functions, vehicles in the V2V environment may need a methods for 
communicating with security infrastructure such as a SCMS (e.g., in 
order to obtain new security certificates or report misbehaving 
devices, and receive information about misbehaving devices).
    In short, an FMVSS would explain: (1) What information needs to be 
sent to the surrounding vehicles; (2) how the vehicle needs to send 
that information; (3) how a vehicle validates and assigns confidence in 
the information; and (4) how a vehicle makes sure the prior three 
functions work in various operational conditions (i.e., broadcast under 
congested conditions, manage misbehavior, and update security 
materials). A variety of voluntary

[[Page 3882]]

standards cover many of these aspects of performance. Our proposal 
below draws from these voluntary standards but also explains why a 
particular threshold or requirements from a voluntary standard is 
appropriate. Finally, we are proposing a test method for evaluating 
many of these aspects of performance. Having a clear test method helps 
inform the public as to how the agency would evaluate compliance with 
any final FMVSS.
    Finally, we acknowledge that research is ongoing in a few of the 
areas we discuss in this section. While research continues in these 
areas, we have described for the public the potential requirements that 
we are considering, and the potential test methods for evaluating 
compliance with those requirements. We believe that the public comments 
that we will receive in response (coupled with the agency's ongoing 
research) will produce a robust record upon which the agency can make a 
final decision.
1. Proposed Transmission Requirements
    Our purpose for proposing a standardized set of transmission 
requirements is in line with our vision for V2V as an information 
environment that safety applications can use. By creating a 
standardized method for transmitting the basic safety message, we are 
creating the information environment with one clear method for 
accessing it. Our current belief is that anyone who wants to implement 
safety applications should know how their system can obtain the V2V 
information as an input for their application.
    In order to have a standardized method for transmitting the basic 
safety message we believe that a few aspects of performance need 
requirements. We tentatively believe that all devices should be 
required to transmit:
     With a sufficient power/range to guarantee reaching other 
DSRC devices, within a minimum radius, that would allow use of the 
basic safety message information reliably;
     on the same channel, and support using the same data 
rate(s); and
     at the times required for each data element so that people 
who have applications know when it will have information.
(a) DSRC Transmission Range and Reliability
    In order to ensure that surrounding vehicles within a certain range 
of each vehicle transmitting basic safety messages can reliability 
receive the messages, The proposal includes requirements for the 
transmission range of the messages. While the research to date has 
included various specifications for the antenna (e.g., power, 
polarization, location on the vehicle, etc.), we tentatively believe it 
more appropriate to measure the ability of the vehicle to transmit the 
packet to a specified device at a specified distance. In other words 
this transmission range and reliability requirement employs a more 
performance-oriented approach where our FMVSS would not specify 
requirements for the antenna itself.
    By specifying the requirements in this fashion, we not only set 
requirements that can more closely follow real-world conditions, but 
also leave aspects of design open to manufacturer choice (e.g., antenna 
location on the vehicle). Our method here would simply seek to ensure 
that the transmission of the basic safety message travels the required 
distance and is readable by another DSRC device at that range 
(regardless of how the antenna is configured). Thus, we seek comment on 
our proposal. We currently believe that specifying the following three 
areas would be appropriate:
     The three-dimensional (latitudinal, longitudinal and 
elevation) minimum range that the basic safety message transmission 
would need to reach;
     a test device (and its specifications, e.g., its receive 
sensitivity) for testing the range and the locations to measure 
reception of the basic safety message; and
     the reliability of the reception of the basic safety 
message (i.e., how often is the message dropped) based on packet error 
rate (PER).
    In addition, our current belief is that the agency would not need 
to establish specifications for the transmitting device itself. In 
other words, we request comment on our current belief that the 
following design-level requirements would not be necessary for an 
FMVSS:
     Transmission power;
     antenna polarization; and
     antenna placement.
(1) Range
    A basic safety message needs to travel far enough to support 
potential safety applications that we anticipate would take advantage 
of the information available through DSRC communications. Aside from 
the basic ``open air'' communication scenarios, it is important to also 
consider whether devices will be able to communicate with others that 
are on the same road but, perhaps, not at the same elevation or 
approach angles (i.e., the road elevation may change).
(a) Longitudinal/Lateral Range
    Our strategy we considered regarding what minimum range requirement 
we should include for transmitting the basic safety message was to 
balance:
     The information needs for potential safety applications; 
and
     technical capabilities demonstrated.
    In terms of information needs for the safety applications, our 
research to date used a minimum 300 m transmission range--while 
recognizing this range would diminish in urban and non ``open air'' 
environments. The applications tested in the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment assumed vehicles were transmitting basic safety messages at 
the 300 m range. In particular, we believe that DNPW requires the 
longest communication range for effective operation because it 
addresses a crash scenario where two vehicles approach each other head-
on. Using the target range of 300 m, two vehicles approaching at 60 mph 
would be afforded approximately 5.6 seconds for the DNPW application to 
detect the crash scenario and issue a warning. Based on this 
information, our current belief is that 300 m will serve the needs of 
the anticipated safety applications.
    Based on the existing research, our proposal is to adopt 300 m as 
the minimum transmission range. We believe that this supports the needs 
of anticipated safety applications and can be operationally met given 
current technological capabilities; as demonstrated in Safety Pilot 
Model Deployment. Currently, we also do not anticipate any safety 
application requiring more range than 300 m. Thus, we tentatively do 
not see a reason to increase the minimum transmission range beyond 300 
m.
    Finally, we have not included a maximum range limit. Maximum 
transmission range can vary by the power of the transmission, and 
environmental conditions. While our current proposed requirements do 
not include establishing a maximum transmission range, we request 
comment on whether such a limit would be appropriate in conjunction 
with the other requirements the agency is considering.
    We ask for comment on this proposed minimum. Is there any reason 
that the agency should require a maximum transmission range as well as 
a minimum? Should the agency choose a different minimum range 
requirement? What would be appropriate alternative minimum and maximum 
transmission range values and why? Please provide data to support your 
position.

[[Page 3883]]

(b) Elevation Transmission Performance
    In addition to the 2-dimension range of the basic safety message 
transmission, we need to consider the potential changes in elevation on 
roadways. Thus, in addition to establishing a minimum distance that the 
basic safety message needs to travel, we also need to establish an 
elevation angle that the message needs to travel.
    Safety applications may need information from vehicles at a higher 
elevation (because of changes in the slope of the roadway, for 
example). Thus, our current belief is that a proposal to regulate DSRC 
radio performance should also evaluate whether a vehicle transmitting 
the basic safety message can transmit said message at an angle that is 
sufficient to cover potential roadway elevation changes.
    Our proposal would require that vehicles transmit the basic safety 
message not only to 300 m around a vehicle (in all directions--i.e., 
360 degrees) but also at an elevation angle of +[hairsp]10 degrees and 
-6 degrees. We think that the elevation angle range of +[hairsp]10 to -
6 degrees 360 degrees around the vehicle is an appropriate range to 
ensure that the broadcast of the BSM can be received by vehicles in a 
300m radius given most roadway characteristics such as changes in 
roadway grade was what was used to demonstrate capability in Safety 
Pilot Model Deployment. The agency is continuing to research a larger 
range of elevation angle (+/-10 degrees) to determine actual 
transmission coverage range. In particular, if the range would be 
adequate to support transmission and reception of BSMs on roadway 
grades up to 15 degrees, which is the current design maximum for many 
States and localities (excluding San Francisco). However, currently it 
is not practicable to test the +/-10 degree elevation angle range given 
current testing equipment.
    We ask for comment on this proposed minimum. Should the agency 
choose a different minimum elevation angle requirement? What would be 
appropriate alternative minimum elevation angle range values and why? 
Please provide data to support your position.
(2) Testing the Elevation Transmission Range
    In order to give context to our proposed requirement, we are also 
describing the method the agency would use in assessing the elevation 
angle range performance requirement (i.e., the test procedure and type 
of test device). As discussed later in this document, the agency would 
test these requirements using test devices located within a specified 
area around the vehicle in a static test to determine whether the 
vehicle's basic safety message transmissions can reach the required 
range. In order to conduct this test, we need to define two pieces of 
information:
     The important characteristics of the test device for the 
purposes of evaluating this requirement; and
     the area around the vehicle where we can place this test 
device.
(a) Test Device
    As further discussed in the test procedure section of this 
document, we anticipate that our test method would specify various 
aspects of the test device for the purposes of evaluating a vehicle's 
DSRC radio performance. However, for the purpose of evaluating this 
aspect (i.e., the transmission range) of DSRC radio performance, we 
believe the receive sensitivity of the test device is the 
characteristic that would need to be most clearly defined in order to 
test the transmission range objectively.
    Based on the currently-available research, the agency would measure 
this using a test device with a sensitivity of -92 dBm. We believe that 
-92 dBm is an appropriate sensitivity for the test device receiving the 
basic safety message during the test because -92 dBm generally models 
what average devices (e.g., cell phones) use for their antenna 
sensitivity. We believe that it is a reasonable assumption that a 
vehicle seeking to obtain basic safety messages for its safety 
applications would be designed with, at minimum, this level of 
sensitivity.
    Further, our understanding is that -92 dBm falls on the less-
sensitive side of the range of an average wireless device's antenna 
sensitivity. We believe that using a less sensitive device within that 
range is appropriate in this instance because it means we are using a 
more stringent test condition that is still within the range of an 
average device antenna's sensitivity.
(b) Location of the Test Device
    In addition to specifying the device, we also believe it is 
important to specify the location of the device relative to the vehicle 
being tested. We are proposing to define a zone around the vehicle 
where a test device is used to evaluate the ability of the vehicle to 
receive the basic safety message. Currently, the proposed zone is 
defined as 300 m 2-dimensional range with an elevation angle that can 
be set at +[hairsp]10 degree and -6 degrees.
    For testing the 2-dimensional (longitudinal and lateral) range, the 
agency would specify an area within a circle around the vehicle that we 
may test. The test circle has the following characteristics:
     It is 1.5 m above the test surface.
     It is parallel to the test surface.
     It has a center point that is 1.5 m above the vehicle 
reference point.\116\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \116\ Vehicle reference point is the same point that we defined 
in the basic safety message content requirements section, above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The circumference of the circle is any point at a 300 m 
radius from its center point.
    In other words, when conducting the compliance test, the agency 
test engineer may place the test device at any point that is 1.5 m 
above the ground and within the area of a circle whose center point is 
1.5 m above the vehicle reference point and whose radius is 300 m.
    For testing the elevation range of the vehicle's transmission, we 
tentatively believe it is preferable to use two slightly different 
evaluation methods for the upward elevation versus the downward range. 
For the upward elevation range, our proposal is that the test engineer 
may place the test device at any point along the following line:
     The line originates at a point that is 1.5 m above the 
vehicle reference point.
     The line rises at a +10 degree angle from the test surface 
\117\ proceeding in any direction around the vehicle.\118\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \117\ Note the line originates at a point that is 1.5 m above 
the test reference point, but (for simplicity) we are expressing the 
angle of the line by referencing the test surface (i.e., the ground, 
which is not where the line begins). The angle of the line could be 
expressed by referencing any plane that is parallel to the test 
surface.
    \118\ In other words, the line can travel in any direction (360 
degrees) around the point 1.5 m above the vehicle reference point.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The line terminates at any point that is directly above 
the circumference of the circle used in the 2-dimentional range test.
    On the other hand, for testing downward elevation range, the agency 
would place the test device at any point along the following line:
     The line originates at a point that is 1.5 m above the 
vehicle reference point.
     The line falls at a -6 degree angle from the test surface 
\119\ proceeding in any direction around the vehicle.\120\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \119\ See similar note, above.
    \120\ See similar note, above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The line terminates at any point where it intersects the 
test surface.
    Test the downward elevation at a point that is likely closer to the 
vehicle than the upward elevation, we believe that this method would 
relieve some test complexities while still ensuring

[[Page 3884]]

that the transmissions will reach surrounding vehicles under real-world 
roadway elevation changes. Further, we believe that the locations 
defined above (longitudinal, lateral, and elevation) establish the 
limits of the potential test conditions in a way that would still 
enable the agency to measure at the extremities of the proposed range 
requirement.
    As noted above, testing the elevation range would enable NHTSA to 
test for compliance at any point along those aforementioned lines. 
While we believe that -92 dBm is an appropriate sensitivity for our 
test device when it is located 300 m away from the tested vehicle, we 
request comment on whether the test device should still have a 
sensitivity of -92 dBm if NHTSA tests the vehicle performance closer to 
the vehicle along the aforementioned elevation testing lines. What 
would the appropriate function be to determine the sensitivity based on 
the test device's location along those testing lines?
    We further request comment not only on the test method but also on 
whether there are other aspects of the test that the agency would need 
to define in order to clearly evaluate this aspect of performance.
(3) Reliability
    The agency is proposing to require that a message packet error rate 
(PER) is less than 10%. We believe that 10% PER is an appropriate 
threshold and that vehicles will still be able to receive the basic 
safety messages so long as the PER is below 10%. The agency believes 
the PER metric at the proposed rate fulfills the need to evaluate how 
reliably a V2V device can transmit a message for a specified distance.
    The Packet Error Rate (PER) is one way of quantifying how reliably 
a message can travel a given distance. In essence, it measures how 
often (i.e., the percentage of) parts of the message (i.e., packets) 
fail to make it to the destination. The research for V2V safety 
applications to date assumes that vehicles are transmitting the basic 
safety message to a range of at least 300 m around the vehicle with a 
PER of less than 10%.
    A PER of less than 10% aligns with the ASTM standard E2213-03 
(2003) 4.1.1.2 where ``(2) DSRC devices must be capable of transferring 
messages to and from vehicles at speeds of 85 mph with a Packet Error 
Rate (PER) of less than 10% for PSDU lengths of 1000 bytes and to and 
from vehicles at speeds of 120 mph with a PER of less than 10% for PSDU 
lengths of 64 bytes.'' As such, the agency believes this specification, 
along with the agency's successful Safety Pilot Model Deployment work, 
makes it appropriate to include this as part of the performance 
requirements for DSRC devices. Overall, the agency did not observe any 
dropped basic safety messages (i.e., message did not reach a vehicle 
within range) due to a high PER, and we believe that the 10% PER 
threshold will continue to be appropriate in a more full-scale 
deployment. We request comment on our tentative conclusions and also 
request comment on what other potential PER thresholds would be more 
appropriate (and why).
(4) Aspects of Transmission Range Performance Indirectly Tested
    We currently believe that testing the range (both 2-dimensional and 
elevation) and the reliability (PER) of the transmission with a 
specified test device (-92 dBm) in specified locations is sufficient to 
determine whether a vehicle would be able to deliver basic safety 
messages to vehicles around it in the real world (i.e., it would be 
sufficient for supporting the safety applications currently under 
active development). However, we recognize that there are a few aspects 
of performance covered by the V2V research to date that we have not 
included in this proposal. Our tentative conclusion is that the 
proposed requirements would cover these aspects of performance 
indirectly. Further, we believe that Proposal A would avoid 
unnecessarily restricting manufacturer design choices while still 
ensuring that the vehicle achieve the safety purpose of transmitting 
the basic safety message. These aspects of performance are:
     Antenna location on the vehicle;
     antenna polarization; and
     transmit power.
(a) Antenna Location on the Vehicle
    The agency and its research partners utilized antenna location 
mounting requirements on vehicles used in the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment activity. However, our tentative conclusion is that it is 
unnecessary to specify requirements for antenna location. The location 
of the antenna on a vehicle can affect the ability of the vehicle to 
transmit the basic safety message to all the necessary locations around 
the vehicle. However, we believe that testing for reception of the 
basic safety message at the aforementioned locations around the vehicle 
would clearly show whether the location of the vehicle antenna is 
installed at an appropriate location where the vehicle structure would 
not interfere with the transmission of the basic safety message.
    If the antenna location is appropriate enough to transmit the basic 
safety message to meet the needs of the safety applications, we 
tentatively see no need to further restrict the location of the antenna 
on the vehicle (as it is also an important styling decision for the 
auto manufacturer). However, we request comment on this tentative 
conclusion. Are there any reasons why the agency should establish 
requirements for the antenna location on the vehicle? What would these 
restrictions be? How can they be objectively defined on the vehicle? 
What data supports your conclusions?
(b) Antenna Polarization
    We also tentatively believe that the agency does not need to 
establish performance requirements for the transmitting antenna's 
polarization. We are aware that the research to date generally 
recommended a nominal vertical polarization configuration for the DSRC 
antennas sending the basic safety message. The research recommended 
that configuration because vehicle sheet metal can serve as the ground 
plane and can degrade reception of horizontally polarized waves at or 
near the horizon.
    While we agree that using a non-optimal antenna polarization would 
lead to increased cost and complexity of the system (i.e., requiring 
more antennas in order to reach the same transmission coverage), we 
tentatively do not believe it is necessary to propose limiting such a 
design. We believe that, for cost considerations, manufacturers are 
likely to select an antenna polarization that would enable them to 
achieve the same performance with less antennas. However, so long as 
the vehicle can transmit the basic safety message to the required range 
under the conditions specified, we currently see no reason to preclude 
other antenna polarizations. We also request comment on this tentative 
conclusion.
(c) Transmit Power
    Finally, the requirements and test method also do not directly test 
for the transmit power. Our current belief is that our test method 
sufficiently covers this aspect of performance by establishing the 
range at which the vehicle needs to transmit the basic safety message 
and the receive sensitivity of the test device. We note that the 
research to date has recommended various transmission power levels. For 
example, the SAE J2945/1 standard recommended a minimum radiated power 
of 15 dBm (under uncongested condtions). However, we believe that our

[[Page 3885]]

aforementioned requirements would sufficiently test for this aspect of 
performance. In essence, by testing whether a device with a sensitivity 
of -92 dBm can receive messages from a vehicle 300 m away, we are 
testing whether the transmitting vehicle is doing so with sufficient 
power to deliver the basic safety message to the required distance.
    We currently do not believe it is necessary to further specify the 
transmit power for vehicles covered by the proposal. Based on the 
manufacturer's choices regarding antenna location on the vehicle (and 
potentially other factors such as the body of the vehicle, etc.), a 
manufacturer may need to make different transmit power choices in order 
to transmit the message to the required distance. As with antenna 
location and polarization, we believe that the transmission power is 
sufficiently addressed (albeit indirectly) by the requirements. We 
believe that the requirements would establish an appropriate balance 
between affording the manufacturers design freedom, while still 
ensuring that they achieve the safety goal of transmitting the basic 
safety message far enough and reliably enough to support the safety 
applications. We seek comment on whether there is any reason for the 
agency to establish a requirement for the transmit power. What should 
the transmission power be and why?
(5) FCC Transmission Power Restrictions
    The agency's proposal is not specifying required transmission power 
levels for V2V devices. The FCC places restrictions on the transmission 
power levels of devices utilizing a given spectrum and our expectation 
is that DSRC devices operating in the designated bandwidth would meet 
the FCC defined operating specifications. However, we do not believe 
that our current proposal (i.e., our proposed minimum transmission 
range and the sensitivity of the test device) would require vehicles to 
transmit at a power that exceeds FCC regulations.
    FCC Part 95L specifies a max EIRP limit of 33dBm for Private OBUs 
on channels 172, 174, 176, 178, and 184. Our understanding is that 
devices would be able to meet the these requirements at a power setting 
lower than the restricted level (Safety Pilot Model Deployment devices 
were set at a 20 dBm power level).
(b) Channel and Data Rate
    In addition to proposing requirements for the transmission range 
and reliability, we believe it is also important for DSRC-based V2V 
communications to utilize the same channel and data rate. The channel 
is a band of frequencies where the transmission occurs. Parties 
agreeing to use the same channel to communicate are like people that 
agree to call each other using a particular phone line. The data rate 
is the speed at which a sender is transmitting information through the 
channel.
    The FCC has statutory authority for allocating spectrum rights and 
designating band plans for commercial spectrum allocations, including 
the 5.9 GHz band. DOT defers to the FCC's authority with respect to 
spectrum rights and channel plans. Based on FCC rules and research to-
date, all devices participating in the V2V information environment have 
utilized the same channel and data rate to transmit BSMs. In relation 
to DSRC, FCC has specified that BSM transmissions and reception will 
occur on channel 172, i.e. channel 172 will be dedicated to all BSM 
communications (safety-critical communications). Therefore, throughout 
this document, references to BSM transmissions and reception will refer 
to channel 172 while also recognizing the ongoing DOT-FCC-NTIA spectrum 
sharing studies and the FCC rulemaking concerning the 5.9 GHz band as 
described in more detail below. Similar to our approach to transmission 
power, the agency believes that all BSM transmissions should occur on 
channel 172. Data rate is also important because a receiving device 
needs to know the speed at which the transmitting device is sending the 
information in order to process the information. Thus, in order to 
ensure interoperability of the devices in the V2V information 
environment, our current belief is that it is necessary to establish 
requirements for both the channel and the data rate.
    As we discuss below, there are various options for both the channel 
and the data rate--each with advantages and disadvantages. While there 
are different choices available, each choice should be able to achieve 
the objective of ensuring interoperability across devices if it is 
implemented consistently by all devices. Thus, we are proposing to that 
all vehicles should transmit the basic safety message on Channel 172, 
via a dedicated radio at a data rate of 6 Mbps). We also request 
comment on whether there are other choices for these two aspects of 
performance that the agency should consider.
(a) Channel
(i) Proposed Channel Usage
    The FCC currently divides the 5.9 GHz spectrum into seven, ten- 
megahertz channels consisting of one Control Channel (Channel 178); six 
Service Channels (Channel 172 for safety-critical communications and 
Channels 174, 176, 180, 182, and 184 for non-safety-critical 
communications); and one five megahertz channel, which would be held in 
reserve. The FCC also allows combining Channels 174 and 176 or Channels 
180 and 182 to produce two twenty-megahertz channels, (which would be 
Channel 175 and 181, respectively).
    As we discussed in the sections above, we believe that devices 
participating in the V2V information environment need exchange messages 
on the same channel in order to receive each other's broadcasts (i.e., 
to hear the messages that others send). Up until now, the V2V devices 
transmitting basic safety messages in the V2V research have used 
Channel 172 (a 10 MHz channel). The research used a 10 MHz channel as 
the FCC's current rules for the V2V spectrum divide it into various 10 
MHz channels.
    Our tentative conclusion is that broadcasting on Channel 172 via 
continuous mode (radio set to channel 172, a 10 MHz band) is 
appropriate for devices in the V2V information environment. Thus, we 
believe that all vehicles should transmit their basic safety messages 
on the same channel (172). Our tentative conclusion is based on our 
understanding of the existing research and in alignment with the FCC 
spectrum allocation. The agency expects that all non-safety-critical 
communications will occur on the remaining channels allocated for DSRC 
use by the FCC. The research suggests that a 10 MHz band is sufficient 
for transmitting the basic safety message to the necessary 300 m range 
at a sufficient level of reliability PER of less than or equal to 10%.
    We seek comment on all related issues we should take into account 
when considering this proposal, as well as any other potential 
alternatives.
(ii) Potential Channel Sharing or Re-channelization
    NHTSA and the U.S. DOT are committed to finding the best method to 
develop, successfully test, and deploy advanced automotive and 
infrastructure safety systems while working to meet existing and future 
spectrum demands. DOT supports sharing so long as it does not interfere 
with safety of life communications. In the summer of

[[Page 3886]]

2015, recognizing the emerging need to perform further research on DSRC 
properties in order to prepare for studies on sharing, DOT worked 
collaboratively with the FCC and NTIA to develop a spectrum research 
plan. This plan (the ``DSRC-Unlicensed Device Test Plan'') is posted on 
DOT's Web site and details a comprehensive set of research 
opportunities. The plan will allow FCC, NTIA, and DOT to collectively 
tailor research on DSRC devices in the presence of unlicensed devices 
to understand the prospective impacts within real-world 
environments.\121\ The overall goals and objectives of this research 
are as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \121\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Overall Goals as listed in the DSRC-Unlicensed Device Test 
Plan
    1. Understand the impacts of unlicensed devices operating in the 
DSRC band.
    2. Develop the capability to evaluate proposed band sharing 
mechanisms.
    3. Define requirements necessary for sharing mechanisms to prevent 
interference.
    4. Collaborate with the NTIA and FCC to provide Congress with 
results on impacts to DSRC operations from proposed sharing mechanisms.
     Specific Objectives and Goals as listed in the DSRC-
Unlicensed Device Test Plan
    1. Develop the capability to do accurate and relevant experimental 
evaluations of band sharing and interference between unlicensed devices 
and DSRC devices.
    2. Characterize the existing radio frequency (RF) signal 
environment in and near the DSRC band.
    3. Measure the effect of unlicensed devices on the background noise 
level.
    4. Measure the impact unlicensed device transmissions have on 
receiving DSRC messages.
    5. Measure DSRC suppression caused by Clear Channel Assessment 
(CCA) of DSRC devices in the presence of unlicensed device 
transmissions.
    6. Measure other impacts on DSRC channel quality of unlicensed 
device transmissions (e.g., signal to noise (S/N), packet error rate 
(PER), etc.).
    7. Determine the minimum received power levels at which DSRC and 
unlicensed devices can sense the other.
    8. Investigate how interference and detection (determined in the 
previous objectives) varies if the bandwidth of the overlapping 
unlicensed device transmission changes.
    9. Measure the impact of DSRC operations on unlicensed device 
performance recognizing that the two radios may form an interactive 
system.
    10. Investigate mitigation possibilities once potential U-NII-4 
devices designed and programmed to share the band with DSRC are 
available.
    This DOT testing effort is part of a larger collaborative testing 
and modelling effort with the FCC and DOC, encouraged by Congress, to 
ensure appropriate interference-avoidance and spectrum rights 
allocation in the 5850-5925 MHz (5.9 GHz) band. Congress called upon 
DOT to lead, in close coordination with FCC and DOC, the development of 
5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology, vehicle 
safety testing, and DSRC capabilities testing. Furthermore, Congress 
called upon NTIA to study the possibility of allowing unlicensed 
operations in the 5.9 GHz band. The U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), and the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC) each have core, yet interdependent, 
roles to play in advancing this research.
    Recently, the FCC issued a Public Notice to refresh its record 
regarding its draft proposal to allow sharing of the 5.9 GHz band by U-
NII devices.\122\ As part of its Public Notice, the FCC has solicited 
comments on the two proposed sharing techniques developed by the IEEE 
DSRC Coexistence Tiger Team (i.e., ``Detect and Avoid'' and ``Re-
Channelization''), as well as on other potentially viable approaches to 
sharing in the band without causing harmful interference to V2V 
operations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \122\ https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-16-68A1_Rcd.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FCC described the two proposed sharing approaches as follows: 
(1) Detect and avoid, under which unlicensed devices would monitor the 
existing DSRC channels, and if they detected any transmitted DSRC 
signal, they would avoid using the entire DSRC band. After waiting a 
certain amount of time the unlicensed device would again sense the DSRC 
spectrum to determine if any DSRC channels are in use or whether it 
could safely transmit; and (2) Re-Channelization, under which the DSRC 
spectrum would be split into two contiguous blocks: one for safety-
related communications and one for non-safety-related communications, 
by moving the control channel and the two public safety channels to the 
top portion of the band. Additionally, the remaining four DSRC service 
channels would be reconfigured at the lower end of the band as two 20 
megahertz channels rather than maintaining four 10 megahertz channels. 
The segments designated for safety-related communications would remain 
exclusive to DSRC, and the remaining spectrum would be shared between 
the DSRC service channels and unlicensed devices.
    We seek comment on the costs and benefits of each sharing proposal, 
and whether and how we should consider each of these approaches 
relative to this proposed rule.
(b) Data Rate
    In setting a data rate, one is balancing between two competing 
interests: (1) the speed at which one wants to transmit the 
information, and (2) how far the information can travel (and how 
reliably it can travel that distance). In other words, if we send more 
information in a smaller amount of time, the information cannot 
reliably travel as great of a distance.
    In the context of our rulemaking, our proposal for data rate 
considers the following technical questions:
     How far do we need the message to travel?
     What is an acceptable PER (i.e., how reliably do packets 
need to make it to a receiving device in order to ensure that a safety 
application can function)?
     What bitrate do current systems and voluntary standards 
under development use? If a final rule used a different set of 
requirements, how significant would this change be?
    In the sections that follow, we first discuss the competing 
considerations for our data rate proposal. Using the information that 
we have from our discussion on data rate, we then discuss our proposal 
for the channel.
(i) Proposed Requirement is 6 Mbps
    The agency is proposing to require devices to transmit at 6 Mbps. 
We believe it is reasonable to expect that transmitting basic safety 
messages at the 6 Mbps rate can easily cover the necessary range 
assuming 300 m at a very low PER of 10%. The available research from 
both CAMP and BAH support this initial conclusion, as described later 
in this section. Further, while we are requesting comment on changing 
the bitrate, we note that the current systems and voluntary standards 
under development all will be able to support multiple bitrates within 
the ranges examined (i.e., device developers would not need to redesign 
the current hardware to support a new bitrate).
    Finally, while the theoretical analysis by BAH suggests that 
increasing the bitrate would help to mitigate congestion mitigation, we 
are unsure given the lack of real-world testing whether altering the 
bitrate and channel bandwidth is necessary given that the agency is 
considering other channel

[[Page 3887]]

congestion mitigation strategies. These strategies involve adjusting 
the number of basic safety messages that devices would transmit per 
second and the power/range of those transmission when channel 
congestion is detected by a device. More detail on these strategies is 
found in Section III.E.1.b)(b)(ii). The agency is continuing to refine 
congestion mitigation approaches including device density in real-world 
conditions, beyond those tested in the specific Safety Pilot testing 
and Safety Pilot Model Deployment.
    We request comment on our potential approaches to conclusions and 
our questions above. To support the commenting process, we are also 
presenting alternative choices for bitrate in the section that follows 
and we seek comment on those alternatives.
(ii) Alternatives for Data Rate Requirements
    The BAH research suggested alternate bitrate possibilities that 
would change based on the level of congestion on the channel. Their 
rationale behind this approach is that, when the channel is not busy, 
the transmitting device should use a lower bitrate that can more 
reliably send the message. However, when the channel congestion is 
detected, the device should use a higher bitrate to send the message 
quicker and vacate the channel as soon as possible. This is a logical 
strategy because when a vehicle is in a congested environment (e.g., a 
traffic jam \123\); the vehicle does not need to transmit the message 
as far because the relevant cars are the ones that are fairly close by. 
In other words, in this scenario, it is important to transit the 
message fast (not far).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \123\ In relation to communications congestions the use of the 
term ``traffic jam'' refers to the analysis presented via the ANPRM 
that identified a major interchange that includes overpasses as an 
extreme scenario with the possibility of approximately 800 V2V 
vehicles transmitting BSMs in the range of one V2V vehicle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on this logic, BAH recommended in its research that devices 
transmit in the following manner:
     When the Channel Busy Ratio \124\ is below 50%, transmit 
the BSM at a data rate of 9 Mbps;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \124\ Channel busy ratio describes how congested the channel is. 
When the ratio is 50%, it means that for a 100 ms timeframe, the 
device sees that there is someone else within range that is 
transmitting for 50 ms of the 100 ms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     when the channel busy ratio exceeds 50%, transmit the BSM 
at a data rate of 18 Mbps and continue to transmit the BSM at a data 
rate of 18 Mbps until the Channel Busy Ratio falls below 20%.
    While we have proposed to use a standard 6 Mbps bit rate, we 
request comment on the recommendation from BAH and specifically would 
seek data regarding the following questions:
     Is it appropriate to change the bitrate based on channel 
busy ratio if the performance within the relevant range is relatively 
similar across the bitrates under consideration? Would it be more 
advantageous to use 18 Mbps at all times?
     For changing message bitrates, our understanding is that 
the transmitting device sends a basic safety message with a header (the 
first part of the message) always transmitted at 6 Mbps. Our 
understanding is that the header instructs the receiving device to 
switch to another bitrate for the remainder of the message. How does 
this process impact the speed at which devices in the V2V information 
environment can transmit and receive basic safety messages?
     Is there any information on how much time one would save 
between transmitting a basic safety message at 6 Mbps versus 18 Mbps 
(and other bitrates)? In other words, many more messages can be 
transmitted within a given timeframe if one were to change the bitrate?
     We note that 3 Mbps, 6 Mbps, and 12 Mbps are bitrates that 
device makers are required to support when they are building a device 
according to the IEEE 802.11 voluntary standard. The standard affords 
the option to support other bitrates but does not require it. Is there 
any information on how many devices support bitrates other than 3 Mbps, 
6 Mbps, and 12 Mbps?
     What would the impact be on current systems and voluntary 
standards under development if the agency were to use a different 
bitrate (from 6 Mbps) in a final FMVSS?
     BAH suggests that all radios now support 6 and 9 Mbps 
transmission. (Section 4.3.1 of BAH Report). Is there any information 
on whether current DSRC radios can support 18 Mbps and dynamically 
switch between the two bitrates based on channel congestion ratio? 
What's the cost to implement this change?
(iii) Existing Research on the Impact of Different Potential Data Rates
    There are currently two bodies of research available to the agency 
on the impact that different bitrates can have on the range and 
reliability of the transmission of the basic safety message, CAMP and 
work performed by BAH funded by the agency. In essence, the CAMP 
research showed that there is a small difference in PER between a 6 
Mbps and 12 Mbps data rate at 300 m, the assumed minimum range for V2V 
communications. The BAH research shows that there was a difference in 
PER between 6 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 12 Mbps, and 18 Mbps. However, most of 
these differences occurred at a distance exceeding 500 m.
(a) Increasing Data Rate
    CAMP conducted a test involving real devices in an outside 
environment. VSC-A Report Appendix I \125\ showed that, given a 
dedicated DSRC transmission channel, using a 12 Mbps data rate somewhat 
degraded the ability of the message to reach its destination when 
compared with a 6 Mbps data rate. In their research, they used a 
vehicle broadcasting basic safety messages and placed it in different 
locations around various radios that attempted to receive the vehicle's 
basic safety messages during the test. When the researchers placed the 
vehicle close to the radios, there seemed to be little degradation in 
whether the radios could receive the messages (regardless of bitrate). 
Using the 6 Mbps data rate, 58 receiving radios picked up the basic 
safety messages. Using 12 Mbps, 57 receiving radios were still able to 
pick up the basic safety messages. However, when they placed a vehicle 
at the ``far edge'' of the range of the receiving radios, 55 radios 
received basic safety messages at 6 Mbps versus only 45 at 12 Mbps. See 
Figure III-1 and Figure III-2, below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \125\ See Section 3 in Appendix I, http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Crash-Avoidance/Vehicle%E2%80%93to%E2%80%93Vehicle-Communications-for-Safety (last accessed: Dec 8, 2016).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3888]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.002

    In addition, the VSC-A research explored the potential impact of 
using 12 Mbps as opposed to 6 Mbps within a 300 m test range. As 
evident in the figure below, when using 6 Mbps, nearly all the devices 
(up to the 300 m test range) received the messages with a very low PER. 
However, when switching to 12 Mbps, we observe a small increase in the 
number of devices that could not receive the messages with a low PER 
between the range of 100 and 300 m.
    The research also examined the impact of different bit rates based 
on transmission power (i.e., if we transmit with more power, how would 
the 6 and 12 Mbps bit rates affect the ability of the receiving device 
to obtain the basic safety message? In the CAMP research, radios were 
able to receive packets at a somewhat lower transmission power when 
they were being transmitted at 6 Mbps as opposed to 12 Mbps (i.e., 
packets failed to reach their destination when the power was -90 dBm 
when they were transmitted at 12 Mbps versus -94 dBm when they were 
transmitted at 6 Mbps).
(b) Differing Bitrates
    BAH also conducted research comparing the impact of data 
transmission rate to the reliability and range of the transmission. In 
their research, involving transmissions sent on a flat and open road at 
a test facility, 18 Mbps (they also tested 6 Mbps, 9 Mbps, and 12 Mbps) 
did not perform as well (i.e., a higher PER at a shorter distance) as 
the lower bitrates. However, their field test indicated that the 
ability of the transmission to successfully deliver the packet remained 
rather

[[Page 3889]]

constant (regardless of the bitrate tested) up to 500 m.\126\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \126\ See BAH DSRC Phase II Report Section 4.3.3.2.
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.003
    
    In BAH's report, they surmise that the wide variation of PER at 
distances above 500 m for all bitrates is attributable to multipath 
fading.\127\ They conclude that an 18 Mbps bitrate seems more 
susceptible to multipath fading than other, lower bitrates (i.e., the 
18 Mbps bitrate might be more sensitive to environmental changes).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \127\ Wireless transmission of information through radio signals 
often travel to a receiver not only through a direct path, but also 
through reflections off of other objects in the environment. When 
the objects move and the direct path between the transmitter and the 
receiver change, the signal may fade in a variety of ways. Thus, the 
changing environmental conditions (in addition to some of the other
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) Other Aspects of DSRC Transmission Performance
    Thea agency recognizes there other BSM transmission performance 
parameters that will be necessary for real-world implementation. These 
parameters are found in the applicable application specifications for 
DSRC message content and performance parameters. The agency does not 
see a reason to establish requirements for these parameters based on 
currently available information. However, we request comment and any 
supporting information from the public on whether there may be 
advantages to establishing requirements in these areas to support the 
safety applications and/or ensure interoperability within the V2V 
information environment.
(1) Age of BSM Transmission
    The age of the BSM transmission is monitored by the data element, 
DE_DSecond. The DSecond data element provides a time value when a BSM 
is populated with data there may be a lag between the time the data is 
collected and populated in the BSM--and when the BSM is actually sent. 
We are proposing that the device should not transmit a BSM if the data 
within the BSM is over 150 milliseconds old. In the test procedure 
section in this document, we are specifying a test device for receiving 
basic safety messages from the tested vehicle. Our rational is that the 
requirements and test methods requires the device to transmit a timely 
BSM.

 The system shall set the DE_DSecond with a value corresponding 
to milliseconds within a minute of the UTC time when the BSM Part I 
vehicle location data is determined by the positioning source. [MPR-
BSMTX-DATAACC-008]
 DE_DSecond shall be accurate to within 1 ms of the 
corresponding UTC time. [MPR-BSMTX-DATAACC-009]
 DE_DSecond shall have a value less than 150 ms from the UTC 
time at which the BSM is transmitted (i.e., the age of the time used in 
DE_DSecond shall be less than 150 ms). [MPR-BSMTX-DATAACC-010]

    Note: Other measurements present in the BSM should be aligned to 
DE_DSecond insofar as possible in the implementation. Since other 
measurements present in the BSM do not have an absolute time stamp, 
it is not clear how this is done in practice. Nevertheless, 
practical implementations to date have used the most recent 
measurement updates known to the transmitter at the time when the 
BSM is composed.

(2) Reception
    In addition to the issue of transmitting the basic safety message, 
the V2V research to date also included potential requirements covering 
the reception of the basic safety message. The potential requirements 
in this area include the ability of the vehicle to:
     Receive a basic safety message given a particular test 
device's transmission power and distance from the vehicle;
     translate the 0's and 1's received over the wireless 
airwaves into the basic safety message (i.e., using the appropriate 
protocol suite to interpret and unpack the wireless signal into the 
basic safety message content); and
     authenticate the signature of the basic safety message to 
confirm that the information is from an authenticated source (i.e., to 
determine that the message is actually from a vehicle).
    While the research (e.g., the V2V safety pilot) included many of 
these aspects of performance, we tentatively believe that it is 
unnecessary to separately evaluate the vehicle's ability to receive the 
basic safety message as a number of indirect methods determining if a 
vehicle received the information exist in the transmission requirements 
already, namely congestion detection and mitigation.
    Although this may be counterintuitive, we believe that directly 
evaluating the reception of the basic safety message is best conducted

[[Page 3890]]

under conditions where the vehicle is using the information from the 
basic safety message for a particular purpose. For example, when there 
is a safety application, the receiving and processing the basic safety 
message transmissions leads to a response from the vehicle (e.g., a 
warning). In these conditions, the vehicle's reception of the basic 
safety message is indirectly (and, we believe, sufficiently) tested by 
exposing the vehicles to basic safety messages with certain information 
(e.g., information about a vehicle on a collision course with the 
tested vehicle) and then measuring the vehicle's response (e.g., 
whether it issues a warning at the appropriate time).
    As this proposal does not include requirements for applications, 
the agency would need to require vehicles to output a log or record of 
the basic safety messages that they received within a given amount of 
time in order to assess whether the vehicle is able to complete the 
three tasks mentioned above. However, we tentatively believe it's 
unnecessary at this time to include additional requirements to check a 
vehicle's ability to receive basic safety messages. By requiring the 
vehicle to mitigate congestion, we believe that the vehicle must 
incorporate the ability to receive the message.
    Regardless of methods employed, congestion mitigation requires the 
vehicles to determine the local vehicle density inside a given radius 
as part of the determination of the maximum time between messages. To 
do this, the vehicle not only has to have the ability to understand the 
base channel busy ratio, but also decode the message enough to expose 
the various temporary IDs of the received BSMs to get an accurate 
vehicle count. To decode the message far enough to get the temporary 
IDs, the vehicle needs to be able to interpret the BSM and all of its 
sub-layers.
    We also believe that automakers implementing safety applications 
would ensure that the vehicle would have the capability to receive the 
basic safety message (including receiving the transmission and 
processing the transmission to obtain the message) and authenticate the 
message. Because the performance of an automaker's safety application 
in a vehicle would rely on the vehicle's ability to reliably receive 
basic safety messages, we believe that automakers implementing safety 
applications would also have a strong incentive to implement an 
appropriate receive capability in their vehicles.
    However, we request comment on our tentative conclusion. We seek 
comment on whether there is any reason that the agency should include 
direct requirements for receiving the basic safety message (independent 
of the vehicle's capability to utilize the information for a safety 
application, congestion control, Misbehavior detection, or other 
intended uses). Further, we request comment on what performance the 
agency should assess and how the agency should assess such performance 
(i.e., how does the agency test the reception of information when the 
vehicle is not expected to do anything in response to that 
information?). Finally, the agency seeks comment on whether there is a 
need to specify requirements for DSRC devices to have message reception 
filtering for interference from operation in the adjacent unlicensed 
spectrum. Please provide substantive data and clarifying reasons why or 
why not this is necessary along with potential filtering strategies 
that could be employed, if the commenter believes message reception 
filtering is necessary.
    One potential way to establish direct requirements and measure 
performance of those requirements would be to require vehicles to:
     Store all basic safety messages received within a certain 
amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes during the test); and
     output the data through a specified interface or 
collection of interfaces (e.g., OBD-II).
    To test this performance, we would use a test device to generate 
basic safety messages near the tested vehicle. Access the tested 
vehicle using the specified interface in the standard and download the 
basic safety messages received file. Verify that the basic safety 
messages received by the tested vehicle match the basic safety messages 
transmitted by the test device. We request comment on whether this is a 
viable method for establishing requirements for this aspect of 
performance.
(3) Message Packaging and Protocol Suites
    Finally, another important part of ensuring interoperability of any 
network is for all the devices participating in the network to agree to 
the same communications method (i.e., speak the same language). For 
electronic devices communicating over a network, the method of taking 
information and packaging that information (i.e., in multiple steps, 
converting it into a string of 1's and 0's) so that it can be sent 
across a wireless (or wired) network is called a protocol stack. Each 
step in the protocol stack packages the information for the next step. 
The transmitting device and the receiving device need to agree upon one 
method of packaging information so that the transmitting device knows 
how to package the information into 1's and 0's and then the receiving 
devices knows what to do with the received 1's and 0's in order to 
extract the information transmitted.
    DSRC communications within the 5.85 to 5.925 MHz band are governed 
by FCC 47 CFR parts 0, 1, 2 and 95 for onboard equipment and Part 90 
for road side units. In reference to the OSI model, the physical and 
data link layers (layers 1and 2) are addressed primarily by IEEE 
802.11p as well as P1609.4; network, transport, and session layers (3,4 
and 5) are addressed primarily by P1609.3; security communications are 
addressed by P1609.2; and additional session and prioritization related 
protocols are addressed by P1609.12.
    Further, a variety of communication performance standards specific 
to the V2V communications and BSM transmission/reception are defined in 
SAE J2945 while data element and data frame definitions and coding 
requirements are defined in SAE J2735.
    Devices adhering to these standards know how to package the basic 
safety message for transmissionover the DSRC 5.9 GHz spectrum. They 
also know how to interpret and unpack transmissions over that spectrum 
in order to obtain the basic safety message. While our proposed rule 
does not include explicit requirements for vehicles transmitting basic 
safety messages to utilize the methods for packaging the basic safety 
message in IEEE 802.11 and 1609, our proposed performance test (in 
effect) would require vehicles to do so.
    As further discussed in the test procedure section in this 
document, we are specifying a test device for receiving basic safety 
messages from the tested vehicle. Our proposed test device would 
utilize the method for unpacking the basic safety message that is 
specified in 802.11 and 1609. Thus, in essence, vehicles transmitting 
the basic safety message will need to package the message utilizing the 
same method in order to deliver the message to the test device in our 
test. If the vehicle is unable to transmit a message packaged in a way 
that can be unpacked by our test device (i.e., using the IEEE method), 
the vehicle would fail our proposed performance test.
    In this manner, we believe we are specifying a protocol stack that 
would ensure that devices following the packaging method of the 
protocol stack would be able to transmit and receive basic safety 
messages on the DSRC 5.9 GHz spectrum. We request comment on our 
tentative conclusion. Does the

[[Page 3891]]

agency need to specify any additional areas of performance in order to 
ensure interoperability of the devices? In other words, what aspects of 
the packaging of the data for transmitting cannot be tested by our 
proposed test method? How does that impact device interoperability and 
how would the agency test it?
(d) DSRC-Based Communication--Applicable Industry Standards
(1) Standards and DSRC V2V Technology
    Vehicle to Vehicle technology incorporates many components to 
facilitate crash avoidance capabilities. The basis for Vehicle-to-
Vehicle crash avoidance is the communication of safety information 
among vehicles. Figure III-4 identifies the various components that a 
DSRC-based system would include; the DSRC radio, GPS receiver, Memory, 
Safety Applications, Vehicle internal communications network, System 
Security, and the Driver-Vehicle interface.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.004

    To support the V2V wireless communications, a set of voluntary 
consensus standards will need to continue to be developed. These 
standards define such things as how devices are to communicate over an 
identified frequency; how to exchange information including 
instructions for sending and receiving messages; how to structure, 
format, and understand message content; and the data elements making up 
the message content.
    We expect that V2V communication will be covered by a family of 
integrated standards from different organizations that deal with 
different aspects of wireless communications and message exchange. Such 
standards will facilitate V2V device developers and implementers 
successfully exchanging safety messages and security information (e.g. 
interoperability). The standards will help ensure interoperability 
meaning any device identified as a V2V device communicates and 
interprets the messages in the same way.
(2) Voluntary Consensus Standards
    Voluntary consensus standard: The term ``voluntary'' distinguishes 
the standards development process from governmental or regulatory 
processes. All interested stakeholders participate, including 
producers, users, consumers, and representatives of government and 
academia. Voluntary standards are also made mandatory at times by being 
incorporated into law by governmental bodies.
    A voluntary consensus standards body is defined by the following 
attributes:
     Openness;
     balance of interest;
     due process;
     an appeals process;
     consensus, which is defined as general agreement, but not 
necessarily unanimity, and includes a process for attempting to resolve 
objections by interested parties, as long as all comments have been 
fairly considered, each objector is advised of the disposition of his 
or her objection(s) and the reasons why, and the consensus body members 
are given an opportunity to change their votes after reviewing the 
comments.\128\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \128\ See ``Standards Glossary'' IEEE, https://www.ieee.org/education_careers/education/standards/standards_glossary.html (last 
accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Voluntary consensus standards follow a rigorous, industry inclusive 
development process where each standard is developed by an established

[[Page 3892]]

committee that consists of volunteer representative from interested 
stakeholders. Examples of such organizations include the Institute of 
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), ASTM International, SAE 
International (SAE), and the American National Standards Institute 
(ANSI). Each committee establishes membership protocols regarding 
voting criteria, structure and format guidelines, and how information 
is contributed. The committees draft the standards and, once drafted, 
the standards are presented to the organizations membership for review, 
comment, and balloting.\129\ If the standard is balloted and accepted, 
the standard is published. If needed, there are processes for a 
standard to be revised or updated as technology evolves. We anticipate 
that such bodies will develop the standards that provide the 
information to develop and implement interoperable V2V communications, 
but again stress that our performance requirements may permit 
technologies other than DSRC to perform V2V communications in the 
future.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \129\ For a description of the IEEE ballot process, see http://standards.ieee.org/develop/balloting.html (last accessed Dec 12, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In relation to DSRC V2V Communications, to date two voluntary 
consensus standard organizations have developed separate, however, 
interrelated standards based on DSRC-enabled V2V communications. These 
organizations are the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 
(IEEE), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). IEEE has 
developed two standards, IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.x. IEEE 802.11p 
establishes how compliant devices will transmit and receive messages 
using the 5.9 GHz frequency. IEEE 1609.x defines the protocols for 
radio channel operations, message exchange, and message security. SAE 
has also developed two standards, SAEJ2735 and SAEJ2945. SAEJ2735 
specifies the BSM message set, its data frames, and data elements. 
SAEJ2945 establishes minimum performance requirements for the BSM data 
elements in various messages.
    The set of standards for DSRC detail the procedures, protocols, and 
message content to support the broadcast (special communication 
capability of DSRC) and receipt of the Basic Safety Message and the 
linked communications needed to transfer security materials to 
establish a more secure V2V communications environment.
(3) Computer and Wireless Communication Reference Model
    To facilitate the communication needed from devices (hardware) to 
the applications (software) the International Organization for 
Standards (ISO) established the Open System Interconnect reference 
model (OSI). The OSI reference model consists of seven layers that 
define the different stages data must go through to travel from one 
device to another over a network.\130\ Each layer has unique 
responsibilities including passing information to the layers above and 
below it.\131\ The combination of layers represents protocol stacks. 
This structure and nomenclature of the OSI reference model is used in 
the V2V related standards. The Standards cover how data is communicated 
and interpreted from one V2V device to another device and processed to 
be used by crash avoidance applications; analogous to how your wireless 
router transfers data via the internet to an application on your 
computer such as a web browser.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \130\ See ``How OSI Works'' http://computer.howstuffworks.com/osi1.htm (last accessed: Dec 12, 2016).
    \131\ See ``Physical Layer'', http://www.linfo.org/physical_layer.html (last accessed: Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The layers represent levels of interfaces to enable the bits that 
represent data to be properly transported and interpreted. The layers 
are illustrated in Figure III-5. The first layer starts at the bit/
hardware device level and indicates how the steam of raw information is 
sent to the next layer. In relation to V2V this would be the DSRC radio 
level. In addition to the raw information, layer 2 organizes data 
packets into network frames that are transported across the V2V 
wireless network. These first two levels are covered by IEEE 802.11p. 
The next 3 layers are covered by IEEE 1609.x. Layers 3, 4, and 5 handle 
the addressing and routing of messages, management of the packetization 
of data and delivery of packets, and the coordination of message 
transmissions and authorization (security). Layer 6, session layer, and 
layer 7, application layer, are covered by SAE J2735 and SAE J2945 and 
provide for the conversion of incoming data for use by the application 
and interface protocols with the applications.\132\ These layers and 
associated standards represent the DSRC protocol stack that developers 
use to design and produce interoperable devices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \132\ See ``OSI reference model (Open Systems Interconnection)'' 
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/OSI (last 
accessed: Dec 12, 2016).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3893]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.005

(4) DSRC-Based V2V Device Communication Standards
    As indicated previously, SAE and IEEE have developed and 
established standards for DSRC. The DSRC protocol stack and related 
standards are illustrated in Figure III-6.
    Working from the bottom of Figure III-6 and starting with the 
physical layer, the IEEE 802.11-2012--IEEE Standard for Information 
technology-Telecommunication and information exchange systems-Local and 
metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN 
Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications was 
published 29 March 2012. The standard covers operations of Wi-Fi 
devices. A specific section of the standard, 802.11p, covers DSRC 
communication for V2V and V2I devices that use the 5.9 GHz frequency. 
The standard describes information exchange between system local and 
metropolitan networks at the device radio level.

[[Page 3894]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.006

    From the device (hardware) level of 802.11, the IEEE 1609.x family 
of standard establishes the protocols for Wireless Access in Vehicular 
Environments (WAVE). These standards support the network, transport, 
and session OSI layers. The 1609 standards that are relevant to DSRC 
include the following:
     1609.0--Guide for Wireless Access in Vehicular 
Environments (WAVE) Architecture--This section of the standard 
describes the full set of 1609 standards and their relationships to 
each other and other relevant standards such as 802.11. The guide was 
published 11 December 2013.
     1609.2--Security Services for Application and Management 
Messages--Describes the secure message formats and processing for use 
by WAVE devices, including methods to secure WAVE management messages 
and methods to secure application messages. It also describes 
administrative functions necessary to support the core security 
functions. The V2V security design is based on this standard and 
incorporates an expanded application of Public-Key infrastructure to 
secure V2V communications and appropriately protect privacy. This 
standard is associated with Layer 5, session layer, and Layer 6, 
presentation layer. This standard was published 26 April 2013.
     1609.3--Networking Services--In relation to Layers 3 and 
4, network and transport, this standard describes the Internet Protocol 
(IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the Transmission Protocol (TCP) 
elements of the internet model and management and data services for 
WAVE devices. This standard was published 13 July 2012.
     1609.4--Multi-Channel Operations--This standard crosses 
layers 2 through 5 to support multi-channel operations of the DSRC 
radio. Wireless radio operations that include the use of other channels 
need to provide instructions concerning the operation of the control 
channel (CCH), the service channel (SCH), interval times, priority 
access, channel switching, and routing. The current design for a V2V 
DSRC device uses two radios. One radio is tuned to channel 172 for 
transmission and reception of the safety-critical communication of the 
BSM. The second radio uses multi-channel operations to set the CCH and 
SCH, and use the other channels to support other messages transmission 
such as the messages associated with security materials. This standard 
was published 7 February 2011, however, a draft corrigendum that 
corrects errors is pending publication.
     1609.12--Identifier Allocations--For the WAVE system this 
standard describes the use of identifiers and the values that have been 
associated with the identifiers for use by the WAVE system. This 
standard was published 21 September 2012.
     Layers 6, Presentation, and Layers 7, Application, are 
supported by the two SAE standards that define the elements and the 
minimum performance requirements for the BSM data elements.
    SAE J2735--DSRC Message Set Dictionary specifies a message set, and 
its data frames and data elements specifically for use by application 
intended to utilize the 5.9 GHz frequency. For crash avoidance safety, 
the standard identifies the Basic Safety Message (BSM). The standard 
includes an extensive list of BSM data elements divided into two parts. 
Part one includes elements that are transmitted with every message. 
Part two includes elements that are included in the transmission when 
there is a change of status. The BSM is exclusive to the support of 
crash avoidance safety applications. Section III.E identifies the BSM 
elements that are identified as minimum performance requirements for 
V2V devices.
    SAE J2945--DSRC Minimum Performance Requirements--This standard 
resulted from research indicating a need for a separate standard that 
would describe the specific requirements for the data elements that 
would be used in the BSM. The standard will also cover other DSRC 
messages; however, the first part of the standard will specify the 
performance requirements for the BSM data elements. The draft of the 
first part of the standard is being developed using results of V2V 
research. The standard for BSM performance requirements is scheduled to 
be completed and balloted late 2015.
    The standards explained above represent voluntary consensus 
standards that have been developed by standards development 
organization. These standards are not regulatory. These standards, 
however, do provide a basis of investigation as to what is needed in 
relation to identifying the minimum performance requirements that if 
met ensure the proper and safe functionality of V2V DSRC device that 
will result in the avoidance of crashes.

[[Page 3895]]

(5) Relevance to DSRC-Based Communications
    The SAE and IEEE standards supporting DSRC discussed are not 
performance requirements per se. Performance requirements and standards 
are interrelated and indicate, at different levels, how a system or 
device must function. Performance requirements are developed to 
indicate how a device or system needs to perform. In terms of V2V, 
performance requirements are associated with an installed device and 
are viewed from the top of the design and development process. 
Performance requirements may incorporate various standards that are 
identified in Section III.D, however, most of the standards are related 
to sub-systems and components that support the development of design 
specifications. The higher level performance requirements indirectly 
verify lower level standards were used by verifying the design performs 
at the integrated system level.
    Figure III-7 illustrates our understanding of the hierarchical 
relationship associated with performance requirements and how standards 
are used at different component design specification levels. The bulk 
of the V2V related standards support primarily support product 
development specifications at the Controller Spec level and the 
Component Technical Spec level. The specifications are verified at each 
level by different component test and sub-system tests. The Auto OEMs 
conduct tests at the system level to verify design and system 
operations. After installation, OEMs conduct vehicle integration tests 
to verify installation and system operation in relation to design 
specification and regulation identified performance requirements. Once 
the integration is verified, the Auto OEMs verify compliance with the 
performance requirements. This hierarchy demonstrates how top level 
performance requirements supported by standards provide the information 
to successfully design and implement V2V components that will be 
interoperable and meet identified system level performance 
requirements.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.007

    The voluntary consensus standards provide information that support 
both performance requirements and design specifications, and are the 
bridge for connecting the requirements to the specifications. In 
relation to the NPRM, the work performed by NHTSA in relation to 
performance requirements is to identify, and define performance 
requirements and verification tests that will indicate that V2V device 
have been designed and implemented such that these devices will operate 
to provide the DSRC communications and security that will support crash 
avoidance applications.
(6) Summary of DSRC-Based BSM Transmission Requirements

[[Page 3896]]

                              Table III-1--Summary of BSM Transmission Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Relationship to
           Requirement                 Proposal              Basis             standards            Reason
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Range (longitudinal & lateral)..  Minimum 300m; 360   CAMP--application   SAE J2945/1.......  The setting is
                                   degrees around      tested in SPMD                          based on the need
                                   vehicle.            also calculation                        to provide
                                                       of range needed                         accurate and
                                                       for DNPW.                               timely safety
                                                                                               alerts. The
                                                                                               setting was
                                                                                               obtained by
                                                                                               extensively
                                                                                               testing
                                                                                               commercially
                                                                                               available
                                                                                               equipment and
                                                                                               automotive
                                                                                               sensors in a wide
                                                                                               variety of
                                                                                               driving
                                                                                               environments.
Range (Elevation)...............  At elevation angle  CAMP and BAH        SAE J2945/1.......  Same as above.
                                   of +10 degrees      research and
                                   and -6 degrees.     testing
                                                       capabilities.
Reliability.....................  Packet Error Rate   CAMP and BAH......  SAE J2945/1.......  Same as above.
                                   <10%.
BSM Radio Channel...............  All BSM             FCC rules.........  SAE J2945/1.......  Same as above.
                                   transmissions and
                                   receptions on 172
                                   (safety-critical
                                   communications).
Data Rate.......................  6 Mbps............  CAMP and BAH        SAE J2945/1 (one    Same as above--
                                                       research--CAMP      of the bitrates     Also Current
                                                       research shows      included in         developers
                                                       PER degradation     802.11).            support a 6 Mbps
                                                       using 12 Mbps.                          data rate. More
                                                       BAH research                            data and testing
                                                       indicates                               is needed to
                                                       problems after                          change the data
                                                       500m, also BAH                          rate and
                                                       test done under                         determine if a
                                                       ``open field''                          changing rate can
                                                       conditions.                             be used and
                                                                                               support crash
                                                                                               avoidance.
Transmission Frequency..........  10 times per        CAMP--trade-off     SAE J2945/1.......  Accepted among
                                   second under non-   between long                            experts to
                                   congested           inter-packet                            support V2V crash
                                   conditions.         delays                                  avoidance.
                                                       experienced by
                                                       V2V safety
                                                       applications and
                                                       heavy wireless
                                                       channel
                                                       utilization.
Staggering Transmission Time....  Random              Mitigate channel    SAE J2945/1.......  Due to accuracy of
                                   transmission of     congestion if all                       devices need to
                                   BSMs every 100 +/-  devices                                 mimic the stagger
                                   ms between 0 and    transmitted at                          experienced
                                   5 ms.               same time--CAMP                         during SPMD to
                                                       and BAH research.                       avoid message
                                                                                               collisions to
                                                                                               facilitate
                                                                                               efficient channel
                                                                                               usage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(e) Alternative (Non-DSRC) Technologies
    This section is intended to recognize and support the continual 
progression of communication technology. It proposes alternative 
interoperable technologies performance requirements grounded in today's 
DSRC technology, which would enable the deployment of potential future 
V2V communications technologies that meet or exceed the proposed 
performance requirements, including interoperability with all other V2V 
communications technologies transmitting BSMs.
    This section provides performance-based requirements that would 
support transmitting the basic safety message via alternative 
interoperable technologies. The proposed requirements are limited to 
the transmission of the BSM only. Potential security and privacy 
requirements and alternatives are discussed in those respective 
sections of this proposal.
    Alternative technologies would need to meet the same message 
transmission requirements as DSRC-based devices, minus any DSRC-
specific requirements such as channel or data rate specifications.
(1) Transmission Range and Reliability
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission range and reliability requirements as DSRC-based devices, 
minus any specific references to DSRC.
(i) Range
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission range requirements as DSRC-based devices, minus any 
specific references to DSRC.
(ii) Longitudinal/Lateral Range
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission longitudinal and lateral range requirements as DSRC-based 
devices, minus any specific references to DSRC.
(iii) Elevation Transmission Performance
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission elevation performance requirements as DSRC-based devices.
(2) Testing the Elevation Transmission Range
    Alternative technologies would need to support he same message 
transmission elevation test requirements as DSRC-based devices.
(a) Test Device
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission elevation transmission performance test device 
requirements as DSRC-based devices, minus any reference to DSRC.
(b) Location of the Test Device
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission elevation test device location requirements as DSRC-based 
devices.
(3) Reliability
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission reliability requirements as DSRC-based devices, minus any 
reference to DSRC.
(4) Aspects of Transmission Range Performance Indirectly Tested
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission range performance indirect tests as DSRC-based devices.
(a) Transmit Power
    Alternative technologies would need to identify the same transmit 
power as DSRC-based devices, where applicable for a specific 
communication medium.
(5) Channel and Data Rate
    A final rule will need to indicate the range at which the vehicle 
needs to transmit the basic safety message and

[[Page 3897]]

the receive sensitivity for alternative technologies.
(6) Transmission Timing
    Alternative technologies would need to meet the same transmission 
timing requirements as the DSRC-based proposal minus any DSRC-specific 
requirements, such as channel and data rate. In keeping with the more 
general nature of the standards for alternative technologies, 
specifying aspects such as channel congestion or the need for 
staggering or synchronizing message transmission is assumed not to be 
needed and assumed to be handled by any protocol or communication 
medium used for V2V communication.
(a) Default Transmission Frequency
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
transmission frequency as DSRC-based devices, 10 times per second (10 
Hz).
(b) Staggering Transmission Time
    Alternative technologies would need to address the same issues for 
staggering transmission timing as DSRC-based devices, minus any direct 
reference to DSRC.
(7) Other Aspects of Alternative Interoperable Technologies
    Alternative technologies would need to address the same issues for 
staggering transmission timing as DSRC-based devices, minus any direct 
reference to DSRC.
(a) Age of BSM Transmission
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message age 
monitoring requirements as DSRC-based devices.
(b) Reception
    Alternative technologies would need to support the same message 
reception requirements as DSRC-based devices, minus any references to 
message congestion mitigation, misbehavior detection, and DSRC-specific 
messaging content.
    Additionally, NHTSA does not seek comment on the need to specify 
requirements for reception interference from operation in the adjacent 
unlicensed spectrum given this would be spectrum dependent.
(c) Interoperability
    V2V devices using alternative technologies would need to be capable 
of transmitting and receiving an established message from other V2V 
devices, regardless of the underlying technology (i.e. the BSM that has 
specified content of information, but also the measuring unit for each 
information element and the level of precision needed) Interoperability 
with DSRC-based devices would, in particular, be necessary. We seek 
comment on what test procedures or other safeguards would be required 
to ensure interoperability.
2. Proposed V2V Basic Safety Message (BSM) Content
    At the core of this proposal is the basic safety information that 
we believe vehicles need to send in order to support potential safety 
applications. In order to realize the safety benefits discussed above, 
safety application designers need to know what consistent set of 
information will be available, what units will be used to express that 
information, and the level of accuracy that each information element 
will have. This uniform expression of the basic safety information is 
important because a safety application needs to rely on the information 
in the messages and assume that the information is accurate to within a 
given tolerance. The requirements proposed in this section are 
consistent across any potential communication technology employed in 
V2V communications.
    To date, the automotive industry (through SAE) has been developing 
voluntary consensus standards \133\ to help standardize these details 
of the basic safety message. The general approach of our proposal is to 
incorporate the data elements from the current draft SAE standards in 
order to facilitate interoperability between devices that would comply 
with the proposed FMVSS and any potential future developments of the 
SAE standards. Further, we are considering each data element and 
associated tolerance requirements for each of those elements in the 
context of addressing the safety need of avoiding crashes. Each of the 
data elements we are proposing to require provide values that 
collectively contribute to the calculations of possible vehicle 
interactions and evaluating the imminent crash potential of these 
interactions. Moreover, the required and optional data elements would 
create a data-rich environment that can be used to not only identify 
imminent crash situations, but also ensure the drivers can be given 
advanced warning of these situations so these drivers can take 
appropriate evasive action to avoid crashes. Based on our analysis, we 
are proposing requirements for some, but not all, of the data elements 
in the SAE standards. However, in order to preserve interoperability 
with vehicles that may choose to send additional data elements, we are 
generally proposing to permit vehicles to transmit a data value that 
either conforms to the SAE standard or is the SAE-specified ``data 
unavailable'' value.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \133\ E.g., SAE Standard J2735, J2945.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, we are also proposing to exclude certain data elements 
from being transmitted as a part of the BSM. We are proposing this 
limitation in order to balance the privacy concerns of consumers with 
the need to prove safety information to surrounding vehicles.
    While we request public input on any of the issues discussed in 
this section, we especially would like input on whether we have 
appropriately selected (1) the data elements to include/make optional/
exclude, and (2) the tolerance levels for each data element.
(1) Required Data Elements and Their Performance Metrics
    In the work completed by SAE thus far,\134\ the automotive industry 
separated the information transmitted in the basic safety message into 
two parts (Part I and Part II). As we explained in the Readiness 
Report, Part I information is core information intended to be sent in 
every basic safety message. Part II is additional information intended 
to be sent as needed. In this section, we cover data elements from both 
Part I and II that our proposed requirements would include the 
performance metrics for each.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \134\ SAE J2735 and J2945.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Message Packaging
    Before reaching the actual elements that support safety 
applications, the basic safety message needs certain preliminary 
elements that help a receiving device to know what it is receiving. The 
three elements that fall into this category are the Message ID, the 
Message Count, and the Temporary ID. We tentatively believe that all 
three of these elements are necessary as they allow the receiving 
device to interpret the digital code it is receiving and the safety 
information inside the message. The three elements provide the 
information needed for the device to properly process a sequence of 
messages that delivers vehicle position and motion data needed to 
interpret possible crash situations.
(i) Message ID
    The first element is the Message ID. This data element explains to 
the receiving device that the message it is receiving is a basic safety 
message. SAE Standard J2735 specifies that this data

[[Page 3898]]

element is one byte from 0 to 15.\135\ Each number represents a 
different type of message that could be sent over DSRC. We are 
proposing to V2V devices sending basic safety messages transmit a ``2'' 
as the Message ID. Based on SAE Standard J2735, ``2'' indicates to the 
receiving device that the content of the message is a basic safety 
message and that it should interpret the data accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \135\ SAE Standard J2735, page 171.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(ii) Message Count
    The second element here is the Message Count. In SAE Standard 
J2735, the Message Count assigns each basic safety message a number in 
sequence between 0 and 127.\136\ Once the device's Message Count 
reaches 127, the idea is that the next message it sends would have a 
Message Count of 0. This count helps the receiving device know that it 
has all the messages sent by the sending device and which order to put 
them in. For example, if I receive messages 11, 13, 14, and 15 from a 
particular device, I will know that they are in order but I will know 
that I am missing message 12 from that particular device. The agency's 
proposal would require that vehicles follow the requirements of the SAE 
standard and assign the Message Count for each message in sequence 
between 0 and 127. We believe that this Message Count data element will 
enable safety applications that receive these messages to appropriately 
put the messages in order and be aware of any missing messages that 
could affect the overall information being processed by the safety 
application software.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \136\ Id. at page 212.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(iii) Temporary ID
    Finally, the Temporary ID is a four-byte string array randomly-
generated number that allows a receiving device to associate messages 
sent from the same device together. While the identity of the sending 
device is not important for a safety application to take appropriate 
actions during a crash-imminent situation, it is important for a safety 
application to know that it is receiving, for example, ten messages 
from one device rather than five messages from two devices. In other 
words, the Temporary ID balances the safety need of associating basic 
safety messages with each other (to know if they originate from the 
same device), with the privacy need to avoid tracking/identifying 
particular users.
    In order to accomplish these goals, we propose that vehicles 
transmit a Temporary ID as specified in SAE Standard J2735. Based on 
the SAE standard, the Temporary ID is a randomly-generated four-byte 
sequence of numbers selected from 4,294,967,296 combinations.\137\ 
There are many acceptable techniques to generate a random sequence of 
numbers for the Temporary ID and it does not need to be specified; 
however, the performance can be tested. Further, the randomly-generated 
ID is changed to another randomly-generated ID every five minutes, when 
the BSM security certificate changes. Having the ID and the certificate 
change at the same time reduces some of the risk that a relationship 
between the ID and certificate could be developed to track a device. 
Given the current research available, changing security certificates at 
five minute intervals helps to reducing the risk of tracking which 
helps to protect consumer privacy. Additional research is being 
conducted to further investigate the ability or limitation of the five 
minute time period to mitigate the potential for tracking and protect 
privacy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \137\ Id. at page 252.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Time
    In addition to the data elements necessary for packaging the basic 
safety message, the Time data element is critical because all of the 
information within the basic safety message (e.g., the vehicle 
location, speed, etc.) being used to enable safety applications needs 
to be expressed in the context of time. Based on time, the safety 
application is able to determine when a surrounding vehicle was in a 
given location and assess where that vehicle may go. Thus, it is 
important for the Time element not only to be expressed precisely but 
also using a uniform system among the devices participating in the V2V 
information environment.
    In order to accomplish this purpose, we propose a standard system 
for vehicles to express time in the basic safety message and a 
requirement for the accuracy of the time. DSRC-based devices would be 
required to adhere to SAE Standard J2735 \138\ and devices would be 
required to use the UTC \139\ standard for time. The UTC standard is 
widely accepted. It is also the predominant standard for time for 
internet devices and GPS devices--two groups of technologies that are 
closely related with V2V devices. Thus, we believe that the UTC 
standard is an appropriate standard method for expressing time. 
Further, we tentatively believe that the UTC method for expressing time 
contains an appropriate level of accuracy--including a method for 
accounting for leap seconds.\140\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \138\ Id. at page 62.
    \139\ Coordinated Universal Time International 
Telecommunications Union Recommendation (ITU-R TF.460-6), See BAH 
Report Section 4.3.6.2pubrec/itu-r/rec/tf/R-REC-TF.460-6-200202-
I!!PDF-E.pdf.
    \140\ See ``Leap Seconds'' http://www.endruntechnologies.com/leap.htm (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to using the UTC standard, we propose to require 
vehicles to transmit the Time data element to an accuracy of 1 ms 
(i.e., within +/- 1 ms of the actual time). Given the proposed 
requirements for transmitting the messages, we believe that requiring 
the time information accompanying each basic safety message to be 
within 1 ms of the actual time is appropriate. As further discussed 
below, we are proposing that vehicles transmit a basic safety message 
10 times a second (unless specific conditions require otherwise). In 
the discussions that follow, we are also proposing that vehicles 
broadcast the messages (in order to help avoid vehicles broadcasting at 
the same time) at a staggered time (a random value of +/- 5 ms from 
every tenth of a second). Given these requirements where the broadcast 
time of a message can vary by as little as 1 ms, we tentatively believe 
it is appropriate to require that the Time data element be accurate to 
within 1 ms.
(c) Location
    This set of data elements form the foundation of the basic safety 
message because it is the information that enables all the safety 
applications being developed to utilize the V2V information 
environment. The location information of the surrounding vehicles 
enables a safety application on a vehicle to know whether a crash 
imminent situation exists or is likely to exist in the near future. For 
example, an application such as IMA would use location information of 
surrounding vehicles to determine whether another vehicle is heading 
into the intersection and likely to cause a crash.
    For location, longitudinal and lateral (2D) data, and also vertical 
(elevation) data would be required. We acknowledge that longitudinal 
and lateral data are more commonly used in V2V safety applications 
(since vehicle travel is mostly two dimensional). However, elevation 
also is important in a number of respects. For example, safety 
applications such as FCW or LDW can potentially take into account 
elevation information for merging traffic in on-ramp situations. 
Further, applications currently under development such as IMA are 
already taking elevation into account to

[[Page 3899]]

differentiate cross traffic that is on an overpass from situations 
where the cross traffic is on the same plane of travel (i.e., could 
potentially lead to a crash).
(i) Vehicle Position Reference Point
    In order for vehicles to accurately communicate their position in a 
basic safety message to each other, all vehicles need to agree to a 
single point on the vehicle as the reference point. Without such a 
point, the reported position for each vehicle could vary by meters 
depending on the size of the vehicle and the point on the vehicle that 
the message is reporting. Thus, we are providing a proposed definition 
for a vehicle reference point--based upon which the agency would 
evaluate the compliance of the vehicle location information in the 
basic safety message.
    Our proposal is to define the vehicle reference point as the 
theoretical point projected on the surface of the roadway that is in 
the center of a rectangle oriented about the vehicle's axis of symmetry 
front-to-back. This rectangle encompasses the farthest forward and 
rearward points and side-to-side points on the vehicle, including 
original equipment such as outside side view mirrors on the surface of 
the World Geodetic System-84 (WGS-84) ellipsoid (see Figure III-8). The 
position reference is obtained from measurements taken when the vehicle 
is situated on level ground/roadway, i.e. where there is no difference 
in grade in any direction and all tires contact the ground/roadway 
evenly. This position provides the BSM position reference of the center 
of the vehicle along all axes that can be used to determine the outer 
perimeter of the vehicle in relation to vehicle movement. The position 
reference is also used to configure the GPS antenna if the antenna 
cannot be placed at the vehicle's center point.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.008

(ii) Longitude and Latitude
    Longitude and latitude position would require that vehicles report 
a position that is within 1.5 m of their actual position at a 
Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) \141\ less than or equal to 1.5 
within the one sigma absolute error. For the 2D location we tentatively 
believe that 1.5 m is appropriate because it is half of the width of a 
lane of traffic. Therefore, if vehicles provide position data within 
this level of accuracy, safety applications should be able to determine 
whether another vehicle is within its lane of travel. Further, the 
requirement to stay within the 1.5 m of tolerance at an HDOP smaller 
than five, within the one sigma absolute error, accounts for some of 
the variation in position that may occur with GPS due to failure to 
receive signals from a sufficient number of satellite signals.\142\ If 
the HDOP is larger than five, there is a high probability that the 
accuracy of the position of the vehicle will not be accurate enough to 
support the 1.5m of position. As we anticipate that most vehicles, if 
not all vehicles, will use GPS to ascertain their location, we 
currently believe that it is appropriate to account for this potential 
error in our proposed location requirement in the

[[Page 3900]]

basic safety message. Our engineering judgment is that an HDOP smaller 
than five within the one sigma absolute error appropriately 
accommodates the potential variation in GPS and provides a monitoring 
function that can be measured to determine if the GPS within the DSRC 
device can calculate a position at an accuracy level that supports the 
1.5m relative position accuracy needed for DSRC crash avoidance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \141\ HDOP is a measure of the geometric quality of a GNSS 
satellite configuration in the sky. HDOP is a factor in determining 
the relative accuracy of a horizontal position based on the number 
of visible satellites. The smaller the DOP number, the better the 
geometry and accuracy. HDOP less than 5 is a general rule of 
indicating a good GNSS condition that can provide the desired level 
of accuracy. However, a lower DOP value does not automatically mean 
a low position error. The quality of a GPS-derived position estimate 
depends upon both the measurement geometry as represented by DOP 
values, and range errors caused by signal strength, ionospheric 
effects, multipath, etc.
    \142\ As noted above, there are other factors that may lead to 
degradation of the GPS information--e.g., ionospheric interference, 
multipath, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(iii) Elevation
    Due to the different situations in which elevation is relevant, 
vehicles would be required to report elevation in the basic safety 
message with an accuracy of three meters--rather than 1.5.\143\ In 
terms of elevation, our tentative belief is that the information does 
not need to be as exact as the longitude and latitude location. Our 
proposal currently uses three meters (approximately 10 feet) because it 
provides sufficient distance to distinguish between a vehicle crossing 
an overpass versus those that are on the same level as the vehicle with 
a safety application. Further, our current judgment is that reporting 
the elevation with greater specificity would be counter-productive for 
certain safety applications. The elevation should be relative to each 
vehicle being interacted with within 300M. A tolerance of 3m (10ft) 
provides for low bridges but takes into account changes in grade that 
change as vehicles close on each other. Therefore, in specifying the 
elevation tolerance, we tentatively believe that we are balancing the 
competing safety interests.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \143\ We would measure the elevation data element under the same 
conditions as the longitudinal/lateral data element--i.e., the 
accuracy needs to be 3m when the HDOP is less than 5 within the 1 
sigma absolute error.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(d) Movement
    In addition to knowing the vehicle's position, a safety application 
should also consider the characteristics of that vehicle's movement. 
Rather than extrapolating these characteristics (with less accuracy) 
based on the position information, safety applications currently under 
development already consider movement information about the surrounding 
vehicles in determining whether a crash-imminent situation exists. For 
the basic safety message, we tentatively believe that speed, heading, 
acceleration, and yaw are the most relevant pieces of information about 
a vehicle's moment.
    We are proposing characteristics for message content related to 
speed, heading, acceleration, and yaw rates. Essentially, we propose to 
measure the rate at which the sending device's location is changing and 
also any changes to that rate at which a device's location is changing. 
Because a safety application is generally concerned with the potential 
future locations of the device (rather than just its present location), 
it is likely that safety applications will utilize this type of 
information.
    For example, through combining the speed and heading information 
with a devices's current location, a safety application can calculate 
whether a surrounding vehicle can collide with the safety application's 
vehicle. Further, having information about the vehicle's acceleration 
will make that prediction more accurate because it tells a safety 
application whether the vehicle is speeding up or slowing down. Yaw 
rate also affects the predicted location of the vehicle because it 
measures the rate at which the vehicle's direction is changing (i.e., 
the rate at which the vehicle's face is pivoting towards the left or 
the right). The tendency of the vehicle to change direction during its 
travel (like acceleration) also affects the ability of a safety 
application to predict its location.
(i) Speed
    We are proposing that vehicles report their speed in the basic 
safety message accurate to within 0.28 m/s (1 kph). We tentatively 
believe that this is the appropriate accuracy for the Speed data 
element based on the agency's experience in the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment, where systems reporting speed information accurate to 
within 1 kph effectively supported the tested safety applications. We 
are not aware of any instances during the Model Deployment where an 
application warned at the incorrect time (i.e., false positive) or 
failed to warn (i.e., false negative) due to any inaccuracies in the 
Speed data element. As the available information indicate that the 1 
kph tolerance requirement is technically feasible and that it supports 
the safety applications, we tentatively believe that it would also be 
an appropriate requirement for a final regulation.
    We note that the basic safety message requirements in SAE J2735 
state that the speed is reported in increments of 0.02 mph. We 
currently believe that it is appropriate, in addition to the tolerance 
of 1 kph established above, to also specify the incremental units to be 
used by the vehicle in reporting its speed. While it may not be 
technically feasible to report the speed information with a tolerance 
of only 0.02 mph, we believe that (by requiring the vehicle to report 
speed in incremental units of 0.02 mph) we can capture better 
information about the vehicle's change in speed. Further, by 
establishing these consistent requirements, vehicles will be able to 
better rely on the information they are receiving from the surrounding 
vehicles. As with our rationale for the tolerance of 1 kph in the 
preceding paragraph, our rationale for proposing that vehicles report 
the speed information in increments of 0.02 mph is based on our 
experience in the Safety Pilot testing. In the Safety Pilot, vehicles 
reported information using these specifications and it provided 
effective information for the safety applications tested in that 
program.
    We request comment on these tentative conclusions. Is there any 
data that suggest that the agency should adopt a different tolerance 
level for the speed information reported in the basic safety message? 
Is there similar data for the incremental values for reporting speed 
that we propose to require?
(ii) Heading
    Heading in relation to BSM and crash avoidance is defined as the 
``actual'' heading in relation to the vehicle position reference point 
(explained above) that indicates the course of the vehicle's motion 
regardless of the vehicle's orientation to that motion, i.e. where the 
front of the vehicle is pointing. Knowing the ``actual'' vehicle 
heading is needed in order to accurately identify conflict and imminent 
crash situations.
    For Heading, the agency would require different levels of accuracy 
based on the vehicle's speed. We tentatively believe that this is 
appropriate because we anticipate that most vehicles will be 
determining vehicle heading using GPS information. We recognize that 
the accuracy of GPS-determined heading varies based on speed. We also 
tentatively believe that heading information might not be as critical 
at lower speeds. Therefore, we believe it is appropriate to provide 
more flexibility at lower vehicle speeds. Thus the requirements for 
heading need to support V2V crash avoidance would read as follows:
     When the vehicle speed is greater than 12.5 m/s (~28 mph), 
it is required to report vehicle heading accurately to within 2 
degrees; and
     when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to 12.5 m/s, 
it is required to report the vehicle heading accurately to within 3 
degrees.
    We tentatively believe that 2 degree accuracy for speeds above 12.5 
m/s is appropriate because research indicates that at approximately 
12.5 m/s (28 mph)

[[Page 3901]]

sensors and vehicle dynamics can accurately report heading within 2 
degrees. At speeds less than 12.5 m/s the research indicates that the 
sensors and vehicle dynamics cannot reliably report vehicle heading 
within 2 degrees, but can reliably and accurately report within 3 
degrees of accuracy. Given that at lower speeds vehicles travel less 
distance and driver-initiated evasive actions can be more effective at 
the lower speeds, our tentative conclusion is also that a three degree 
accuracy is appropriate for speeds below 12.5 m/s.
    In addition to providing different requirements for accuracy at 
different speeds, we tentatively believe it is appropriate to require 
that vehicles ``latch'' \144\ the GPS information at very low vehicle 
speeds. In other words, when the vehicle speed is very low (and a GPS 
cannot accurately determine the heading) we are proposing to require 
that the basic safety message transmit the last heading information 
prior to the vehicle dropping below a given speed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \144\ ``Latch'' in this context refers to a software operation 
that holds a value in memory and attached to a specific variable as 
long as a specified condition is reached and maintained.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In this case, the agency is proposing to require the system to 
latch the heading when the vehicle drops below 1.11 m/s (~2.5 mph). We 
tentatively believe that 1.11 m/s is an appropriately low threshold 
where, at speeds lower than 1.11 m/s, the heading information is not as 
crucial because the vehicle is not changing its location at a 
significant pace. For reference, a NHTSA 2006 study measured the idling 
speed of the vehicles (i.e., speed when vehicle is in gear and no brake 
or throttle is being applied). Of the vehicles that NHTSA measured in 
that study, the idling speed ranged from 4.0 mph to 7.0 mph.\145\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \145\ See Mazzae, E.N., Garrott, W.R., (2006) Experimental 
Evaluation of the Performance of Available Backover Prevention 
Technologies. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 
810 634.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the agency is proposing to require vehicles to unlatch 
their heading information (and transmit a heading value that is within 
3 degrees of its actual heading) when its speed exceeds 1.39 m/s \146\ 
(~3.1 mph). As a vehicle's speed increases towards its idling speed, we 
propose requiring that the vehicle calculate its heading and report 
that information in the basic safety message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \146\ The speed threshold for unlatching the vehicle heading is 
different from the speed threshold for latching. The reason for the 
latching speed to be lower than the unlatching speed is because a 
system should not need to latching and unlatch the vehicle heading 
repeatedly when the vehicle speed is hovering around a given 
threshold speed (e.g., 1.11 m/s). By having different (but similar) 
speeds for latching and unlatching, the system will be able to latch 
the speed once when the vehicle is decelerating and unlatch once 
when the vehicle is accelerating without having to repeat the action 
multiple times if there are vehicle speed fluctuations during the 
vehicle's general acceleration or deceleration trend.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(iii) Acceleration
    For Acceleration, the agency would require vehicles to report 
horizontal (longitudinal and lateral) acceleration with an accuracy of 
0.3 m/s\2\ and vertical acceleration to 1 m/s\2\. The requirement is 
based on the need to provide accurate and timely safety alerts for the 
crash scenarios and corresponding potential safety applications 
identified in Table III-2. The requirement was obtained by extensively 
testing commercially-available equipment and automotive sensors in a 
wide variety of driving environments, and the numbers were proven to be 
reasonable based on the equipment and sensor capabilities, while also 
supporting safety alerts from the appropriate safety application at 
timings that would enable a driver reaction sufficient to avoid the 
corresponding crash scenario.
(iv) Yaw Rate
    Finally, for Yaw Rate, the agency would require vehicles to report 
this information to an accuracy of 0.5 degrees per second. The 
requirement is based on the need to provide accurate and timely safety 
alerts for the crash scenarios and corresponding potential safety 
applications identified in Table III-2. The requirement was obtained by 
extensively testing commercially-available equipment and automotive 
sensors in a wide variety of driving environments, and the numbers were 
proven to be reasonable based on the equipment and sensor capabilities, 
while also supporting safety alerts from the appropriate safety 
application at timings that would enable a driver reaction sufficient 
to avoid the corresponding crash scenario.

           Table III-2 Potential Safety Applications Reliant on Acceleration and Yaw Rate Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             EEBL         FCW      BSW/ LCW       IMA         LTA         CLW
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lead Vehicle Stopped....................  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........
Control Loss without Prior Vehicle        ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]
 Action.................................
Vehicle(s) Turning at Non-Signalized      ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]     [check]  ..........
 Junctions..............................
Straight Crossing Paths at Non-           ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........
 Signalized Junctions...................
Lead Vehicle Decelerating...............     [check]     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........
Vehicle(s) Changing Lanes--Same           ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........
 Direction..............................
Left Turn Across Path--Opposite           ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........
 Direction..............................
Lead Vehicle Stopped....................  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........
Control Loss without Prior Vehicle        ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]
 Action.................................
Vehicle(s) Turning at Non-Signalized      ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]     [check]  ..........
 Junctions..............................
Straight Crossing Paths at Non-           ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........
 Signalized Junctions...................
Lead Vehicle Decelerating...............     [check]     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........
Vehicle(s) Changing Lanes--Same           ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........  ..........  ..........
 Direction..............................
Left Turn Across Path--Opposite           ..........  ..........  ..........  ..........     [check]  ..........
 Direction..............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(e) Additional Event Based Information
    In addition to the information discussed thus far, the agency would 
require additional data conveying the transmitting vehicle's path 
history, future predicted path, and exterior lights status to also be 
transmitted as part of the Vehicle Safety Extension (Part II) for V2V 
safety communications. The data element, Event Flags, shall also be 
transmitted as long as a defined event is active. For exterior lights 
status and other, similar data where access to the vehicle databus may 
be necessary, the agency assumes all integrated devices will have 
access this information. Aftermarket, standalone devices may or

[[Page 3902]]

may not be able to access this information.
(i) Path History
    Path history, which provides an adaptable, concise representation 
of a vehicle's recent movement over some period of time and/or 
distance, consists of a sequence of positions selected to represent the 
vehicle's position within an allowable error. The path history can be 
used not only by safety applications on the transmitting vehicle, but 
also by other vehicles, which can use this information to predict the 
roadway geometry and for target vehicle classification with reference 
to the roadway.
    For the Path History (PH) data frame, the agency would require that 
the vehicle use a history of its past GNSS locations (as dictated by 
GNSS data elements including UTC time, latitude, longitude, heading, 
elevation, etc.), sampled at a periodic time interval (typically, 100 
ms) and interpolated in-between by circular arcs, to represent the 
vehicle's recent movement over a limited period of time or distance.
    Path history points should be incorporated into the Path History 
data frame such that the perpendicular distance between any point on 
the vehicle path and the line connecting two consecutive PH points 
shall be less than 1 m. In this way, the points present in the path 
history will concisely represent the actual path history of the vehicle 
based on the allowable position error tolerance (1 m) between the 
actual vehicle path and its concise representation. Objective testing 
of applications as part of the VSC-A Project showed that a PH error 
tolerance of 1 m satisfies the needed accuracy for target vehicle 
classification and meets the performance requirements of the safety 
applications that were developed and demonstrated.
    For the subset of the available vehicle path position data 
elements, a minimum number of PH points necessary to satisfy the 
required error tolerance between the vehicle path and its PH 
representation (1 m) should be selected to populate the Path History 
data frame. Populating the Path History data frame with the minimum 
number of PH points possible offers significant savings in over-the-air 
wireless bandwidth when transmitting the PH information to other 
vehicles wirelessly. Additionally, vehicles should report the minimum 
number of PH points so that the represented PH distance (i.e., the 
distance between the first and last PH point) is at least 300 m and no 
more than 310 m, unless initially there is less than 300 m of PH. We 
believe that this range is appropriate because the operational range 
for DSRC is approximately 300 m, and the maximum required signal range 
for safety applications currently under development is 300 m. However, 
if the number of PH points needed to meet both the error and distance 
requirements stated above exceeds the maximum allowable number of 
points (23), the Path History data frame shall be populated with only 
the 23 most recent points from the computed set of points. Effectively, 
the distance requirement shall be relaxed in order to reduce over-the-
air bandwidth.
    Lastly, to ensure the most accurate representation of the vehicle's 
current trajectory, the Path History data frame shall be populated with 
time-ordered PH points, with the first PH point being the closest in 
time to the current UTC time, and older points following in the order 
in which they were determined. And, so as to permit safety applications 
to operate properly, the Path History data frame shall not include any 
additional data elements/frames in the BSMs intended for vehicle safety 
communications.
(ii) Path Prediction
    Not only is it important to determine where a vehicle has been, it 
is also useful for safety applications to know where a vehicle is 
headed, or its future path. This future trajectory estimation can 
significantly enhance in-lane and out-of-lane threat classification.
    Trajectories in the Path Prediction (PP) data frame are 
represented, at a first order of curvature approximation, as a circle 
with a radius, R, and an origin located at (0,R), where the x-axis is 
aligned with the transmitting vehicle's perspective and normal to the 
vehicle's vertical axis. The vehicle's (x,y,z) coordinate frame follows 
the SAE convention. The radius, R, will be positive for curvatures to 
the right when observed from the transmitting vehicle's perspective, 
and radii exceeding a maximum value of 32,767 are to be interpreted as 
a ``straight path'' prediction by receiving vehicles.
    The radius, R, can be derived using various means, including map 
databases, vision systems, global positioning, etc. Alternatively, 
simple physics equations can be used to compute a curvature based on 
instantaneous dynamics information (vehicle speed and rate of change of 
heading, or yaw rate) provided by the vehicle. This curvature can then 
be extrapolated forward (as a continuous radius of curvature) to 
provide an estimate of the vehicle's likely intended future trajectory, 
or path. To minimize the effect of sensor noise and in-lane driver 
wandering, however, it is also necessary to use low-pass filtering 
techniques (time constant greater than 2 ms typically) in instances 
where the radius is derived from instantaneous vehicle information, 
such as from rate sensors and velocity.
    Confidence in the predicted path based on the rate of change of the 
vehicle dynamics can also be computed in order to infer non-steady-
state conditions, such as those stemming from lane changes, curve entry 
and exit points, curve transitions, and obstacle avoidance, where large 
changes in vehicle yaw rate occur over a short period of time. In such 
situations, path estimations may be largely inaccurate and, as such, 
confidence levels would be low. Conversely, a high confidence value 
would be reported during steady-state conditions (straight roadways or 
curves with a constant radius of curvature).
    When a deviceis in steady state conditions over a range from 100 m 
to 2,500 m in magnitude, the agency is proposing to require that the 
subsystem populate the PP data frame with a calculated radius that has 
less than 2% error from the actual radius. The agency believes that 
this range and error rate is appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of 
safety applications that rely on such information. For the purposes of 
this performance requirement, steady state conditions are defined as 
those which occur when the vehicle is driving on a curve with a 
constant radius and where the average of the absolute value of the 
change of yaw rate over time is smaller than 0.5 deg/s\2\.
    After a transition from the original constant radius (R1) to the 
target constant radius (R2), the subsystem shall repopulate the PP data 
frame within four seconds under the maximum allowable error bound 
defined above.
    Lastly, when the transmitting vehicle is stationary, we propose 
requiring that a device report a ``straight path'' radius of value 
32,767 and confidence value of 100%, which corresponds to a value of 
200 for the data element.
(iii) Exterior Lights
    For the Exterior Lights data element, the agency is proposing to 
require that the subsystem shall set the individual light indications 
in the data element to be consistent with the vehicle status data that 
is available. If meaningful values are unavailable, or no light 
indications will be set, the data element should not be transmitted.
    The data element, Exterior Lights, provides the status of all 
exterior lights on the vehicle, including parking lights,

[[Page 3903]]

headlights (including low and high beam, and automatic light control), 
fog lights, daytime running lights, turn signal (right and left), and 
hazard signals. This information can be used not only to enhance the 
operation of safety applications running on the transmitting vehicle, 
but it can similarly be used by other vehicles within range of 
receiving messages sent by the transmitting vehicle.
(iv) Event Flags
    The data element, Event Flags, conveys the sender's status with 
respect to safety-related events such as antilock brake system (ABS) 
activation, stability control activation, hard braking, and airbag 
deployment, among others. Similar to that mentioned for the Exterior 
Lights data element, the additional information conveyed in the Event 
Flags data element can serve to augment the other BSM information used 
by applications when determining whether to issue or suppress warnings. 
Furthermore, because the inclusion of the Event Flag data element 
suggests that an unusual, safety-related event has occurred, vehicles 
receiving a message containing an Event Flag element may choose to 
process it differently than a message that does not.
    The Event Flags and respective criteria the agency proposing to 
require in the BSM are defined in SAE J2735 as follows:
     ABS Activation: The system is activated for a period of 
time exceeding 100 ms in length and is currently active.
     Stability Control Activation: The system is activated for 
a period of time exceeding 100 ms in length and is currently active.
     Hard Braking: The vehicle has decelerated or is 
decelerating at a rate of greater than 0.4 g.
     Air Bag Deployment: At least one air bag has been 
deployed.
     Hazard Lights: The hazard lights are currently active.
     Stop Line Violation: The vehicle anticipates that it will 
pass the line without coming to a full stop before reaching it.
     Traction Control System Activation: The system is 
activated for a period of time exceeding 100 ms in length and is 
currently active.
     Flat Tire: The vehicle has determined that at least one 
tire has run flat.
     Disabled Vehicle: The vehicle considers itself to be 
disabled.
     Lights Changed: The status of the external lights on the 
vehicle has changed recently.
     Wipers Changed: The status of the front or rear wipers on 
the vehicle has changed recently.
     Emergency Response: The vehicle is a properly authorized 
public safety vehicle, is engaged in a service call, and is currently 
moving. Lights and/or sirens may not be evident.
     Hazardous Materials: The vehicle is known to be carrying 
hazardous materials and is labeled as such.
    If a stated criterion is met, the sender shall set the Event Flag 
to 1. If, and only if, one or more of the defined Event Flags are set 
to 1, the subsystem shall transmit a BSM with the corresponding Event 
Flags within 250 ms of the initial detection of the event at the 
sender. The Event Flags data element shall be included in the Vehicle 
Safety Extension data frame for as long as an event is active. Messages 
containing Event Flags may also include related optional data. When one 
or more criteria associated with an event are no longer satisfied, the 
sender shall set the flag to zero in any Event Flag data element that 
it sends.
    The agency is requesting comment on the appropriateness of each of 
the Event Flags and corresponding criteria described above.
(f) Vehicle Based Motion Indicators
    In addition to describing the location and the motion of vehicles, 
the device can use other pieces of information to verify state and 
motion, if the device has access. The agency assumes all integrated 
devices will have access this information. Aftermarket, standalone 
devices may or may not be able to access this information. This type of 
information in the basic safety message can collectively identify 
operational status and motion that can be used to confirm calculated 
position and future position of surrounding vehicles. Thus, it helps 
safety applications determine whether a potential crash imminent 
situation could exist.
    Two pieces of information help fulfill this objective. They are the 
Transmission State and Steering Wheel Angle data elements. The 
Transmission State provides an indication concerning the operational 
direction of the vehicle in relation to its reference point. This 
information puts the speed, heading, location, etc. information into 
context. The steering wheel angle (which is not the same as the vehicle 
heading because this indicates the direction of the steering wheel 
control itself and not the vehicle) is a data element that indicates 
which way the wheels are turned, providing another possible indication 
of direction (in some cases the vehicle's wheels can be turned, 
however, the vehicle could be skidding in a different direction.).
(i) Transmission State
    This data element would require that vehicles report whether they 
are in a gear in the forward or reverse (or neutral) direction. We 
tentatively believe that the relevant information for a safety 
application is whether the vehicle is in gear to begin moving; and if 
so, whether it will do so in the forward or reverse direction. Thus, 
our proposal currently does not include any requirement for reporting 
the gear ratios of the vehicle.
(ii) Steering Wheel Angle
    This data element would require that vehicles report the direction 
of the steering wheel angle to within 5 degrees of the actual steering 
wheel angle. Here, we are seeking to use another element to confirm 
actual heading of the vehicle. Thus, the Steering Wheel Angle data 
element describes the movement of the steering wheel itself (i.e., it 
does not consider how such movement would affect the direction of the 
tires). Taking into account steering wheel angle provides a check of 
the position and motion calculations based on the actual state of the 
vehicle. We tentatively believe that expressing the steering wheel 
angle to an accuracy of 5 degrees is sufficient because we believe that 
a 6 degree change in steering wheel direction provides an indication of 
vehicle direction.\147\ In other words, steering wheel angle changes of 
less than 6 degrees can be small adjustments in steering used to 
maintain current heading. However, steering wheel angle changes greater 
than 6 degrees result in a measurable change in actual heading of the 
vehicle. Thus, we tentatively conclude that an accuracy of 5 degrees 
would be sufficient to confirm (check plausibility) actual heading of 
the vehicle; i.e. if the actual heading is left are the wheels also 
turned to the left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \147\ NHTSA's past research used 6 degree changes in steering 
input to indicate a situation in the research project where the test 
driver intended to conduct a maneuver. See NHTSA Light Vehicle 
Antilock Brake System Research Program Task 5.2/5.3: Test Track 
Examination of Drivers' Collision Avoidance Behavior Using 
Conventional and Antilock Brakes, DOT HS 809 561, March 2003, page 
32.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(g) Vehicle Size
    This data element is also an element that is fundamental for a 
safety application's determination of whether a crash scenario might 
occur. In addition to knowing where a vehicle is, the characteristics 
of its motion (to predict where the vehicle will be in the near 
future), and some aspects of the

[[Page 3904]]

driver's intent, a safety application needs to know how large the 
vehicle is in order to know whether a crash might occur. However, we 
also acknowledge that this data element has more potential privacy 
impacts than other data elements. As further discussed in this 
document, the V2V information environment uses multiple strategies to 
omit as much potentially identifying information as possible in the 
basic safety message, security credentials, etc. However, we 
acknowledge that if the vehicle size information is too specific, it 
could potentially facilitate an effort to identify basic safety 
messages to a particular vehicle over time. The agency believes the 
performance metric for this data element balances not only the safety 
need for accurate information about the vehicle size, but also the 
privacy needs of the driver.
    Thus, we tentatively believe that having a 0.2 m tolerance is an 
appropriate balancing of those competing interests. This level of 
specificity meets the need to identify the physical extent of the 
vehicle for crash avoidance given that vehicle size is to be rounded up 
which will still provide for the appropriate calculation of a warning 
such that the driver can take appropriate action to avoid a crash. The 
additional size for some vehicles will only present an insignificant 
amount of additional warning time (0.0022 seconds at 25 mph to 0.007 
seconds at 65 mph using a 3 second time to collision baseline) that 
will be transparent to all drivers.
    In addition to considering different tolerances for the vehicle 
length and width data elements, another option is to use vehicle size 
categories or only express the vehicle length and width in increments 
of a given value. For example, requiring that the vehicle length be 
expressed in only increments of 0.2 m would mean that a vehicle with a 
10.12 m length and a vehicle with a 10.01 m length would have the same 
value of 10.2 for the vehicle length in the basic safety message. This 
type of requirement could have the advantage of aggregating many 
different vehicles into particular size categories and potentially help 
discourage identifying a basic safety message to a particular vehicle. 
We request comment on these potential options (i.e., not only the 
potential tolerances for these data elements but also the potential to 
use size categories).
(h) Optional Data Elements
    SAE J2735 also contains a variety of additional data elements that 
the agency is not proposing requirements for in this notice. We 
tentatively believe that these data elements are elements that may be 
useful in safety applications that may be used by various suppliers to 
enhance the operation of an application to issue a warning or suppress 
a warning. While these data elements will add more information on a 
status of the vehicle (especially with regard to whether a vehicle is 
under control), we do not currently have enough information to 
determine how such information might be applied to an application and 
thus tailor such information to that application (or applications). 
Thus, we tentatively believe it is premature to propose requirements 
for these data elements but are preserving the possibility for these 
data elements to potentially be employed to ensure future 
interoperability as technology evolves. The agency is proposing to 
require that devices either adhere to SAE J2735 for these data 
elements, or transmit the ``unavailable'' data value for each of these 
elements (in accordance with SAE J2735) These data elements are:

 Brake applied status
 Traction control state
 Stability control status
 Auxiliary brake status
 Antilock brake status
 Brake boost applied
 Location Accuracy
(i) Excluded Data Elements
    When identifying the data elements to include in the BSM, the 
agency considered those that would be needed to support possible future 
applications and the suppression of warnings to reduce the number of 
false positive warnings. The use of some applications may be limited 
only to authorized vehicles--for example, only law enforcement and 
emergency vehicles might have access to an application providing 
traffic signal priority or pre-emption for emergency or enforcement 
purposes. To support identification of authorized vehicles, the agency 
considered including in the BSM optional elements such as the Vehicle 
Identification Data Field, which includes: VIN string, Owner code, 
Temporary ID, and Vehicle type. These data elements could identify and 
verify an emergency or law enforcement vehicle to a traffic control 
device for signal preemption purposes. However, our privacy experts 
identified VIN and other data elements directly linked to specific 
private vehicles and their owners as potential sources of privacy risk 
to individuals.
    To help reduce the privacy risk that could stem from the 
transmission of information that could be used to associate V2V 
messages with individual consumers, our proposal excludes certain data 
elements from transmission as part of the BSM. Specifically, V2V 
transmissions via DSRC or any future interoperable V2V communications 
technology may not include data directly identifying a specific private 
vehicle or individual regularly associated with it, or data reasonably 
linkable or linkable, as a practical matter, to an individual.\148\ 
NHTSA intends for the terms ``reasonably linkable'' and ``as a 
practical matter linkable'' to have the same meaning, specifically: 
Capable of being used to identify a specific individual on a persistent 
basis without unreasonable cost or effort, in real time or 
retrospectively, given available data sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \148\ See FN 3 above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA seeks comment on these tentative conclusions. Specifically, 
we request comment on our proposed exclusion from the BSM of data 
elements that directly identify, or are reasonably linkable or linkable 
as a practical matter, to a private individual. Do commenters have 
thoughts on whether, as a practical matter, any data element (or 
combination of data elements) currently proposed as part of the BSM is 
reasonably linkable to an individual on a persistent basis? We seek 
comment on whether this aspect of NHTSA's proposal appropriately 
balances consumer privacy with safety--or whether, by declining to 
identify definitively those data elements that are, or may be, 
``reasonably linkable'' to an individual (and therefore must be 
excluded from the BSM under NHTSA's proposal), NHTSA will undermine the 
NPRM's overarching goal of establishing a standardized data set for the 
BSM and providing adequate data for safety applications.
(2) Proposed BSM Data Initialization Requirements
    In addition to the content of the basic safety message, we are 
aware that participants in the V2V Safety Pilot have included data 
persistency performance in their on-board V2V systems in order to 
minimize the time needed for vehicles to begin transmitting basic 
safety messages after the vehicle starts up.
    The advantage of doing so is that when the vehicle starts up, it 
already has information about its last known location, heading, etc. 
that was accurate when it shut down. The premise is that upon device 
startup, the device could begin transmitting sooner rather than waiting 
for new information, such as receiving a new heading or calculating

[[Page 3905]]

path history, both of which would require the device to acquire GPS 
data and start moving. In many instances, this would reduce the time to 
initialize the first (after startup) transmission of the BSM. As the 
vehicle most likely did not travel while it was shut down, the 
information it saved during shut down should still be accurate upon 
startup. However, there could be scenarios when the last known heading 
and path history will be inaccurate, such as when parking ``head'' or 
``tail'' in (higher frequency) or if the vehicle has been towed 
(hopefully, very low frequency).
    NHTSA recognizes that the practice of saving vehicle data over 
vehicle on-off-on events is typically used to enhance feature 
performance, improving consumer acceptance. However, NHTSA does not 
believe at this time that a minimum requirement for data persistency is 
needed, nor that we need to identify specific data elements that should 
be stored upon shutdown and retrieved at startup.
    Based on the available information, we currently agree with the 
research to date that minimizing the time it takes for a vehicle to 
begin transmitting the basic safety message is desirable as it helps 
ensure that vehicles will be providing information into the V2V 
environment as soon as possible after they begin moving. We also agree 
with the research to date that including data persistency performance 
in vehicle V2V systems is a good way to accomplish this task.
    Instead, the agency's proposal would require that vehicles begin 
transmitting basic safety messages within a specified amount of time 
after startup without specifying the method that a manufacturer would 
choose to meet that requirement. While a manufacturer may use data 
persistency techniques to meet the performance requirement, we believe 
that this method for achieving the safety goal appropriately gives the 
manufacturer more design flexibility.
    While the basic safety message transmitted from one vehicle can be 
useful to other vehicles when the vehicle is stationary, we currently 
believe that (at a minimum) the vehicle should begin transmitting basic 
safety messages at a time when we might reasonably expect people to 
begin driving their vehicle after getting into it. In other words, our 
current thinking is that the vehicle should begin transmitting before 
the vast majority of drivers begin driving the vehicle.
    The proposed requirements are that a vehicle shall begin 
transmitting the basic safety message within 2 seconds after a vehicle 
key on event has occurred. This proposed requirement is based on the 
final performance requirement associated with FMVSS No. 111 for rear 
visibility systems. While a V2V system and rear visibility system are 
not identical, the agency believes the research and decisions leading 
to finalizing the two second system startup requirements are fungible 
to V2V and the overarching safety goal.
    In NHTSA's rear visibility rulemaking, our naturalistic driving 
data indicated that 90% of drivers do not select reverse and begin the 
backing maneuver less than 4.25 seconds after opening the vehicle 
door.\149\ While in this case, the safety technology proposed for the 
vehicle is not one that would only be used when the vehicle is 
traveling in reverse, we believe that the data is a reasonable proxy 
for when drivers would put the vehicle in gear (forward or reverse) and 
begin driving. Since our safety goal in this situation is to ensure 
that the vehicle is transmitting the basic safety message before the 
vehicle begins to move, we believe that using a performance requirement 
based on the rear visibility rule's image response time requirement 
(and test procedure) would be appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \149\ See 79 FR 19220.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While based on FMVSS No. 111, this proposed requirement for V2V 
initialization time would need to adjust the test procedure in a few 
ways to account for the characteristics of a vehicle's V2V system. 
First, we note that vehicle's V2V system needs to be active whether the 
vehicle is moving in reverse or moving forward. Thus, the test 
procedure and requirements should not be based solely on reverse gear. 
Second, while the temperature condition of the test would affect the 
rear visibility system display's response time, the temperature 
condition is not as relevant for a vehicle's V2V system. Instead, the 
test should specify environmental conditions that approximate the level 
of access to characteristics of its surrounding environment that a 
vehicle would normally have to populate the information in the basic 
safety message (e.g., open sky access to GPS signals, potential saved 
location/heading information from the basic safety messages prior to 
vehicle shutdown, etc. Thus, the preconditioning test applied to the 
vehicle would need to be modified in these ways.
    In summary, NHTSA is proposing to require that, after a 
conditioning procedure, vehicles begin transmitting basic safety 
messages with the required content and at the required frequency within 
2.0 seconds after the driver puts the vehicle into the forward or 
reverse gear. The conditioning procedure would specify that the vehicle 
is under open sky conditions as in our test procedure for evaluating 
the content of the basic safety message. Then the procedure would 
specify that the test technician:
     Drives the vehicle in any heading at any speed for five 
minutes;
     stops the vehicle and deactivates the vehicle for any 
amount of time between 30 minutes to an hour;
     checks to ensure that the V2V system components are in a 
powered off state;
     opens the driver's door to any width,
     closes the driver's door;
     activates the starting system using the key; and
     selects any gear (forward or reverse) at any time not less 
than 4.0 seconds and not more than 6.0 seconds after the driver's door 
is opened. The driver door is open when the edge of the driver's door 
opposite of the door's hinge is no longer flush with the exterior body 
panel.
    We acknowledge that this procedure may not be representative of a 
small number of real-world scenarios. For example, if a vehicle is in a 
parking structure like a garage, it might not have access to open 
skies. However, for these instances we do not think that there is any 
practicable way for the vehicle to ascertain its position quickly using 
GPS. Thus, we cannot determine a way to ensure that a test specifying 
those conditions would be a practicable test. We also note that the 
proposed procedure does not include moving the vehicle between shut 
down and startup. While vehicles might be moved when shut off, we think 
those are special circumstances (e.g., when the vehicle is towed). 
Those conditions are a small portion of real-world scenarios and they 
are situations where the driver is likely to spend more time with the 
car active before encountering other vehicles (e.g., when starting up 
in a towed vehicle lot, the vehicle may not interact with other moving 
vehicles until it reaches the roadway).
    We request comment on our proposal for helping to ensure that 
vehicles begin broadcasting basic safety messages before a vehicle 
begins to move. More specifically, NHTSA requests comments in relation 
to whether a data persistency requirement is needed, and specifically 
in relation to:
     Supporting the interoperability of V2V devices;
     The performance of BSM transmission and how data 
persistency can be used to properly reduce the time of the initial 
transmission; and
     The possible impacts to crash avoidance functionality.

[[Page 3906]]

    Please provide any supporting evidence that the agency can used to 
make an informed decision.
(3) Summary Table of BSM Content Requirements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \150\ NHTSA intends for the BSM Content Requirements identified 
in Table III-3 to be in accordance with the proposal's overarching 
requirement that BSMs may not contain data elements linked or 
reasonably linkable to an individual.

                             Table III-3--Summary of BSM Content Requirements \150\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Applicable
           Requirement                 Proposal              Basis             standards            Reason
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message Packaging...............  Message ID--(2)     Preliminary         SAE J2735.........  Allows device to
                                   for BSM.            elements need to                        interpret message
                                  Message Count--      ID, process, and                        and obtain safety
                                   sequence No.        sequence BSMs.                          information.
                                  Temp ID--random
                                   No. from specific
                                   device.
Time............................  Use UTC standard    UTC is accepted     SAE J2735, J2945/1  Need time standard
                                   to set time.        standard for                            to related
                                                       setting universal                       messages to time
                                                       system time.                            critical conflict
                                                                                               situations.
Position (Longitude & Latitude).  Longitude and       Per CAMP research   SAE J2735, J2945/1  Provides for
                                   Latitude within     to develop                              accurate relative
                                   1.5m of actual      relationship                            vehicle position
                                   position at HDOP    between                                 need to support
                                   <5 and 1 sigma      measurable                              crash avoidance--
                                   absolute error.     absolute position                       (CAMP).
                                                       and relative
                                                       position.
Position (Elevation)............  3m (10 feet) (more  Accurate elevation  SAE 2735, J2945/1.  3m provides for
                                   difficult to        reduces false                           low bridges and
                                   calculate than      positives--SPMD.                        changes in grade
                                   lat/long).                                                  for crash
                                                                                               avoidance.
Movement (Speed)................  Accurate within     Same as EDR rule--  SAE J2735, J2945/1  The setting is
                                   0.28 m/s (1 kph).   tighter accuracy                        based on the need
                                                       then identified                         to provide
                                                       by CAMP. Changed                        accurate and
                                                       to be consistent                        timely safety
                                                       with existing                           alerts. The
                                                       standard.                               setting was
                                                                                               obtained by
                                                                                               extensively
                                                                                               testing
                                                                                               commercially
                                                                                               available
                                                                                               equipment and
                                                                                               automotive
                                                                                               sensors in a wide
                                                                                               variety of
                                                                                               driving
                                                                                               environments.
Movement (Heading)..............  Speed >12.5 m/s     Research indicates  SAE J2735, J2945/1  Same as above.
                                   accuracy within 2   that above 12.5 m/
                                   degree--Speed       s sensors and
                                   >12.5 m/s within    vehicle dynamics
                                   3 degrees.          can support 2
                                                       degrees--under
                                                       12.5 m/s can
                                                       support 3 degrees.
Movement (Acceleration).........  Longitudinal &      CAMP research and   SAE J2735, J2945/1  Same as above.
                                   Lateral accuracy    testing.
                                   0.3 m/s\2\--
                                   Vertical accuracy
                                   1 m/s.
Movement (Yaw rate).............  Accuracy within     CAMP..............  SAE J2735, J2945/1  The setting is
                                   0.5 degrees per                                             based on the need
                                   second.                                                     to provide
                                                                                               accurate and
                                                                                               timely safety
                                                                                               alerts. The
                                                                                               setting was
                                                                                               obtained by
                                                                                               extensively
                                                                                               testing
                                                                                               commercially
                                                                                               available
                                                                                               equipment and
                                                                                               automotive
                                                                                               sensors in a wide
                                                                                               variety of
                                                                                               driving
                                                                                               environments.
Vehicle Motion Indicator          Report if vehicle   CAMP..............  SAE J2735, J2945/1  Same as above.
 (Transmission).                   is in forward or
                                   reverse gear, or
                                   neutral.
Vehicle Motion Indicator          Report the          CAMP..............  SAE J2735, J2945/1  Same as above.
 (Steering Wheel Angle).           direction of
                                   steering wheel
                                   angle within 5
                                   degrees of actual.
Vehicle Size....................  Vehicle length and  CAMP and MITRE      SAE J2735, J2945/1  Balance the need
                                   width within 0.2m   privacy research.                       to know the
                                   tolerance.                                                  physical extent
                                                                                               of the vehicle
                                                                                               for crash
                                                                                               avoidance and
                                                                                               still protect
                                                                                               privacy.

[[Page 3907]]

 
Excluded Data Elements: No data   Mandate that these  MITRE privacy       SAE J2735, J2945/1  To protect
 elements directly or, as a        optional data       research.                               consumer privacy
 practical matter, linkable to a   element cannot be                                           by reducing
 specific individual or vehicle    populated for                                               privacy risk.
 (including but not limited to     device in
 VIN string, Owner code,           privately owned
 Temporary ID, Vehicle Type).      light vehicles.
Path History....................  Provides concise    CAMP research to    SAE J2735, J2945/1  Use in
                                   representation of   support crash                           calculations to
                                   vehicles recent     avoidance.                              identify vehicle
                                   movements with                                              conflict
                                   accuracy of min                                             situations.
                                   23 points and
                                   required to be
                                   transmitted with
                                   BSM.
Path Prediction.................  Perpendicular       CAMP research.....  SAE J2735, J2945/1  The setting is
                                   Distance--1M;                                               based on the need
                                   Radius error--2%;                                           to provide
                                   Transmission Time                                           accurate and
                                   4s.                                                         timely safety
                                                                                               alerts. The
                                                                                               setting was
                                                                                               obtained by
                                                                                               extensively
                                                                                               testing
                                                                                               commercially
                                                                                               available
                                                                                               equipment and
                                                                                               automotive
                                                                                               sensors in a wide
                                                                                               variety of
                                                                                               driving
                                                                                               environments.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Message Signing and Authentication
(a) Purpose and Safety Need for Confidence in the BSM
    As discussed previously, V2V safety applications can utilize the 
data in the basic safety message (such as position, heading, and speed) 
about other vehicles around it to determine whether it and another 
vehicle are in danger of crashing. In other words, a safety application 
would determine whether it is necessary to take action (e.g., issue a 
warning) based on the information coming from another, nearby vehicle. 
Even in a warning system, it is important for safety applications to 
have accurate information available to make their decisions. Incorrect 
warnings can (at worst) directly increase safety risks and (at minimum) 
affect the driver's acceptance of the warning system. If the driver of 
a V2V-equipped vehicle receives a large number of warnings when there 
is no crash imminent situation (i.e., false warnings), then the driver 
may lose confidence and not respond appropriately when there is a true 
crash-imminent situation.
    Thus it is important that the safety application can place as much 
confidence as possible in the data contained within BSM messages and 
detect when messages are modified or changed while in transit. To help 
improve the level of confidence in BSM messages the agency's primary 
message authentication proposal describes a Public Key Infrastructure 
(PKI) approach to message authentication.
    In addition two alternatives are presented for comment. This first 
alternative for message authentication set out for comment is less 
prescriptive and defines a performance-based approach rather than a 
specific architecture or technical requirement. The second alternative 
set out for comment stays silent on message authentication and does not 
specify a message authentication requirement, leaving authentication at 
the discretion of V2V device implementers.
(b) Public Key Infrastructure Proposal
    The agency is proposing to mandate requirements that would 
establish a message authentication approach based on a Security 
Credential Management System (SCMS) that uses Public Key Infrastructure 
(PKI) digital signatures to sign and verify basic safety messages. This 
would include requiring devices to sign each message, send a valid 
certificate with each message, and periodically obtain up-to-date 
security materials.
(1) How does the Public Key Infrastructure validate messages?
    When transmitting a BSM, the sender uses a security certificate 
issued by a certificate authority to digitally sign each BSM. The 
security certificate is composed of the following elements:

 A date range describing the validity period for the 
certificate
 A Public key corresponding to a private key
 Digital signature from a certificate authority

    When a nearby device receives a properly formed BSM, it can use the 
certificate included in the BSM to verify that the digital signature in 
the BSM is valid. Furthermore, the receiving device can also verify 
that the security certificate included in the BSM is valid as well. The 
receiving vehicle can verify that digital signature on the certificate 
included in the BSM is digitally signed by the certificate authority 
that issued it to the sending device. The receiving device should 
already have a copy of the authorizing certificate for the authority 
stored on-board. In the event that it does not, the receiving device 
would need to request the authorizing certificate from the sending 
device. Once the authorizing certificate is obtained, the receiving 
device can verify that the certificate authority is valid and the 
certificate used to sign the BSM is also valid. This process can be 
repeated for any number of certificate authorities that are in the PKI 
hierarchy, up to the root certificate authority, which authorizes the 
entire system. This process allows receiving devices to verify a 
sender's credentials. For detailed information on the proposed Security 
Credential Management System, see Hehn, T., et al., ``Technical Design 
of the Security Credential

[[Page 3908]]

Management System'', 2014, Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0060-0004.
    The SCMS organization certifies that a device is indeed authorized 
to participate in the V2V environment and then issues credentials to 
the device. Thus, a receiving device can have more confidence in the 
information contained in a BSM message because it knows that the SCMS 
previously confirmed the sender is an approved device and issued these 
credentials.
    In addition to the SCMS device certification, a device also needs 
to properly sign the basic safety message. The following sections 
discuss how the device utilizes the certificates from the SCMS and how 
the agency can confirm that devices are doing so.
(a) Signing the Basic Safety Message for Transmission
    The process for signing the basic safety message involves the use 
of two ``keys,'' one public and one private. \151\ The signature 
process uses the private key and an original string of numbers as 
inputs to generate an encoded string of numbers (an otherwise 
meaningless set of numbers). The public key associated with that 
private key is then used by the signature verification process to 
reverse the signature process (i.e., take the encoded string of 
meaningless numbers and reverse it to generate the original string of 
numbers). Therefore, the receiving device takes the information from 
the sending device and (using the characteristics of these equations) 
can verify the signature of the sender.\152\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \151\ The V2V device generates the private key & public keys. 
The public key is sent to the SCMS to incorporate into a certificate 
that is signed by the PCA. The private key is always kept secret 
with the V2V device. The private key is vital to the signing process 
and must be kept secured at all times.
    \152\ See ``Using the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm 
effectively'' http://www.embedded.com/design/safety-and-security/4427811/Using-the-Elliptic-Curve-Digital-Signature-Algorithm-effectively, Feb. 2, 2014 (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency employed this signing process in V2V devices used 
throughout its research activities and was proven through the Safety 
Pilot Model Deployment activity. Devices in these activities have been 
signing the basic safety message and constructing the security 
credentials of the message by combining the message content with the 
certificate, the signature, and the time stamp of the information.
    Table III-4 shows how the public key, private key, and signature 
fit together with the other parts of the basic safety message.

                                Table III-4--Basic Safety Message Key Components
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Certificate                   Message content             Signature                Timestamp
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pseudonym Certificate
 Public Key..................  (i.e., the speed,        Produced from the        (i.e., when the
 Signature of the Pseudonym     heading, location,       following steps:         information is
 Certificate Authority.                 etc. information that    Compute hash     transmitted.]).
Validity Period......................   supports the safety      of the Message Content
 Says when certificate          applications).           and Timestamp.
 effective and when expires.                                     Use your
                                                                 private key to create
                                                                 an encoded string of
                                                                 numbers.
                                                                 The encoded
                                                                 string of numbers is
                                                                 your signature.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When the transmitting device sends a basic safety message it 
assembles each of the parts of the message in Table III-4 above. The 
vehicle uses a combination of the message content, timestamp, and a 
private key to generate the signature. The device also attaches the 
certificate to the message. The certificate includes the public key, 
corresponding to the private key used to sign the message, the validity 
period of the certificate, and the signature from the Pseudonym 
Certificate Authority. The pseudonym certificate contains the signature 
of the PCA from the SCMS allowing message receivers to verify the 
pseudonym certificate. The validity period is used to determine if the 
certificate is valid or if the receiving device should reject the 
credentials if they are expired.
    The vehicle constructs the signature by using the message content 
and the time stamp portions of the message as inputs into the following 
process:
    (a) Create a hash \153\ of the message content and timestamp (i.e., 
a shortened version of the message content/time stamp that is fixed 
length--e.g., 32 characters). A standard NIST formula (SHA-2) \154\ 
governs the creation of the hash.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \153\ A hash function is any function that can be used to map 
data of arbitrary size to data of fixed size. The values returned by 
a hash function are called hash values, hash codes, hash sums, or 
simply hashes.
    \154\ See ``Secure Hashing'' http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/toolkit/secure_hashing.html (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Input the hashed contents through an Elliptical Curve Digital 
Signature Algorithm \155\ (the equation that creates the encoded string 
of numbers). The resulting number is the ``digital signature.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \155\ See FIPS publication 186-4 at ``FIPS Publications'' http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsFIPS.html (last accessed Dec 7, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Verifying the Signature Upon Receipt
    A device receiving the basic safety message performs the following 
sequence of steps in order to verify the signature:
    (a) Generate the hash of the basic safety message content and 
timestamp using the same NIST defined formula used for generating the 
signature.
    (b) Input the message hash, public key, and digital signature into 
the signature verification function (ECDSA) to verify the BSM digital 
signature is valid.
    (c) Verify the pseudonym certificate (from the sending device) is 
within the validity period.
    (d) Verify the digital signature of the pseudonym certificate back 
to the root certificate authority ensuring the SCMS issued the 
credentials.
    (e) Verify the pseudonym certificate is not listed on the 
Certificate Revocation List.

[[Page 3909]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.009

    As discussed in the next section, the agency is considering a 
potential test method that would mimic many of the functions of the 
receiving device in order to assess whether devices are properly 
signing their messages with valid credentials when they are 
transmitting basic safety messages.
(2) Potential Requirements and Testing for Message Signing and 
Authentication
    The agency is currently considering evaluating a device's ability 
to properly sign the basic safety message by utilizing a test device to 
receive basic safety messages during a static test. The test device 
would perform the key functions described above to verify the 
authenticity of the sender and of the message. Following is discussion 
of the general testing framework and the potential performance 
requirements that the agency is considering within the context of such 
a test.
(a) Potential Message Authentication Test Method
    The agency currently envisions testing message authentication for 
compliance as executing a message security and signage protocols test 
in a static test environment (i.e., a ``security credentials test''). 
The test would be conducted using a vehicle resident V2V device and an 
agency developed test device positioned in close proximity to each 
other.
    In effort to replicate real-world conditions, the agency's current 
strategy is to define a test device that can perform the following 
functions as described in SAE J2945/1 v1.0 \156\ (which itself 
references specific clauses and sections of relevant IEEE P1609 and 
802.11 standards).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \156\ See ``On-Board System Requirements for V2V Safety 
Communication'' at http://standards.sae.org/j2945/1_201603/ (last 
accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     If the full pseudonym certificate is included in the BSM, 
then the device will need to extract the public key from the pseudonym 
certificate of the test vehicle.
     If the certificate digest (hash of the full certificate) 
is included in the BSM, then the device will need to perform a look-up 
in cached memory of the full certificate and then extract the public 
key from the pseudonym certificate of the device under test.
     Confirm that the public key and the credentials in general 
are indeed from the SCMS (i.e., verify the pseudonym certificate 
authority all the way up to the root certificate authority).
     Use the public key to verify the signature section of the 
basic safety message (i.e., execute the ECDSA verification algorithm).
    In terms of specific procedures, we tentatively believe that using 
many of the test conditions from our static test evaluating the 
transmission range and content of the basic safety message would be 
appropriate. In essence, we believe that the same test could be used to 
also evaluate whether the vehicle is appropriately signing its basic 
safety messages. Tentatively, we believe that including the following 
additional step in the static test would be sufficient to evaluate this 
area of performance.
     Collect basic safety messages from a transmitting device 
for at least 100 minutes and repeat the test at least seven days 
later.\157\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \157\ As discussed later in this section, the timeframes for 
this test accommodate our current proposal for changing 
certificates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Using the messages collected in this test, the agency's 
test device should be able to verify the device under test is properly 
signing the basic safety message.

[[Page 3910]]

     The data collected should also reveal that the device 
under test is sending the required certificate (from the pseudonym 
certificate authority) or the certificate digest.
     The agency's test device should also be able to determine 
whether the device under test is using credentials issued by the 
appropriate authority (i.e., is the root certificate ultimately one 
that is authorized by the SCMS?).
     Finally, the test duration timeframes of this additional 
step should enable our test device to determine whether the vehicle is 
changing its certificates at the required interval.
    We request comment on this test method and commenter's input on a 
potential test device that could be used to execute this proposed test 
schema. Would a test device that performs all of the functions outlined 
above sufficiently mimic real world conditions and also define those 
conditions sufficiently to achieve a repeatable test method? What other 
details should the agency explore and define? Are there other test 
methods that the agency should consider that can confirm that the 
transmitting vehicle signs the basic safety message properly with a 
less complex test?
    The agency is also proposing to adopt a static test to evaluate the 
transmission range and other requirements (see Section III.E.1.a)). As 
testing experienced is gained, it may prove more efficient to combine 
the security credential, RF transmission, and possible other tests. The 
agency invites comment on the potential to combine and streamline test 
where possible.
(b) Signing the Message
    Using the potential test method described in the previous section, 
we believe the agency would be able to verify that V2V devices are 
properly signing their basic safety messages, authenticating themselves 
as accurate sources of information. In essence, by using a test device 
that would be able to verify the digital signature using the ECDSA 
algorithm, the proposed test schema confirms that:
     The sending device produced the correct hash of the 
message content/timestamp;
     the sending device appropriately sent its pseudonym 
certificate; and
     the public key could decode the signature created by the 
sender's private key.
    By comparing the hash created by our test device to the hash 
decoded from the basic safety message we received from the device under 
test, our test procedure should be able to confirm the device under 
test is correctly signing the basic safety message. Further, we 
anticipate that the test device would also identify the root 
certificate authority and validate up to the root certificate 
authority.
(c) Certificates and Certificate Digests
    The agency is considering including requirements to reduce the size 
of the basic safety message by requiring that vehicles not transmit 
parts of the basic safety message when they are not necessary. In 
theory, this could potentially conserve bandwidth in higher volume 
scenarios. The pseudonym certificate included in the basic safety 
message is an area under evaluation where message size could be 
reduced.
    A receiving V2V device requires pseudonym certificates to decode 
the signature and confirm the identity of the sender. However, the 
agency does not anticipate that every message will need to carry the 
full certificate as the pseudonym certificate does not change for every 
message. This allows a period of time where the same certificate and 
potentially allowing for messages to only part of the entire pseudonym 
certificate. Therefore, the agency believes it would be appropriate, 
under certain circumstances, for devices to transmit a certificate 
digest which would be a hash of the full certificate.
    A potential challenge to this approach is requiring a receiving 
device to support capture and storage of full certificates and 
certificate digests, as transmitting only a digest necessitates 
relating the digest to a full certificate. In addition to the capture 
and storage of certificates, the agency is also evaluating a potential 
requirement for the interval between the transmission of a full 
certificate and certificate digests. Current research suggests that the 
vehicle should transmit the full certificate twice per second and the 
digest the remaining times. However, if there is an event flag (e.g. 
hard braking event) in the BSM, the agency believes the full 
certificate should be transmitted at the next immediate opportunity. At 
this time our current proposed requirements do not cover this aspect of 
the device and but the agency requests comment concerning the need to 
employ certificate digests in place of the entire certificate.
    We tentatively believe that a final rule on V2V would need to 
establish at least a minimum interval for transmitting the full 
certificate so that surrounding vehicles will know the maximum amount 
of time that they will need to wait in order to be able to confirm the 
identity of a transmitting vehicle. Without such a requirement, we 
question whether the standard would be able to ensure that vehicles 
transmitted their pseudonym certificate at a sufficient frequency to 
support the safety applications that other vehicles may use. However, 
we request comment on whether a minimum requirement for transmitting 
the full certificate is necessary. If so, what the minimum time should 
be and whether a maximum time (or a specified interval such as 1 time 
per second) would be appropriate for this aspect of performance.
    Thus, for this aspect of performance, our final performance 
requirements could specify minimum (and potentially maximum) times for 
transmitting the full certificate and requirements for what types of 
information need to be in the certificate digest. Thus, in addition to 
the testing method that we described above, our test device for that 
test method would also need to ensure that:
     The vehicle is transmitting the full certificate at the 
required interval;
     the vehicle is transmitting the certificate digest (which 
identifies the full certificate and when the full certificate was 
transmitted with all other messages that do not have the full 
certificate; and
     the certificate or digest transmitted along with a basic 
safety message is valid (i.e., it is a valid certificate issued by the 
SCMS/has the appropriate credentials from the root certificate 
authority).
(d) Changing Certificates and Privacy
    As part of the process of signing a V2V message using the proposed 
SCMS approach, a vehicle could use a single certificate that is valid 
for a long period of time (e.g., years) to sign all basic safety 
messages that it transmits. This would help ensure that safety 
applications would be able to differentiate between authenticated 
sources of information and other less reliable sources of information 
when making judgements about their surroundings.
    However, this approach could create additional privacy risk for 
consumers, as use of a single certificate could enable an observer 
collecting V2V transmissions to associate the basic safety messages 
coming from a single V2V device with a single sender. While associating 
a group of messages with a specific driver would need additional 
information outside of the V2V system, additional information would not 
be needed to know that all messages using the same certificate come 
from the same vehicle. To help mitigate this risk, we propose that 
vehicles frequently change or rotate certificates so that it will be 
more difficult to associate a large

[[Page 3911]]

number of basic safety messages with the same V2V device or vehicle. 
Also, we are proposing that certificates not be valid for long periods 
of time to reduce the risk that they be collected and used to identify 
a specific vehicle at a future date and time.
(i) Current Research on Changing Certificates
    Recent research evaluated several models for changing certificates. 
In the Safety Pilot Model Deployment, certificates had a validity 
period of 5 minutes and were completely discarded after use. Changing 
certificates on a more frequent basis helps to minimize potential 
privacy risk for individuals, it requires a large volume of 
certificates for a vehicle to manage, approximately 100,000 
certificates for one year of operation. Model Deployment researchers 
determined that this approach would be inefficient as the majority of 
the time a vehicle is not in operation but certificates were still 
expiring even when the vehicle was not in operation. Based on the 
experiences learned from this project, the researchers developed a more 
efficient design where a vehicle will have 20 valid certificates per 
week and changes certificates at least once every 5 minutes. Under this 
design, only 1,050 certificates would be needed per year. This is 
believed to strike a balance between privacy and efficiency by using 
certificates that rotate every five minutes and are valid only for one 
week. This alternative certificate usage model is currently under 
development and will be tested in the field as a part of the SCMS 
Proof-of-Concept projects.
(ii) Potential Performance Metric
    We recognize that methods of changing certificate credentials exist 
on a spectrum between the competing interests of maximizing privacy 
protections and technological practicability. For example, it would 
afford the most privacy protection for consumers to use a different set 
of credentials with every basic safety message (i.e., change 
certificates 10 times per second). However, this would be impracticable 
because it is unreasonable to expect the SCMS to produce enough 
certificates to service all V2V devices when they use ten new 
certificates every second.\158\ On the other hand, using the most 
technically simplistic method for authenticating the sender of the 
message would be to use one set of credentials for every message. 
However, as we described above, that would create significant privacy 
risk by associating all basic safety messages sent from a single source 
with each other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \158\ A certificate is expected to be 117 bytes. The number of 
unique certs/year * size of one certificate. (103680 * 117 = 12.13MB 
for one vehicle for one year). *300 million vehicles = 
3,639,168,000,000,000. Or 3.6 exabytes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In order to balance these competing interests, our tentative 
conclusion is that the current method for changing certificates used in 
the research would be a reasonable compromise that protects privacy in 
a technically feasible way. By rotating among 20 certificates every 
five minutes, we are ensuring that no group of basic safety messages 
will be linked to more than 5 minutes of other safety messages at a 
time. In other words, a person obtaining basic safety messages from a 
device may not be able to associate those messages with each other 
because their certificate is only used for 5 minutes out of every 100 
minutes. Further, a device shutting off at one particular location 
would unlikely use the same certificate upon startup. Finally, in order 
to ensure that a person could not obtain all 20 certificates for a 
particular device, we are proposing for devices to completely discard 
their certificates each week and replace them with 20 new certificates.
    We request comment from the public on our proposed method for 
changing certificates and privacy concerns. Have we appropriately 
balanced the privacy interest with the interest in maintaining the 
technical feasibility of producing and storing certificates in 
vehicles? Is periodically rotating certificates the right approach to 
limiting the privacy impact of having signed messages? Have we 
established the appropriate thresholds for the method for changing 
certificates (i.e., have we selected the correct duration for when 
devices need to rotate certificates and change the certificates to new 
ones altogether?). Further, should the agency establish requirements 
for rotating the 20 certificates (i.e., should the device rotating 
among 20 certificates every five minutes use the same order for 
rotating through the certificates or should the device use a different 
order the next time it cycles through the 20 certificates? What method 
should the agency choose for changing the cycling order of the 20 
certificates?).
(iii) Test Method
    As we discussed in Section III.E.3.b)(2)(a), our static test method 
for assessing whether a device is appropriately signing their basic 
safety messages can also assess whether a device is changing its 
security credentials as required if our test lasts for an appropriate 
amount of time. Based on our proposed requirements, we believe that it 
is appropriate to test the device for 100 minutes twice, separated by 7 
days.
    Testing the device for a 100 minute duration would sufficiently 
assess whether the device is rotating certificates every five minutes 
and using a different certificate every five minutes for the duration 
of 100 minutes (i.e., 20 certificates x 5 minutes per certificate). 
Finally, conducting this test twice (separated by 7 days) would allow 
the test to confirm whether the device is using 20 new certificates 
that are different from the certificates the device used in the first 
test.
(e) Preventing Message Transmission Without Valid Certificates From a 
SCMS
    The agency is also considering whether to require that devices stop 
transmitting basic safety messages if they lack valid security 
credentials, i.e. device transmission problems or being identified as a 
misbehaving device. The purpose would be for devices to avoid sending 
basic safety messages due to incorrect credentials. However, at this 
time, the agency does not have performance requirements or a test 
method for assessing this aspect of performance. In order to test this 
aspect of performance, the agency would need a method for exhausting 
the certificate supply of a vehicle and observing whether the vehicle 
would continue to transmit basic safety messages. We request comment on 
whether there is a practicable and repeatable way for producing these 
conditions in a vehicle under test. We also request comment as to 
whether this aspect of performance should be included in the final 
rule.
(3) Potential Regulatory Text for SCMS Based Message Authentication
    The agency has included no regulatory text for SCMS-based message 
authentication and instead has a bracked placeholder for where it would 
be if this were to be part of a final rule. The agency expects that 
regulatory text in any final rule would include:
     Additional definitions in S.4 Definitions for '' SCMS-
based message authentication, which would be consistent the discussion 
in this proposed rule and any public comments.
     A provision on signing the BSM, which would require that 
the device must generate a signature for each BSM.
     A provision on rotating certificates.
(c) Alternative Approach--Performance-Based Message Authentication
(1) Overview
    The agency is also bringing forth potential alternatives to the 
SCMS-based

[[Page 3912]]

proposal for V2V message authentication. This first alternative takes a 
far less prescriptive approach to authentication and defines a 
performance-basedbased approach but not a specific architecture or 
technical requirement for message authentication. The basis of this 
alternative is to let V2V device implementers define their own approach 
for improving the integrity and authenticity of V2V messages.
    The fundamental approach to this first alternative only requires 
that the receiver of a basic safety message be able to validate the 
contents of a message such that it can reasonably confirm that the 
message originated from a single valid V2V device, and the message was 
not altered during transmission. This alternative would broadly require 
that implementations utilize government-audited and approved 
cryptographic algorithms, parameters, and approaches.
(2) Illustrative Example
    For illustrative purposes, consider the following example technical 
implementation. The sender of a BSM could use a security certificate 
issued by a certificate authority to digitally sign each BSM. The 
security certificate could be composed of the following elements:

 A date range describing the validity period for the 
certificate
 A Public key corresponding to a private key
 Digital signature from a certificate authority
(3) Potential Requirements Under This Alternative
(a) Test Method and Test Device
    This alternative's less prescriptive approach for message 
authentication results in a general testing requirement that would 
similar in context as the proposed PKI based authentication but leaves 
the extent of the proposed requirement undefined, or yet to be defined, 
static test procedures. This approach is inherently aligned with 
recognizing that potential future communication and their potential 
message authentication needs would be varied and, therefore, requires 
varied test methods for message signing and authentication.
    NHTSA seeks comment on potential test methods and the test devices 
that could accommodate other, future, or yet-to-be-developed message 
signing and authentication schemas that could be applied to V2V 
communications. The agency is interested in details on how a test 
device could fulfill the general requirement to sufficiently reflect 
real-world conditions and also define those conditions sufficiently to 
achieve a repeatable test method that ensure verified communications 
between V2V devices, using varied communication mediums? What other 
details should the agency explore and define? Are there other test 
methods that the agency should consider that can confirm that a 
transmitting V2V device signs the basic safety message properly?
(d) Alternative Approach--No Message Authentication
    This second potential alternative set out for comment does not 
specify any message authentication requirements for devices 
participating in a V2V communications. Under this second potential 
alternative, BSM messages would still need to be validated with a 
checksum or other integrity check and employ some form of through a 
misbehavior detection system to attempt to filter malicious or 
misconfigured messages. However, there would be no specific message 
authentication requirement. Implementers would be free to include such 
a feature as an optional function. The agency would not establish any 
performance requirements or test procedures under this potential 
alternative. The agency seeks comment on this no message authentication 
approach.
4. Misbehavior Reporting
(a) Proposal--Misbehavior Reporting to a SCMS
    NHTSA is proposing to establish practices and procedures for 
devices participating in V2V communications to recognize device 
misbehavior, both internally and by other devices. The fundamental 
purpose of misbehavior detection is to provide a means for V2V devices 
to identify and block messages from other misbehaving or malfunctioning 
V2V devices. V2V devices would be required to report device misbehavior 
to a central authority, namely the Security Credential Management 
System, once misbehavior is confirmed via a series of self-diagnosis or 
plausibility checks on incoming messages. This includes identifying 
methods for device self-diagnosis of both hardware and software to 
ensure that the device has not been altered or tampered with from 
intended behavior.
    If an anomaly is detected and confirmed by a series of secondary 
plausibility checks, a ``misbehavior event'' would be identified, and a 
sample of BSM information such as geo-location, time-stamp, and a 
digitally signed (encrypted) certificate from the misbehaving device 
would be recorded as ``evidence'' of the event. The reporting device 
would then transmit its misbehavior report to the SCMS misbehavior 
authority (MBA) using a secondary communications channel.
    The intent of the MBA is to gather misbehavior reports by all 
devices participating in the network. These reports would be analyzed 
in accordance with established and governed policies for global 
misbehavior detection determine if and when a particular vehicle should 
be placed onto a Certificate Revocation List (CRL). More accurately, is 
and when information related to a particular device's certificates 
should be placed onto the CRL such that other vehicles can use the 
information to identify the misbehaving device, assume it cannot be a 
trusted device, and ignore its messages. The CRL would be updated 
periodically by the MBA and distributed to participating V2V devices.
    The agency views misbehavior detection as a key feature of the 
proposed security architecture: That misbehaving devices are able to be 
efficiently detected, and their identity made available to other 
devices participating in the network. At the highest level, confidence 
in the V2V messaging could be eroded if misbehaving devices are not 
detected and reported to a centralized authority.
    As indicated in Table II-5, additional research is being conducted 
to better understand the data, processing, and algorithm development 
necessary to implement misbehavior detection at both the local (device) 
level and global (SCMS) level. For misbehavior to be effective, 
techniques must be identified, developed, and implemented in both 
devices and at a central authority for the system to secure V2V 
messages. The proposed requirements concerning detection and reporting 
support misbehavior detection functionality, but do not include at this 
time the actual techniques to detect and identify misbehavior. Research 
is being conducted; however, the actual nature of misbehavior in the 
V2V ecosystem has yet to be defined given the lack of misbehavior data 
to support actual development of techniques and algorithms. Initial 
data will be available once the SCMS Proof-of-Concept (Section V.B.6.e) 
is operational and supporting the security of the Connected Vehicle 
Pilot activities. The agency seeks comment regarding the requirements 
to support misbehavior detection, the investigation of detection and 
identification techniques, and possible implementation issues including 
the need to evolve detection

[[Page 3913]]

and identification algorithm capabilities over time.
(1) Reporting
    The agency has worked extensively with its research partners to 
develop a comprehensive set of proposed reporting requirements for 
misbehavior detection. The reporting requirements attempt to strike a 
balance between frequency, the amount of data reported, and the need to 
effectively and efficiently identify misbehavior to mitigate any 
potential effects. As described previously, the purpose of the 
misbehavior reports is to:
     Indicate potential misbehavior and misbehaving devices, 
and
     indicate suspicious activities around the reporting 
device.
(a) Report Content
    The agency is proposing that a misbehavior report is a message 
signed by the reporting device and shall include at a minimum the 
following data:
     The reporter's certificate.
     GNSS coordinates (latitude, longitude and elevation) at 
the location where the misbehavior was initially identified.
     The GNSS coordinates where the misbehavior appears to have 
ended. This field is optional as it may not apply to all misbehavior. 
This could be useful for indicating where a DoS attack begins and where 
it ends.
     BSMs from both host device and remote threat device.
     Warnings present at time of misbehavior detection, if any.
     List of neighboring devices.
     The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) at which the 
misbehavior was detected.
     Information identifying the detection method that 
triggered the report.
    The agency seeks comment on the proposed inclusion of the above 
data in a misbehavior report. Specifically, we would appreciate 
commenters providing any potential additional data that should be 
included. The agency also asks commenters to provide feedback on the 
potential for inclusion of any personally identifiable information 
(PII) related to misbehavior and the potential positives and negatives 
of such an inclusion.
    Additionally, the agency is also seeking comment on the potential 
inclusion of the following items in the misbehavior report:

 The average Channel Busy Percentage observed if a Denial of 
Service is detected
 List of vehicles (device/certificate IDs) within communication 
range when misbehavior is detected
 Abstracted (non-V2V related) sensor information if such sensor 
information is available to the device
 Averaged speed of vehicles within communication range of the 
reporting vehicle
(b) Misbehavior Report Generation and Transmission
    A misbehavior report shall be generated as follows:

 A misbehavior report shall be created at the time a 
misbehavior is detected
 Misbehavior reports shall be signed and transmitted with the 
same credentials as those of BSMs
 A misbehavior report shall be signed by the reporting device 
at the time of the report creation
 The misbehavior reports shall be encrypted with the public key 
of the misbehavior authority and transmitted to the central authority 
through a secured communication channel
(c) Misbehavior Report Storage
    Misbehavior reports shall be stored as follows:

 The V2V device shall allocate sufficient persistent memory 
storage for 1600 KB of misbehavior event reports
 Misbehavior reports shall be stored persistently in non-
volatile memory to avoid report erasure during vehicle shut-down and 
start-up cycles
 A misbehavior report shall be stored in persistent memory for 
at least 20 weeks
 If the allocated misbehavior report memory capacity is to be 
exceeded due to a new incoming misbehavior report, the oldest report or 
reports shall be overwritten to allow the storage of the newest report
 If misbehavior reports are to be stored in unencrypted storage 
medium, the content shall be encrypted
(2) CRL Processing
 If the credentials of a locally detected misbehaving device 
are already on the locally stored CRL it shall not be re-reported to 
the central authority
(3) SCMS Security
    The agency recognizes the misbehavior mechanism identifies 
anomalies that could indicate malfunctions or malicious activities that 
could adversely impact proper operation of individual devices or the 
system; possibly causing unsafe or unreliable operation if trusted. 
Misbehavior operations and subsequent device requirements ensure that 
the device perpetrating the misbehavior can be rendered innocuous by 
revoking the device's security certificates effectively making them an 
untrusted source to properly functioning devices. The agency is 
therefore proposing the following the requirement is applied to a 
central authority, namely the SCMS, responsible for global misbehavior 
and management:
     The agency requires that a central authority employ 
protocols that establish a disposition based on reporting from various 
sources to mitigate the potential for misbehavior detection to become a 
gateway for an easy cybersecurity threat for denial of service.
(4) Request for Comment
    The agency believes the proposed misbehavior reporting requirements 
could help reduce the number of misbehaving devices whose messages 
would be accepted by the V2V network and thus help reduce the chance of 
false safety warnings. The agency seeks comment on the misbehavior 
reporting approaches describe in this section along with potential 
other approaches the agency should consider.
    More specifically, the agency appreciates thorough explanation of 
any suggested alternative approaches to misbehavior reporting, as well 
as sufficient description of why you believe that the proposed approach 
is, or is not appropriate. Additionally, the agency would appreciate 
suggestions on how to properly and reasonably test for misbehavior in a 
V2V system.
(5) Potential Regulatory Text for SCMS-Based Misbehavior Detection and 
Reporting
    The agency has included no regulatory text for SCMS-based 
misbehavior detection and reporting and instead has a bracked 
placeholder for where it would be if this were to be part of a final 
rule. The agency expects that regulatory text in any final rule would 
include:
     A provision on detecting misbehavior related to both 
malfunctioning sensors and physical tampering.
     A provision addressing a BSM failing any plausibility 
check, which would require the device to generate a misbehavior report 
that meets certain minimum requirements.
     A provision concerning creating and sending misbehavior 
reports. This provision would set requirements about what data would 
need to be included in a misbehavior report (which would include the 
information listed above).

[[Page 3914]]

Further, it would include provisions on how a misbehavior report must 
be generated and transmitted, which would include that it would need to 
be created within 2 seconds after the misbehavior is detected, and 
thensigned,encrypted and transmitted to SCMS.
     A provision detaling how misbehavior reports would need to 
be stored
     A provision concerning the credentials of a locally-
detected misbehaving device already on the locally-stored CRL.
     A provision concerning communicating with the SCMS.In 
addition, the agency would need to include additional regulatory text 
on test procedures including the ability to detect misbehavior and 
receive certificates from the SCMS.
(b) Alternative Approach--No Misbehavior Reporting
    In contrast to the primary misbehavior detection proposal, the 
agency is seeking comment on an alternative approach to misbehavior 
detection where there are no requirements to report misbehavior or 
implement distribution of information to facilitate blocking based on 
misbehavior reports to an authority. Implementers would be free to 
include such features as reporting the detection of any misbehavior or 
a malfunction as optional functions. Independent of this alternative 
approach, the agency is proposing to require that implementers identify 
methods that would check the functionality, including hardware and 
software, of a V2V device ensuring that the device has not been altered 
or tampered with from intended behavior.
    The agency appreciates commenter's views on this potential 
alternative approach including reasons why or why not this potential 
would be appropriate for identifying misbehaving or malicious devices 
participating in V2V communications. We also encourage commenters to 
provide any suggested alternative approaches to misbehavior reporting, 
as well as sufficient description of why you believe that the proposed 
approach is, or is not appropriate. Additionally, the agency would 
appreciate suggestions on how to properly and reasonably test for 
misbehavior in a V2V system.
5. Proposed Malfunction Indication Requirements
(a) Overview
    The agency is proposing to require that all V2V devices be equipped 
with a mechanism for notifying users that the device and/or its 
supporting equipment is not operating normally and some form of repair 
is necessary. The requirements proposed in this section are consistent 
across any potential technology employed in V2V communications. The 
agency is not specifying a format for the notification mechanism, as 
elaborated below--it can be an illuminated telltale, a message in the 
message center, or something else--but it must be presented in the 
vehicle itself for OBE or on the device itself for non-integrated 
aftermarket products. This proposed requirement aligns with the 
proposed misbehavior requirements and cost estimates, in that 
misbehavior detection requires devices to perform self-diagnostics and 
report to users a failure condition. Likewise, the cost estimates for 
the proposal include costs for some type of malfunction indicator and 
reflect what we would consider to be a ``minimalist'' approach.
    The agency has a long history of requiring both diagnostics and 
malfunction indicators. FMVSSs for electronic stability control (No. 
126), tire pressure monitoring systems (No. 138), and air bags (No. 
208), among others, include requirements for indicating when the system 
is in a failure condition. In these cases, the agency believed, and 
therefore required, that proper maintenance to ensure system operation 
is vitally important to driver and passenger safety. The agency has no 
reason to believe any differently for V2V devices, other than 
potentially strengthening those beliefs based on the cooperative nature 
of V2V and how the benefits are a ``networked good,'' where one device 
has the potential to benefitting many others.
(b) Malfunction Indication Requirements
     Any device participating in the V2V system shall clearly 
indicate to their users a malfunction condition occurring in the 
device, its supporting equipment or the inputs used to form, transmit, 
and receive a basic safety message. Malfunction indication shall be 
provided in instances such as:

[cir] Device components not operating properly
[cir] Input sensor data not within appropriate tolerances
[cir] On Board memory failures
[cir] GPS receiver failures
[cir] Unable to transmit or receive basic safety messages
[cir] Any other failure that could prevent normal operation
 Malfunction indication shall be clearly presented to device 
users in the form of a lamp or message
 Owner's information shall clearly describe the malfunction 
indication, potential causes, and if needed, the need to have the 
device serviced
 The malfunction indication shall remain present until the V2V 
device is returned to normal operating state
 The malfunction indicator shall illuminate the malfunction 
indicator as part of power up initial system diagnostics to confirm the 
indicator is operating properly

    The agency seeks comments on these proposed requirements. More 
specifically, the agency would like commenters to give their views on 
malfunction indication, the best ways to convey device malfunction to 
users, and why they believe this to be the case.
6. Software and Security Certificate Updates
    The agency anticipates that, over time, V2V devices and the system 
overall will require periodic updates to address functionality, 
potential security, or potential privacy issues as they arise after a 
vehicle owner or operator takes possession of a vehicle. The agency is 
proposing that V2V devices allow for over-the-air (OTA) software and 
certificate updates and those device users be notified of any consent 
required for periodic device updates.\159\ The agency believes that 
over-the-air devices updates will be viable and commonplace by the time 
a final rule to this proposal is finalized.160 161
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    \159\ See below for the agency's discussion of its legal 
authority. This proposed requirement is similar to many other 
existing requirements to warn drivers via telltales or messages 
about potential issues with required safety technologies, for 
example, the ESC or TPMS malfunction telltales. The difference in 
this case is simply that the agency expects a need to illuminate the 
telltale with some regularity, given that certificates will 
periodically run out and need to be replenished.
    \160\ ``OTA updating brings benefits, challenges'' SAE 
Automotive Engineering, August 16, 2016, http://articles.sae.org/14946/ (last accessed: Dec 7, 2016).
    \161\ ``International Truck offers over-the-air programming for 
2017 Cummins engines'' SAE Automotive Engineering, May 19, 2016, 
http://articles.sae.org/14834/ (last accessed: Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We anticipate this highest potential for periodic updates will come 
in two primary forms: Device software updates and security credential 
updates. In either case, the agency believes user notification and 
consent would be required to execute the update. The approach of this 
proposal is provide the basic platform to enable V2V communications 
where the hardware needed is the most technologically basic enabler, 
essentially a radio transmitter and receiver. The device complexity, 
intellectual property and overall V2V operation is primarily rooted in 
the firmware and software loaded into a V2V device's hardware. The 
agency

[[Page 3915]]

anticipates any updates to the device hardware would be manifested by a 
malfunction, device failure that would be subject a recall and/or 
warranty provisions if the device warranty is still valid.
    Over the air updating will provide significant flexibility for 
updates, not only to V2V devices but many vehicle-resident components, 
to fundamental device operation but also, following suit of smartphone 
devices, enable ``pushing out'' new applications to automotive devices. 
The agency believes this approach can and will best exploit the V2V 
communications ``platform'' contained in this proposal.
    As discussed throughout the proposal and more specifically, the 
legal authority section, the agency believes V2V device users will need 
to consent to both software and security certificate updates. 
Therefore, the agency is proposing to require that devices 
participating in the system provide users with indication, in the form 
of a descriptive telltale or text message displayed in a vehicle 
message center that is in clear view of the driver, that device 
software or security certificate updates are available and that users 
need to consent before the update can occur. The indication and consent 
mechanism must reside in the vehicle or device.
    The agency seeks comment on this proposed requirement for software 
and certificate update. Do commenters agree with the proposed approach, 
why or why not? Do commenters have alternative suggestions for how V2V 
device users can seamlessly consent, without burden, to software and/or 
certificate updates? More specifically, how do commenters perceive 
potential mechanisms for receiving notification and consenting, or not, 
to any potential updates. What potential implications may result from 
the anticipated need for updates and consent? What real-world 
experience do commenters have performing over the air updates for 
devices? Please provide any supporting information that may help the 
agency explore and finalize an approach.
7. Cybersecurity
(a) Cybersecurity Overview
    Today's electronics, sensors, and computing power enable the 
deployment of vehicle safety technologies, such as forward-collision 
warning, automatic-emergency braking, and vehicle-to-vehicle 
technologies, which can keep drivers from crashing in the first place. 
NHTSA strongly believes in the need for cybersecurity, which is 
essential to the public acceptance of increasingly computerized vehicle 
systems, to the safety technology they govern, and to the realization 
of the safety-enhancement potential they offer.
    Cybersecurity, within the context of road vehicles, is the 
protection of automotive electronic systems, communication networks and 
nodes that interface with vehicles, control algorithms, software, 
users, and underlying data from malicious attacks, damage, unauthorized 
access, or manipulation. The agency has been taking a holistic approach 
to vehicle cybersecurity, considering that all access points into the 
vehicle could potentially be compromised, and is focused on solutions 
to harden the vehicle's electronic architecture against potential 
attacks and to ensure vehicle systems take appropriate and safe 
actions, even when an attack may be successful.\162\ A layered approach 
to vehicle cybersecurity within a risk-based framework reduces the 
probability of an attack's success and mitigates the ramifications of a 
potential unauthorized access.
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    \162\ See ``NHTSA and Vehicle Cybersecurity'', http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/administration/pdf/presentations_speeches/2015/NHTSA-VehicleCybersecurity_07212015.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 
2016).
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    NHTSA's vehicle cybersecurity approach is built upon the following 
principles:
     Based on the risk-based prioritized identification and 
protection of safety-critical vehicle control systems and personally 
identifiable information;
     Provides for timely detection and rapid response to 
vehicle cybersecurity incidents in the field;
     Designs-in methods and measures to facilitate rapid 
recovery from incidents when they occur, and;
     Institutionalizes methods for accelerated adoption of 
lessons learned across the industry through effective information 
sharing, such as through participation in the Auto ISAC.
    Our vehicle cybersecurity research program considers all access 
points into the vehicle, more broadly than, but also including V2V. 
This approach makes a distinction between
    (1) how vehicle architectures should be designed that interface 
with the outer world such that risks to safety-critical system 
functionality could be effectively mitigated; and
    (2) how each unique access point could be protected such that an 
appropriate relationship could be established for the messages 
exchanged over that medium.
(b) Agency's Cybersecurity Approach To Hardening Vehicle Architectures 
in General
    Related to hardening the vehicle architectures to be cyber-
resilient agnostic of the type of communications interface, NHTSA is 
pursuing a best-practices approach, which is based on the National 
Institute for Standards Technology's (NIST) proven cybersecurity 
framework that includes five principal functions: Identify, Protect, 
Detect, Respond, and Recover.
    This approach suggests that all interfaces between the vehicle 
electrical architecture and the external world (personal or aftermarket 
devices, cars, infrastructure, cloud, etc.) need to be carefully 
considered for risks and appropriate mitigation strategies be 
implemented. These include not only protection methods, but also 
intrusion detection techniques, rapid remediation strategies and fast 
adoption of new lessons learned, because we assume that all entry 
points into the vehicle, such as Wi-Fi, infotainment, the OBD-II port, 
V2V, and other points of potential access to vehicle electronics, could 
be potentially be or become vulnerable over time. We suggest that the 
industry should make cybersecurity a priority by using a systematic and 
ongoing process to evaluate risks. And, this process should give 
explicit considerations to privacy and cybersecurity risks through the 
entire life-cycle of the vehicle. Further, safety of vehicle occupants 
and other road users should be an overriding consideration when 
assessing risks.
    We continually monitor the industry as they move towards a more 
cyber-aware and cyber-resilient posture and will take necessary actions 
to ensure that there are no unreasonable safety-risks.
(c) V2V-Specific Cybersecurity Considerations
    NHTSA does not overlook the potential risks of interfacing the V2V 
vector with vehicle systems; however, we believe that the holistic 
approach we are taking in the broader sense as outlined above apply to 
the common characteristics of various different communications 
interfaces in the same manner.
    In this section, we will primarily focus on the unique attributes 
of the V2V communications interface and present key steps that are 
being taken to mitigate the potential incremental risks they could 
pose.
    Key attributes of V2V communications interface, as they relate to 
cybersecurity risks include the following:

[[Page 3916]]

    (1) Security and privacy by design through a message 
authentication,
    (2) Broadcast-listen protocol,
    (3) Well-defined and fairly limited message structure,
    (4) Communications range is limited to about 1000ft,
    NHTSA's primary proposed message authentication alternative for V2V 
communications employs a PKI-based security. Each broadcast message is 
signed with cryptographic keys to facilitate a method for the receiving 
units to validate the authenticity and integrity of the transmitted 
message from its source.
    Both the primary and performance-based alternatives for message 
authentication seek to ensure the integrity of messages between 
communicating units to help assert that the message has not been 
altered during transmission or been sent from a malicious sender. It is 
important to note that this approach does not necessarily validate the 
accuracy of the message content received.
    We consider the cybersecurity risks associated with

    (1) the PKI authentication method, and the infrastructure 
supporting it,
    (2) the contents of the messages received, and
    (3) the V2V communication interface as a potential channel to 
inject malware
(1) PKI-SCMS Cybersecurity Requirements
    In Section V, the primary message authentication proposal describes 
the SCMS. The system described is focused on the security functions and 
requirements necessary to help secure the V2V communications 
environment. Implementations of the performance-based alternative for 
message authentications may also need similar compensating approaches 
depending on the approach taken. While the proposed primary message 
authentication architecture provides well-recognized security 
protections, we further consider the potential cybersecurity 
vulnerabilities and discuss how they are expected to be mitigated.
(a) On-Vehicle Security Materials (Cryptographic Information)
     The OBE will contain security materials that are critical 
to the operation of the V2V device, and the system as a whole. This 
includes long term enrollment certificates, short term pseudonym 
certificates, public/private keys, SCMS security policies, and 
misbehavior reports. All of this data, if retrieved by unauthorized 
parties, could allow potential ``bad actors'' to transmit messages that 
may appear valid to the general ecosystem of devices because these 
messages are using actual credentials given to a trusted device.
     Attempts to retrieve valid security materials could 
involve targeting physical OBEs. In addition to having access to OBEs 
on personal vehicles, OBEs on vehicles that are at their End-of-Life 
(EOL) decommissioning phases (such as those that can be taken from 
vehicles in junkyards) could also create a pathway. In the event that a 
vehicle with a device has met with the end of its useful life, it is 
foreseen that the device could have up to three years' worth of valid 
security certificates, assuming that it has regular communication with 
the SCMS.
     One method that could mitigate the risk associated with 
retrieval of security information through physical access to the OBE 
would involve hardware security against tampering such as the use of 
FIPS \163\ Level 3 hardware security module. This specification level 
is consistent with requiring the zeroisation of cryptographic 
information in the event that the device is tampered with. While this 
would protect against malicious attempts, it would likely result in 
managing the legitimate serviceability needs of the units, likely 
incurring additional costs for maintenance.
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    \163\ The FIPS families of standards contain a set of standards 
that pertain specifically to cryptographic storage models, FIPS-140 
which the industry uses to store sensitive cryptographic 
information. The device long and short term certificates along with 
the devices public/private key pairs are generally regarded as 
cryptographic information. The FIPS-140 set of standards define 
various levels of security for cryptographic information storage 
ranging from 1 through 4, with increasing security measures as the 
levels get higher. Of particular interest to the OBE are levels 2 
and levels 3. Amongst other differences, the agency is interested in 
the tamper capabilities of these levels. Level 2 is considered 
tamper evident storage. This can be achieved by placing seals on 
enclosures (like stickers on over the counter medication that say 
``do not use if seal is broken''), by using tamper evident screws 
and mounting hardware, and other such methodologies. Level 3 adds to 
this by requiring devices to be tamper resistant. There are many 
ways to achieve tamper resistance; however, one common method for 
protecting data is to have the device zero out cryptographic storage 
in the event that a device is tampered with.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The agency believes that the current environment regarding 
cybersecurity and protecting the public warrants a level of hardware 
security that goes beyond evidence of tampering to actually protecting 
cryptographic information in the event of a device breach with 
malicious intent. Therefore, the agency is proposing to require that 
V2V devices have a minimum of FIPS-140 Level 3 security protection. The 
agency also believes that at, a minimum, the following information 
shall be stored in FIPS-140 Level 3 storage:

[ssquf] All individual pseudonym certificates
[ssquf] RA, Intermediate CA, and PCA certificates
[ssquf] the RA address
[ssquf] system configuration files
[ssquf] security policies
[ssquf] Root CA certificate
[ssquf] Device Enrollment certificate
[ssquf] All system private keys
[ssquf] The System CRL
[ssquf] All unsent misbehavior reports

     The level of security requirements defined by FIPS-140 
Level 3 is somewhat different than the historical regulatory authority 
approach exercised by NHTSA. NHTSA issues performance based 
requirements which can be found in the many safety standards issued and 
managed by the agency, although we can be specific in equipment 
requirements if it is necessary to meet a safety goal. Evaluating 
security protection ability does not necessarily conform to a 
performance requirement and compliance test paradigm followed by the 
agency. As such, NHTSA anticipates device compliance to be conducted by 
the agency through third party testing laboratories with expertise in 
confirming the appropriateness of device's hardware security.
     NHTSA seeks comments on this approach (FIPS-140 Level 3 
requirement) and on what constitutes tampering, applicable triggers for 
zeroisation, and how the triggers could be implemented such that 
routine vehicle maintenance activities can be accomplished without 
undue burden on the V2V device. The agency seeks comment on the 
proposed FIPS-140 Level 3 device security requirements. In specific, 
the agency seeks comment on the FIPS and CCP security approaches 
briefly described in this section and the pros/cons of each, potential 
compliance approaches including verification schema for information 
that should be contained in a functioning, secure device, and views on 
the whether the proposed level of protection is sufficient for 
anticipate cybersecurity needs.
     Another approach that could address the more specific EOL 
OBE security exposure could be for the SCMS to establish a process and 
procedure by which responsible entities could notify the SCMS of end-
of-life devices (entities that deal with old, junked, crashed or 
otherwise unusable vehicles that contain OBEs.) This would require the 
entity that determines the device is at its EOL be able to report to 
the security certificate information the SCMS would need to remove the 
device from the system by including the

[[Page 3917]]

device's security credentials on the system ``blacklist,'' rendering 
the security information useless. This approach could pose challenges 
in practical application where the vehicle or device may not be 
operating properly. Secondly, enabling a method to obtain security 
information from a device could open up a potential security 
vulnerability that could be used by others to obtain security materials
    We request comments on whether a process approach can succeed and 
whether there may be other means to secure the on-unit security 
information.
(2) Potential Regulatory Text for Physical Security for SCMS-Based 
Message Authentication Proposal
    The agency has included no proposed regulatory text to support the 
cybersecurity requirements discussed in the primary proposal for 
message authentication based on the SCMS. However, the agency expects 
that regulatory text in any final would include a provision requiring 
that V2V devices have a minimum security protection of FIPS-140 Level 
3, as described above.
    NHTSA seeks comments regarding the cybersecurity needs and 
requirements and how regulatory language could be crafted to 
appropriately express the requirements in terms that industry can 
implement and in terms by which performance can be objectively 
evaluated.
(3) Performance-Based Physical Security Alternative
    The agency has included no proposed regulatory text to support the 
cybersecurity requirements discussed for a performance-based message 
authentication alternative. However, the agency expects that regulatory 
text in any final rule would include a provision requiring that V2V 
devices have a minimum security protection of FIPS-140 Level 3 for 
storage of cryptographic certificate, key, and other sensitive data. In 
addition, a V2V device connected to a vehicle data bus would need to 
incorporate isolation measures (firewalls) to prevent the V2V module 
from being a conduit allowing malicious outside actors to gain access 
to the vehicle data bus and other vehicle modules connected to the data 
bus.
(4) No Physical Security Alternative
    The agency has included no proposed regulatory text to support the 
cybersecurity requirements discussed for a no message authentication 
alternative. However, the agency expects that regulatory text in any 
final rule would include a provision requiring that a V2V device 
connected to a vehicle data bus would need to incorporate isolation 
measures (firewalls) to prevent the V2V module from being a conduit 
allowing malicious outside actors to gain access to the vehicle data 
bus and other vehicle modules connected to the data bus.
(d) SCMS Cybersecurity Considerations
    For the primary message authentication proposal, the SCMS provides 
key services and security. Key functions of the SCMS include:
     Communications with DSRC devices to transfer of security 
certificates,
     CRL maintenance and communications to the vehicles.
    Section III.E.3.b) explained how security certificates are 
obtained, when and why certificates are changed, and how additional 
certificates would be requested and obtained. SCMS provides this 
service and uses encryption methods to facilitate secure communications 
to protect security information in transit.
    CRLs are distributed to appropriate end-points in the same manner. 
The credentials and message encryption protect the communication 
between devices and the SCMS.
    The security system of the SCMS is complex and intricate; due in 
part to privacy protection, therefore the agency requests comments 
regarding the cybersecurity viability of V2V security and invites 
comments concerning the relationship of V2V security to the larger 
vehicle security universe.
(e) Cybersecurity and V2V Message Content
    While the security overlay of the V2V communications establishes 
confidence between authentic entities, the message content indicating 
the vehicle's behavior is obtained from sensors (such as GPS) and 
vehicle data buses. It would be possible to manipulate the sources of 
data to the OBE, which could send a BSM message with inaccurate message 
content to its surrounding. In cases, the message could be constructed 
intelligently that could make the messages sent from that vehicle not 
correspond to the sending vehicle's physical behavior.
    Such manipulation could result in surrounding vehicles responding 
with warnings to the driver early on. The misbehavior detection 
mechanisms set out in this proposal are designed to detect the anomaly, 
however it is possible that specifically crafted messages could be 
delivered and accepted by safety applications.
    In the case of the primary misbehavior detection proposal, the 
misbehaving sender would also hopefully be detected and the sender 
added to the CRL. However, it is important to examine what could happen 
if the message is not detected as misbehavior and the time period 
before the sending vehicle is added to CRL. OEMs treat V2V as a new 
sensor for the vehicle and applications designed using this message 
would assess the safety-risks associated with this sensing mechanism 
being wrong. Generally, warning systems imply less severity than active 
control. OEMs indicate that they would take safety-conscious approach, 
which would be different for different applications. They further 
indicate that for active control, they tend not to rely on any single 
sensor even in modern systems and expect that to be the same when V2V 
becomes available to get in the mix of their sensor suite. The impact 
of such malicious act would be limited vehicles within the 
communications range of the unit (~1,000 ft).
    The broader impact on GPS or timing spoofing/jamming may have 
similar impacts, or result in limited denial of service. Misbehavior 
detection is projected to help in such cases and could also help 
identifying and enforcing rules against jammers.
    Given there has been more reports of GPS jammers being used,\164\ 
we seek information and comment regarding how industry is addressing 
the GPS jamming issue. Are there techniques to identify when GPS 
jamming is occurring? If the GPS signal is being jammed or spoofed, 
does industry have plans to notify the driver, and what will be the 
context of the notification? During GPS jamming, will industry suspend 
operation of systems that rely on GPS information?
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    \164\ See ``GPS Under Attack as Crooks, Rogue Workers Wage 
Electronic War'' at http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gps-under-attack-crooks-rogue-workers-wage-electronic-war-n618761 (last 
accessed Dec 7, 2016).
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    In addition, we solicit comment on whether our assessment of 
cybersecurity risks due to spoofed and potentially malicious BSM 
message data is reasonable. We also solicit input from OEMs and 
Suppliers on how they expect to handle potential single point failures 
associated with BSM signal contents. What risk-based criteria and 
process would be appropriate for V2V safety applications to help ensure 
the validity of the BSM message data received from other vehicles 
relative to vehicle-local sensor readings? If data from a vehicle's 
onboard sensors suggest a different outcome as compared to data from an 
incoming BSM message, how

[[Page 3918]]

might V2V safety applications balance the trust on conflicting data? 
How should V2V safety applications handle a situation where incoming 
BSM message data is the only source of information available to make a 
safety decision? How does the nature of the systems' planned reaction 
(warning vs nature of control) impact such a decision? What new vehicle 
sensors may be possible in the next 15-20 years that may significantly 
improve such sensor fusion and decision processes?
(f) Cybersecurity and Potential Malware
    One of the cybersecurity risks that needs considered is whether V2V 
communications could be used to insert malware to the OBE, unexpectedly 
change configuration, or result in unwanted behavior. Since the V2V 
channel will be mandated on all new cars, this medium would likely 
become one of the dominant wireless access points on the vehicle fleet 
in the field over time.
    Further, it should be considered that, since the V2V protocol is 
based on broadcast and listen methodology, and does not establish 
networks between participating units the way a traditional network 
protocol does. Instead, communications takes place through a well-
defined BSM message structure.
     It is well established that many software and hardware 
vulnerabilities occur at the communications interfaces of systems. 
Security of the interfaces must be the highest priority when developing 
a system. Therefore, we believe that implemented systems should provide 
adequate controls to prevent malformed, incomplete or erroneous 
messages that do not fit the specifications to pass to the OBE.
     The DARPA HACMS program has shown that formal verification 
can be used to mathematically prove the correctness of systems or 
interfaces. Formal verification uses mathematical techniques to 
formalize software as a mathematical proposition to be proved. While 
testing provides incomplete evidence of correctness, a proof guarantees 
correctness of the system. In an active project, we are pursuing the 
development of a formally verified reference parser for the V2V 
communication interfaces that could provide the industry guidance on 
one way to ensure that only expected range of BSM Part 1 and Part 2 
would be accepted by the OBE. While we do not anticipate requiring the 
use of a formally verified parser, we expect that industry will pay 
attention and utilize such tools or other means to ensure that common 
communication interface vulnerabilities do not exist in implemented V2V 
units.
     NHTSA also anticipates pursuing fuzz-testing of 
production-level implementations of V2V hardware with and without the 
use of a formally verified parser. We also intend to develop a 
framework of test protocols and message sets that manufacturers could 
use to test their implementations.
     We reemphasize the importance of securing the V2V 
communication channel. If the V2V interface is not properly secured 
(whether by design or in implementation), we need to consider the 
possibility of a ``worm'' \165\ type malware where the malware could 
potentially self-replicate and propagate in an epidemic manner to other 
systems with the similar vulnerability (e.g. systems from the same 
manufacturer) that come into communications range. The potential 
imminent-safety impact of such malware would depend on many factors and 
most certainly depend of how the vehicle databus interfaces are 
designed. Even if the impact may not be safety-critical, this risk 
could potentially lead to large scale denial of service for the 
mandated V2V technology. The manufacturers should plan for detection 
and rapid remediation methods to address such issues. This need is 
similar for other wireless channels. For example, in the 2014 hacking 
of a Fiat-Chrysler vehicle,\166\ which led to eventual recall \167\ of 
approximately 1.5 million vehicles, the researchers documented that 
they could have designed a vehicle worm for the cellular communication 
based vulnerability in that particular case.
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    \165\ Worm refers to a standalone malware that replicates itself 
in order to spread to other systems.
    \166\ ``Remote Exploitation of an Unaltered Passenger Vehicle'', 
Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek. Page 48. Available at http://illmatics.com/Remote%20Car%20Hacking.pdf (last accessed Dec. 7, 
2016).
    \167\ NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: 15V461000.
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    We solicit input on whether the overall need for rapid remediation 
methodologies would imply different requirements for the V2V 
communication interfaces as opposed to others (such as cellular, 
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi). Further, we solicit comment that exploitation of a 
potential vulnerability in the V2V OBE does not immediately imply 
safety-critical system compromise.
    The cybersecurity environment changes continually and at times 
rapidly. Capabilities designed into systems should take the whole 
lifecycle of the vehicle into account and provide for rapid response 
methods to potential incidents in the field. These methods could take 
various forms but should consider both the issue containment and 
practical remediation needs.
    Generally, first important step is having a method to identify 
cybersecurity issues and share them with the broader community. We and 
the industry believe that the Automotive Information Sharing and 
Analysis Center (Auto ISAC) established in 2015 will have a major role 
in this respect. We anticipate that V2V related intelligence sharing 
through Auto-ISAC will accelerate the identification of issues and 
remediation actions. As part of this process, it should be foreseen 
that various aspects of the V2V design may need updates over the life 
of systems in the field, such as:

     Security certificates and protocols,
     Misbehavior detection algorithms and policies
     CRL contents and policies
     Device firmware

    In the case of primary message authentication approach, the SCMS 
can update certificate and security protocols that are inputs to each 
device, but the actual software that performs the security management 
for different devices can and will be implemented differently by 
different manufacturers. Each device supplier will need to manage 
handling of potentially required security updates. It is likely that 
there will need to be coordination among the SCMS and various devices 
suppliers to facilitate such updates. It may be the SCMS through the 
Misbehavior Authority that identifies the need for an update and 
communicates this to suppliers so that updates can be prepared.
    There are many methods by which updates can be implemented. As seen 
with the different kind of devices that exist today, like tablets/
iPads, there are various options and issues. Automated updates to 
computer systems can be implemented wired or wirelessly. Some of the 
updates; however, require consent; that screen that asks if you agree 
to the terms related to the update that may go on for pages. Some 
methods (personally updating device firmware) require technology savvy 
that many consumers do not possess. Others require owners bringing 
their cars to dealers, which are not often followed well.\168\ The 
growing trend is towards building in capabilities for remote software 
updates.
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    \168\ According to online Web site Autotrader, the recall 
completion rate in 2015 was approximately 48 percent, down from 56 
percent in 2014.

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[[Page 3919]]

    According to a study released by IHS in September of 2015,\169\ 
OEMs are going to begin implementing software updates over-the-air 
(OTA); similar to how smart phones are updated currently. In fact the 
study estimated that software-related repair might soon be able to be 
wirelessly installed on the vehicle without the owner ever leaving 
home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \169\ ``Over-the-air Software Updates to Create Boon for 
Automotive Market, IHS Says'' at http://press.ihs.com/press-release/automotive/over-air-software-updates-create-boon-automotive-market-ihs-says (last accessed: Dec. 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Japanese OEMs pioneered navigation map updates in Japan via their 
telematics systems. BMW, VW, and Tesla have announced OTA procedures 
for updating navigation maps. In fact, both Tesla and BMW have already 
documented utilizing OTA updates to fix security issues onboard their 
vehicles.
    With new vehicles having more connectivity with the Internet and 
other wireless media, IIHS is predicting that upwards of 160 million 
cars will partake of OTA updates globally by 2022. In fact many of 
these may already be available to cars now. XM radios can potentially 
be utilized to download OTA updates to vehicles and in fact are pre-
installed on upwards of 70 percent of all new light vehicles. 4G 
services, as well as onboard Wi-Fi units are penetrating further into 
the vehicle fleet as well.
    Given that V2V operational and security software may need to be 
updated securely and widely while systems are in service, it may be 
unreasonable to expect that non-OTA software updates may have the 
desired impact and effectiveness (based on experiences in non-OTA 
domains for recalls). As such, NHTSA is soliciting feedback on whether 
it should consider requiring that V2V enabled vehicles have built-in 
OTA capability to have critical software updates, and seeks comment on 
the practicability of requiring this in future vehicles. NHTSA also 
solicits feedback on whether vehicle owners should be given the option 
to decline critical security updates.
    In addition, there will be situations when a security vulnerability 
may be known to NHTSA and manufacturers but not all V2V-equiped 
vehicles will have installed the patches or updates to mitigate the 
flaw. During this period, vehicles in the fleet may be vulnerable until 
the patch or update is installed. NHTSA is seeking comment on how this 
period of vulnerability should be managed, the time period over which 
updates or patches should be installed, how the number of patched and 
unpatched vehicles should be measured to determine patch adoption, and 
how to manage the situation when vehicles do not receive patches or 
user refuse to accept or agree to the update.
(g) Enforcement Mechanisms
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, is the U.S. government agency 
that was established to carry out safety programs under the National 
Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, re-codified as Title 49 
U.S.C. Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety (the Vehicle Safety Act). 
Under that authority, NHTSA issues and enforces Federal motor vehicle 
safety standards (FMVSS) that apply to motor vehicles and to certain 
items of motor vehicle equipment. Associated regulations are found in 
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 500-599.
    The Vehicle Safety Act requires that motor vehicles and regulated 
items of motor vehicle equipment as originally manufactured for sale in 
the United States be certified to comply with all applicable FMVSS. 
NHTSA does not play any part of the certification process. NHTSA does 
not approve any motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment as complying 
with applicable FMVSS. Instead, under 49 U.S.C. 30115, each vehicle 
manufacturer and equipment manufacturer is ultimately responsible for 
certifying that its vehicles and equipment comply with all applicable 
FMVSS.
    When establishing the FMVSS, NHTSA must ensure requirements are 
practicable, meet the need for motor vehicle safety, and are stated in 
objective terms. Each FMVSS specifies the minimum performance 
requirements and the objective test procedures needed by the agency to 
determine product compliance with those requirements.
    The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) is the office within 
NHTSA's Enforcement Division that is responsible for compliance 
verification testing. OVSC funds independent test laboratories 
throughout the United States to execute the verification tests. The 
verification tests are not certification tests since the vehicle 
manufacturers are ultimately responsible for vehicle certification, but 
are used to verify that tested motor vehicles appear to meet the 
requirements of the FMVSS. OVSC utilizes the test procedures specified 
in each FMVSS as the basis for developing a more detailed test 
procedure that includes test conditions, set-ups, test equipment, step-
by-step test execution, and data tables. Each funded test laboratory is 
required to utilize the OVSC test procedure to establish even more 
detailed test procedures with step-by-step approaches documented 
including check-off lists and data tables.
    In most cases, when OVSC and a contracted test laboratory perform 
FMVSS tests, the test vehicle appears to meet the requirements of the 
applicable standard; however, in some instances, test failures are 
identified. When an apparent test failure is identified, the following 
steps will be followed by OVSC to resolve the possible noncompliance.
     The contracted test laboratory notifies OVSC of any 
potential test failure.
     The test laboratory verifies that the test procedure was 
executed exactly as required and that all laboratory test equipment 
utilized has up-to-date calibration information attached.
     The test laboratory provides detailed test results to OVSC 
for evaluation.
     The laboratory may be directed to recalibrate any critical 
test equipment to ensure proper operation.
     The vehicle manufacturer is notified of the test failure 
and the test data is shared.
     OVSC requests the manufacturer provide documentation and 
its basis for certification.
     The vehicle manufacturer may choose to conduct additional 
internal testing to gather additional data for evaluation.
     Meetings will be held as required with test laboratory and 
vehicle manufacturer personnel to identify test execution related 
problem or possible vehicle noncompliance.
     Additional verification tests on same vehicle or identical 
vehicle may be executed to validate test results.
     If noncompliance is identified and confirmed by vehicle 
manufacturer, the manufacturer is required to submit a 49 CFR part 573 
report of noncompliance report within five working days after a 
noncompliance has been determined.
     The manufacturer will work with NHTSA to ensure a fix has 
been developed to correct the identified noncompliance.
     Follow-up tests may be executed to verify the fix does in 
fact correct the problem.
     The vehicle manufacturer will work with NHTSA to ensure no 
new noncomplying vehicles are sold and that the vehicles on the road 
are recalled to fix the confirmed noncompliance.
    The above steps are not necessarily in the exact order they may 
occur based upon the type of test failure and because

[[Page 3920]]

many of the steps are occurring simultaneously. Furthermore, the actual 
steps required to resolve any potential test failure will be predicated 
on the technical attributes of the failure and the difficulties 
associated with the ultimate resolution of the problem.
(h) Compliance Test Procedures
    To ensure that light vehicles equipped with a V2V communications 
system, On Board Equipment (OBE), is interoperable and compliant with 
the minimum performance requirements, the regulatory text of this 
proposal includes static, dynamic, and simulated performance tests. 
These tests have the potential for evaluating the performance of the 
V2V Radios and verifying the accuracy of the Basic Safety Message (BSM) 
safety message, Part I.
    Overall, we anticipate devices being tested will be instrumented 
with independent measurement sensors, devices, and a data acquisition 
system (DAS) in order to collect V2V system data. The independent 
measurement equipment will collect Differential Global Positioning 
System (DGPS) information, vehicle speed, vehicle 3-axis accelerations, 
vehicle yaw rate, vehicle systems status information, and radio 
performance data.

IV. Public Acceptance, Privacy and Security

A. Importance of Public Acceptance To Establishing the V2V System

    In the Readiness Report, NHTSA extensively discussed the importance 
of consumer acceptance to the success of V2V, given that as a 
cooperative system that benefits from network effects, V2V depends on 
drivers' willingness to participate. V2V needs vehicles to be equipped 
in order to broadcast messages that other vehicles can ``hear,'' but in 
order for equipped vehicles to join the roads, consumers must be 
willing to recognize the benefits of a V2V system and support its 
adoption by the U.S. vehicle fleet via the purchase of the new, 
equipped vehicles, or by adding V2V capability to their existing 
vehicles through aftermarket devices. Thus, consumers must want V2V in 
order for V2V to reach its full potential. If consumers avoid the 
technology for some reason, it will take longer to achieve the network 
effect, and safety benefits will be slower to accrue.
    Additionally, the courts have determined that public acceptance of 
a mandated technology is necessary to ensure that the mandate fulfills 
the requirements of the Safety Act. As discussed further in Section V.C 
below, if the public rejects a technology that the agency has required 
for new vehicles, the courts have found that the standard may neither 
be practicable nor meet the need for safety in the absence of public 
acceptance. If vehicle manufacturers literally cannot sell V2V-equipped 
vehicles because consumers en masse refuse to buy them, then it is 
possible that a court would conclude that the standard was not 
consistent with the Safety Act.
    NHTSA must therefore consider the potential elements of a V2V 
requirement that may affect public acceptance, and do what we can to 
address them, both through carefully considering how we develop the 
mandate, and through consumer education to improve understanding of 
what the technology does and does not do. Additionally, we expect, 
simultaneously, that vehicle manufacturers subject to the eventual 
mandate will likewise work to improve public understanding of the 
benefits of V2V, boosting consumer acceptance overall. We also seek 
comment on the extent to which an if-equipped approach potentially may 
alleviate some consumer acceptance concerns.

B. Elements That Can Affect Public Acceptance in the V2V Context

    Based on our review of the research conducted so far and the 
responses to the ANPRM and Readiness Report, NHTSA believes that the 
several elements of the V2V system discussed below may affect public 
acceptance.
1. False Positives
    A ``false positive'' occurs when a warning is issued to a driver 
and the warning is unnecessary (or when the driver believes the warning 
is unnecessary), because there is no immediate safety risk that the 
driver has not already accounted for. False positives can startle and, 
if there are too many, annoy a driver, causing drivers to possibly lose 
confidence in the system's ability to warn them properly of danger and 
desire to have the warning disabled; reducing overall system benefits. 
If the driver does not notice immediately that a false positive is in 
fact false, the driver might carry out an unnecessary evasive maneuver, 
potentially increasing the risk of an accident.
    In the SPMD, we initially saw fairly high numbers of false positive 
warnings for some V2V applications.\170\ Further analysis indicated 
this was due largely to the fact that the safety applications under 
evaluation were still prototypes. Part of the goal of the SPMD was to 
provide vehicle manufacturers with the opportunity to gain real-world 
experience with V2V safety applications; providing the opportunity to 
improve their ``tuning'' to maximize safety while minimizing false 
positives. Driver complaints, particularly regarding IMA warnings 
triggered by cloverleaf highway on-ramps and elevated roads that 
crossed over other roadways, led manufacturers to adjust the safety 
applications to accommodate the these originally-unexpected ``warning'' 
conditions. The SPMD experience proved that these adjustments 
significantly reduced false positive warnings for this application.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \170\ See, e.g., Nodine et al., ``Independent Evaluation of 
Light-Vehicle Safety Applications Based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle 
Communications Used in the 2012-2013 Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment,'' USDOT Volpe Center, DOT HS 812 222, December 2015, 
Section 5.1. Available at Docket NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At this time, NHTSA cannot account preemptively for the possibility 
of future false positive warnings. Given that we are only proposing 
today to mandate V2V transmission capability and are not yet requiring 
specific safety applications, we are not developing requirements for 
how safety applications must perform, and we recognize that doing so 
would be a significant undertaking. We do expect, however, that 
manufacturers will voluntarily develop and install safety applications 
once V2V communications capability is required available. As with 
existing advanced crash avoidance systems and as in the SPMD, we expect 
manufacturers to address false positive issues that arise in use in 
order to improve customer satisfaction. Because false positive issues 
with V2V-based safety applications are typically a software issue 
rather than a hardware issue Manufacturers may even be able to solve by 
deploying solutions to such problems through over-the-air software 
updates, rather than requiring vehicles to be brought in for 
adjustment. Data from the SPMD suggests that it is possible to reduce 
false positives in production safety applications and thus we believe 
it should not pose a significant public acceptance issue for V2V. 
Additionally, if NHTSA determines in the future that false positives in 
the field create an unreasonable risk to safety, NHTSA could pursue 
remedies for them through its enforcement authority.
2. Privacy
    If consumers fear that V2V communications will allow their 
movements to be ``tracked,'' either for government or private purposes, 
and that such information could be used to their detriment, they may 
avoid buying new cars with V2V systems installed, or attempt to disable 
the V2V systems in

[[Page 3921]]

their own vehicles. Concerns about privacy directly implicate consumer 
acceptance. For this reason, in addition to NHTSA's obligation under 
federal privacy law to identify the privacy impacts stemming from its 
regulatory activities,\171\ the Agency also must consider consumer 
privacy carefully in our development of V2V requirements. For example, 
as discussed above, SAE J2735 BSM specification contains a series of 
optional data elements, such as vehicle identification number (VIN), 
intended to be broadcast as part of the V2V transmission that enables 
safety applications. Because the Agency has determined that 
transmission of VIN and other information that directly identifies a 
specific vehicle or its driver or owner could create significant 
privacy risks for private consumers, this proposal contains performance 
requirements that exclude from the BSM such explicitly identifying 
data. The Agency also is concerned that other data elements in the BSM 
potentially could be used to identify specific individuals when 
combined over time and with data sources outside of the V2V system. For 
this reason, we have proposed a more general exclusion of ``reasonably 
linkable'' data elements from the BSM to minimize consumer privacy risk 
that could result from associating BSMs with specific individuals. We 
discuss our privacy risk analysis in more in detail in Sections IV.C 
and IV.D, and in the draft PIA published concurrent with this NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \171\ Section 522 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, 
Public Law 108-447.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA expects manufacturers to pursue a privacy positive approach 
to implementing the proposed V2V requirements. In furtherance of the 
Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs), especially those of 
transparency and notice, we have developed a draft privacy statement 
that we will require manufacturers to provide to consumers, included in 
the regulatory text below. In order to ensure effective notice, we 
intend for manufacturers to provide this statement to consumers in 
understandable, accessible formats and at multiple easily identifiable 
locations and times, including but not limited to the time of sale. We 
seek comment from the public on the most effective time and means of 
providing such multi-layered notice to individuals purchasing new and 
used vehicles with V2V systems. We note that the industry has developed 
a set of voluntary privacy principles for vehicle technologies and 
services, which have been accepted by members of both the Alliance and 
Global Automakers, covering the significant majority of motor vehicle 
manufacturers.\172\ We also seek comment from the public on how these 
principles would apply to V2V communications, as detailed in this NPRM, 
and the extent to which application of these voluntary minimum 
principles in the V2V context would provide adequate notice and 
transparency to consumers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \172\ ``PRIVACY PRINCIPLES FOR VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES AND 
SERVICES'' available at http://www.autoalliance.org/?objectid=865F3AC0-68FD-11E4-866D000C296BA163 (last accessed dec 7, 
2016).
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    To date, vehicle technologies that have raised privacy concerns for 
consumers have been ``opt-in,'' meaning that either consumers expressly 
agree to the use of these technologies in their vehicles (and thereby 
provide explicit consent) or consumer purchase vehicles containing 
technologies not mandated by NHTSA (and thereby, arguably, provide 
implicit consent). V2V presents a somewhat different situation, as we 
are proposing that at least 50 percent of new vehicles will be required 
to have V2V devices starting in model year 2021. Since this would be a 
mandated technology, consumer choice will be limited to the decision of 
whether or not to purchase a new car (all of which eventually would 
contain V2V technology, if mandated). From a privacy perspective, such 
implicit consent is not an optimal implementation of the FIPPs 
principle of consumer choice. However, as discussed below in Section 
VI.C., the agency has determined that there are no viable alternatives 
to a mandate of V2V technology. In the agency's view, the absence of 
consumer choice is required to achieve safety in the V2V context, 
increasing the significance of ensuring that industry deploys V2V 
technology in a privacy positive, transparent manner and provides 
consumers with effective, multi-layered privacy notice. Consumers who 
are privacy-sensitive tend to feel more strongly when the government is 
mandating something that creates potential privacy risks to 
individuals, as compared to when they voluntarily choose whether to 
purchase and use such technology. NHTSA and vehicle manufacturers will 
continue to work to ensure that V2V does not create the type of privacy 
impacts frequently raised in comments, and will need to educate 
consumers about the potential privacy impacts and privacy-enhancing 
controls designed into the V2V system. That said, NHTSA seeks comment 
on the extent to which an if-equipped approach potentially may provide 
consumers with more of a choice to ``opt in'' to V2V technology--or 
whether, if mandated, consumers should be provided an ``opt out'' 
option for privacy reasons.
3. Hacking (Cybersecurity)
    If consumers fear that V2V will allow wrongdoers to break into 
their vehicle's computerized systems and take control of vehicle 
operation, then, as with privacy concerns, they may avoid purchasing 
new vehicles equipped with V2V or attempt to remove already-installed 
V2V in their own vehicles. This fear is really a two-part concern: (1) 
That V2V equipment can be ``hacked,'' and (2) that if V2V equipment can 
be hacked, the consumer's safety may be at risk.
    Regarding the concern that V2V equipment can be hacked, as 
discussed in much more detail in Section III.E.7 above, counter 
measures have been identified using a risk-based approach to determine 
the types of threats and risks to the equipment that may occur. We are 
proposing to require additional hardening of the on-board V2V equipment 
beyond normal automotive-grade specifications to help reduce the chance 
of physical compromise of V2V. In addition we have included 
alternatives for message authentication and misbehavior reporting to 
solicit comment regarding to further reduction of cybersecurity risk in 
V2V message exchange. We seek comment on what additional requirements, 
if any, we might consider adding to the standard to mitigate 
infiltration risk yet further. If commenters believe additional steps 
are needed, we ask that they describe the protection mechanism and/or 
approach as fully as possible, and also provide cost information to 
accomplish them--or whether, if mandated, consumers should be provided 
an option to disable V2V for cybersecurity reasons.
    Regarding the concern that V2V equipment, if hacked, can create a 
safety risk, NHTSA expects manufacturers to ensure that vehicle systems 
take appropriate safe steps to the maximum extent possible, even when 
an attack may be successful.\173\ These can include protective/
preventive measures and techniques like isolation of safety-critical 
control systems networks or encryption and other hardware and software 
solutions that lower the likelihood of a successful hack and diminish 
the potential impact of a successful hack; real-time intrusion

[[Page 3922]]

detection measures that continually monitor signatures of potential 
intrusions in the electronic system architecture; real-time response 
methods that mitigate the potential adverse effects of a successful 
hack, preserving to the extent possible the driver's ability to control 
the vehicle; and information sharing and analysis of successful hacks 
by affected parties, development of a fix, and dissemination of the fix 
to all relevant stakeholders. In July 2015, in response to NHTSA's 
challenge, the auto industry created an Information Sharing and 
Analysis Center (``ISAC'') to help the industry proactively and 
uniformly address cybersecurity threats, and we would expect that such 
a body could be a useful forum for addressing V2V-related security 
risks, if any. A number of auto manufacturers are also rapidly ramping 
up internal teams to identity and address cybersecurity risks 
associated with new technologies.\174\
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    \173\ Additional information about NHTSA's approach to 
automotive cybersecurity is available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Speeches,+Press+Events+&+Testimonies/NHTSA+and+Vehicle+Cybersecurity (last accessed Sept. 23, 2015).
    \174\ See, e.g., King, Rachel, ``GM Grapples with Big Data, 
Cybersecurity in Vehicle Broadband Connections,'' Wall Street 
Journal, Feb. 10, 2015. Available at http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/02/10/gm-grapples-with-big-data-cybersecurity-in-vehicle-broadband-connections/ (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In March 2014, researchers from Galois, Inc. issued a white paper 
with specific recommendations for reducing security risk associated 
with V2V communications, which they stated would ``automatically rule 
out a whole class of security vulnerabilities'' at low cost with known 
technologies.\175\ The recommendations were as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \175\ See Launchbury, John, Dylan McNamee, and Lee Pike, Galois 
Inc., ``A Technique for Secure Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication,'' 
Mar. 9, 2014. Available at http://galois.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/whitepaper_SecureInterfaces.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     All legal inputs shall be specified precisely using a 
grammar. Inputs shall only represent data, not computation, and all 
data types shall be unambiguous (i.e., not machine-dependent). Maximum 
sizes shall be specified to help reduce denial-of-service and overflow 
attacks.
     Every input shall be checked to confirm that it conforms 
to the input specification. Interface messages shall be traceable to 
mission-critical functionality. Non-required messages should be 
rejected.
     Parsers and serializers shall be generated, not hand-
written, to ensure they do not themselves introduce any security 
vulnerabilities. Evidence should be provided that
    [cir] parse(serialize(m)) = m, for all messages m, and
    [cir] parse(i) = REJECT, for all non-valid inputs i.
     Fuzz testing shall be used to demonstrate that 
implementations are resilient to malicious inputs.
     A standardized crypto solution such as AES-GCM shall be 
used to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and the impossibility of 
reply attacks.
    DARPA staff, in discussing V2V cybersecurity issues with DOT 
researchers, recommended these techniques be included in any V2V 
requirements going. NHTSA seeks comment on whether these specific 
techniques should be incorporated into the proposed FMVSS requirements, 
and if so, how; alternatively, NHTSA seeks comment on whether these 
techniques should be incorporated prior to vehicle manufacturer 
certification with the FMVSS, and if so, how, and how NHTSA would 
verify their incorporation.
4. Health
    As discussed in more detail below in Section IV.E, a number of 
individual citizens commented to the ANPRM and Readiness Report that 
they were concerned about what they believed to be potentially negative 
health effects that could result from a DSRC mandate. As discussed in 
Section IV.E below, NHTSA has considered this issue carefully, and 
whether there are ways to mitigate these concerns without obviating the 
very real safety benefits that a V2V mandate will enable. We believe 
that consumer education, undertaken both by the Federal government and 
by vehicle manufacturers, may help to alleviate some of these concerns.
5. Research Conducted on Consumer Acceptance Issues
    Working with Booz Allen Hamilton, NHTSA has conducted additional 
research on consumer acceptance issues since the ANPRM and Readiness 
Report. The objective of the research was to conduct both qualitative 
and quantitative research to broaden our understanding of consumers' 
acceptance of V2V technology and to inform future outreach and 
communication efforts to the public. The qualitative phase included 
focus groups held in Spring of 2015. Focus group participants were 
shown a brief video on what V2V communications are, how they work, and 
how they contribute to vehicle safety, and then asked to discuss a 
series of questions about the technology, their understanding of it and 
interest in it, and benefits and drawbacks. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 
10, the majority of focus group participants rated their interest in 
V2V as a 5 or higher for the next car. However, participants also 
expressed concern that the technology would not be effective if it were 
not universally adopted, and that over-reliance on or distraction by 
V2V warnings could cause drivers to become less attentive and increase 
risk. Although most focus group participants believed that V2V would 
allow drivers to be tracked, few were concerned with the privacy 
implications of tracking.\176\
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    \176\ ``Vehicle to Vehicle Crash Avoidance Safety Technology: 
Public Acceptance Final Report'' December, 2015. Available at Docket 
No. NHTSA-2016-0126
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    Following the conclusion of the focus groups and analysis of their 
findings, a survey was developed for online quantitative testing to 
examine these issues further. The survey was conducted by Ipsos, under 
contract to BAH. The survey sought to evaluate several objectives:
     What is the degree of public acceptance of V2V?
     What proportion of people are concerned about each 
barrier? How much importance is attached to that concern?
     What proportion of people agree with the potential 
benefits of V2V? How much importance is attached to that benefit?
     How does the population differ on the above viewpoints 
(age, gender, urbanicity, etc.)?
     What are predictors of acceptance of V2V technology (age, 
gender, urbanicity, etc.)?
    Over 1,500 people responded to the survey, and the sample was 
matched to the target population on age, gender, ethnicity, income, and 
region. Respondents viewed a brief informational video about V2V, and 
then answered 35 questions. Approximately half of respondents were 
interested in having V2V in their next car, with ``accepters'' tending 
to be male, older, urban, and more educated. All responses had a margin 
of error of 2.5 percent
    In terms of barriers or concerns, 69 percent of respondents 
believed that V2V would encourage other drivers to be too reliant and 
less attentive to the driving task, and over 50 percent expressed 
concern about cybersecurity and the need for enough vehicles to be 
equipped for the benefits to accrue. Between 30 and 40 percent 
expressed concern about tracking by the government or law enforcement 
and about the risk that they themselves could become too reliant and 
inattentive to driving. Only 20 percent expressed concern about health 
risk from electromagnetic activity. Of those concerns, however, some 
were deemed

[[Page 3923]]

more important than others (that is, simply because respondents 
identified a risk, did not necessarily mean that they considered it an 
important risk). Respondents viewed law enforcement and government 
tracking as less important, but cybersecurity, other drivers' 
inattentiveness, and health risks as more important, when they were 
concerned about them.
    In terms of benefits of V2V, 55 percent of respondents believed 
that V2V would reduce the number and severity of vehicle crashes, 53 
percent believed that it would make driving more convenient and 
efficient, and 50 percent believed that V2V could lower insurance 
rates. As for barriers, respondents tended to believe that benefits for 
others would be somewhat greater than the benefits that they themselves 
would experience. Importance did not vary as much for benefits as it 
did for barriers.
    In terms of how opinions about benefits and barriers correspond to 
whether a respondent wanted V2V in their next car, the survey results 
found that, on balance, all respondents were concerned about barriers, 
but ``accepters'' of V2V rated the benefits more highly. When asked how 
much they would be willing to pay for V2V, 78 percent of respondents 
were willing to pay less than $200.
    Based on the research conducted thus far and assuming that the 
survey respondents are, as intended, reasonably representative of the 
nation as a whole, it appears that while there may be work yet for the 
agency and manufacturers to do in order to reassure consumers of V2V's 
benefits, there may not be a sufficient public acceptance problem that 
an FMVSS requiring V2V communications in new vehicles would face clear 
legal risk on that issue. NHTSA intends to continue researching 
approaches to consumer outreach on V2V and will work with industry and 
other relevant stakeholders in doing so. We seek comment on what the 
agency should consider in developing those approaches to best ensure 
the success of a future V2V system.
6. User Flexibilities for Participation in System
    In the ANPRM, we sought comment on whether there were any issues 
relating to consumer acceptance that the agency had not yet considered, 
and asked how the agency should consider them for the NPRM. In 
response, a number of individual commenters expressed concern that they 
experience extreme sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation, and that 
therefore DSRC should not be mandated, or that if it was mandated, that 
the agency should allow drivers to disable it. Health issues raised in 
comments are covered below in Section IV.E, but the question of whether 
the agency should require or permit an ``off switch'' for V2V 
communications arose when commenters suggested it as a way to mitigate 
concerns over health effects. A handful of other individual commenters 
stated that the agency should allow drivers to turn off DSRC for 
privacy or security reasons, out of concern that DSRC transmissions 
could allow their movements to be tracked, or that the device could be 
hacked by malicious third parties to obtain personal information about 
the driver. A number of individual commenters raising these concerns 
about health or tracking suggested that they would attempt to disable 
V2V in their vehicles, or only purchase older vehicles without V2V.
    While NHTSA had asked in the ANPRM whether commenters had thoughts 
regarding whether V2V-based warnings should be permitted to be modified 
or disabled,\177\ in the interest of maximizing safety benefits, NHTSA 
had not considered allowing manufacturers to provide consumers with a 
mechanism to disable V2V itself, whether temporarily or permanently.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \177\ See 79 FR 49270, at 49272 (Aug. 20, 2014) (Question 13 in 
the ANPRM asks whether commenters believe that V2V-based warnings 
should be permitted to be modified or disabled).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Generally, if NHTSA concludes that a vehicle system or technology 
provides sufficient safety benefits that it should be required as an 
FMVSS, NHTSA has not permitted it to be disabled. In fact, Congress 
expressly prohibits manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and motor 
vehicle repair businesses from knowingly making inoperative any part of 
a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in 
compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed 
by NHTSA.\178\ In some cases, however, NHTSA has established FMVSSs 
that permit system disablement or alteration when there is a clearly-
defined safety need for doing so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \178\ See 49 U.S.C. 30122(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For example, FMVSS No. 126 for electronic stability control (ESC) 
allows manufacturers to include an ``ESC Off'' control that puts the 
system in a state where ESC does not meet the FMVSS performance 
requirements, as long as the system defaults to full ESC capability at 
the start of the next ignition cycle and illuminates a telltale in the 
meantime to warn the driver that ESC is not available.\179\ NHTSA 
allowed the ESC Off control because we were aware that in certain 
driving situations, ESC activation could actually make driving less 
safe rather than more safe--if a driver is stuck in deep snow or sand 
and is trying to free their vehicle, quickly spinning wheels could 
cause ESC to activate when it should not. Additionally, the agency was 
concerned that drivers who did not have the option of disabling ESC 
when absolutely necessary might find their own, permanent way to 
disable ESC completely. Having an off switch that reverted to full 
functionality at the next ignition cycle at least allowed ESC to 
continue providing safety benefits the rest of the time. NHTSA 
concluded that allowing temporary disablement was better than risking 
the permanent loss of safety benefits.\180\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \179\ See 49 CFR part 126, S5.4. We note that despite the 
overarching requirement to return to full functionality at the new 
ignition cycle, S5.4 does not require ESC to return to full 
functionality if the vehicle is in a mode for ``low-speed, off-road 
driving,'' or if the front and rear axles are locked because the 
vehicle is in some sort of 4WD mode.
    \180\ 72 FR at 17279-80 (Apr. 6, 2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As another example, FMVSS No. 208 for occupant crash protection 
allowed manufacturers to include a device up until September 1, 2012, 
that deactivated the right front passenger seat air bag, but only in 
vehicles without a second row of seating, or in vehicles where the 
second row of seating is smaller than a specified size.\181\ Like the 
ESC Off function, the ``passenger air bag off'' function also requires 
a telltale to illuminate to warn the driver that the air bag is 
disabled; unlike the ESC Off function, the passenger air bag off 
function, if present, remains deactivated until it is reactivated by 
means of the deactivation device (i.e., the driver presses the button 
again, rather than the air bag simply reactivating at the start of the 
next ignition cycle).\182\ In establishing this option, the agency 
noted public acceptance issues with advanced air bags, and stated that 
allowing on-off switches for some period after all vehicles were 
equipped with advanced air bags would help parents feel more confident 
about the system's reliability based on real-world experience.\183\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \181\ See 49 CFR part 208, S4.5.4.
    \182\ Id.
    \183\ Deactivation of the ``advanced'' right front passenger air 
bag was primarily intended to address the possibility that, in 
vehicles with no (or very small) back seats, a child seat might have 
to be placed in the front passenger seat rather than in the back. 
The primary mechanism to mitigate the risk of the front passenger 
air bag deploying when a child seat is present is a suppression 
system, but the agency allowed vehicle manufacturers to include an 
off switch for several years to improve parents' confidence that the 
suppression systems were working successfully in the field. See 65 
FR at 30723 (May 12, 2000).

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[[Page 3924]]

    Thus, in prior instances when NHTSA has allowed drivers the option 
of changing or disabling the functionality of a required safety system, 
it has been in the interest of providing more safety. Similarly, were 
V2V to impose substantial new safety risks, there could be a safety 
reason to disable transmission and reception of messages. To the extent 
that consumers may wish that the agency allow a way for them to disable 
V2V because of concerns about privacy or cybersecurity, we reiterate 
our position as discussed in Sections IV.B and IV.C on privacy and 
Section V on security we have worked to design requirements that reduce 
the possibility of such threats. To the extent that consumers wish a 
mechanism to disable V2V devices out of concern over potential health 
effects, we note simply that disabling your own V2V unit would not help 
you avoid V2V transmissions, because other light vehicles will also be 
equipped with the technology, and if you have your own vehicle it is 
presumably for the purpose of traveling to places where other vehicles 
also go. Turning V2V off for this reason would forfeit the safety 
benefit of being ``seen'' by other vehicles'' and ``seeing'' other 
vehicles, without providing any other benefit.
    Moreover, unlike for most of the prior technologies in which NHTSA 
allowed drivers the option of changing or disabling the functionality 
of a required safety system, allowing V2V communications to be disabled 
would affect the safety of more drivers than just the driver who turned 
off their own V2V device. A cooperative system like V2V protects you by 
making you more ``visible'' to other drivers and by letting you know 
when they pose imminent risks to you. A driver who disables V2V on 
their vehicle makes their vehicle less visible to other drivers, 
potentially affecting their own relative safety risk and the safety 
risk to those around them. The safety benefits from a cooperative 
system could be undermined by allowing drivers to opt out. If there is 
no safety benefit from opting out, and doing so would undermine safety 
benefits both for the driver who opts out and for drivers around them, 
opting out may not be justified.
    However, V2V is a novel technology concept in the transportation 
context, which differs in some ways from other technologies covered by 
the FMVSS. NHTSA recognizes that, as discussed elsewhere in this 
notice, any technology that is required to transmit and receive 
information on a persistent basis creates potential privacy and 
cybersecurity risks. NHTSA is making every effort to reduce these risks 
while setting requirements that would provide life-saving benefits. 
That said, we acknowledge that there may be circumstances when there 
could be a need to deactivate the V2V device on a vehicle. These may 
include individuals or groups with specific privacy needs, the 
emergence of unanticipated cybersecurity threats, or other reasons. To 
address these cases, NHTSA is requesting comment on possible approaches 
to deactivating V2V related hardware and software as and when 
appropriate, as well as the costs and benefits of such approaches. 
These could include deactivations initiated by drivers, manufacturers, 
or the government; with different scopes, such as vehicle-specific or 
broader deactivations; with different lengths, such as for a single key 
start or more long-lasting; and with different levels of ease, such as 
an accessible consumer-friendly method or one that would require 
mechanical expertise.

C. Consumer Privacy

    NHTSA takes consumer privacy very seriously. Although collection of 
data by on-board systems such as Event Data Recorders and On-Board 
Diagnostic systems is nothing new, the connectivity proposed by the 
Agency will expand the data transmitted and received by cars. V2V 
systems will create and transmit data about driver behavior and the 
surrounding environment not currently available from most on-board 
systems. For this reason, V2V and future vehicle to infrastructure and 
pedestrian (V2X) technologies raise important privacy questions.
    The agency is committed to regulating V2V communications in a 
manner that both protects individuals and promotes this important 
safety technology. NHTSA has worked closely with experts and our 
industry research partners (CAMP and the VIIC) to design and deploy a 
V2V system that helps protect consumer privacy. As conceived, the 
system will contain multiple technical, physical, and organizational 
controls to reduce privacy risks--including those related to vehicle 
tracking by individuals and government or commercial entities. As 
proposed, V2V messages will not contain information directly 
identifying a vehicle (as through VIN, license plate or registration 
information) or its driver or owner (as through name, address or 
driver's license number), or data ``linkable, as practical matter,'' or 
``reasonably linkable'' to an individual. NHTSA intends for these terms 
to have the same meaning, specifically: Capable of being used to 
identify a specific person on a persistent basis without unreasonable 
cost or effort, either in real time or retrospectively, given available 
data sources. Our research to date suggests that using V2V 
transmissions to track the path and activities of identified drivers or 
owners, while possible, could be a complex undertaking and may require 
significant resources and effort.\184\ The Agency has concluded that 
excluding ``reasonably linkable'' data elements from the BSM will help 
protect consumer privacy appropriately and meaningfully while still 
providing V2V systems in vehicles with sufficient information to enable 
crash-avoidance safety applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \184\ See Reports: FHWA-JPO-15-237--``Final Design Analysis 
Report'' September 18, 2015, FHWA-JPO-15-236--``Privacy Issues for 
Consideration by USDOT Based on Review of Preliminary Technical 
Framework (Final-Rev A)'' February 24, 2016, FHWA-JPO-15-235--
``Final Requirements Report'' September 11, 2015, and ``Technical 
Memorandum: Modeling and simulation of Areas of Potential V2V 
Privacy Risk'' March 8, 2016 located in Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We request comment on the proposed mandate that the BSM exclude 
data elements ``reasonably linkable'' to an individual (as that term is 
defined above) and whether this appropriately balances consumer privacy 
with safety. Additionally, will exclusion from the BSM of ``reasonably 
linkable'' data elements undermine the need for a standard BSM data set 
in furtherance of interoperability or exclude data required for safety 
applications?
    NHTSA, with the support of the DOT Privacy Officer and NHTSA's 
Office of the Chief Information Officer, conducted an interim privacy 
risk assessment of the V2V system prior to issuance of the Readiness 
Report and ANPRM. The interim assessment was intended to provide the 
structure and serve as a starting point for NHTSA's planned PIA, which 
is a more in-depth assessment of potential privacy impacts to consumer 
privacy that might stem from a V2V regulatory action, and of the system 
controls that mitigate those risks. On the basis of then available 
information and stated assumptions, NHTSA's interim privacy assessment 
identified the system's business needs, relevant system functions, 
areas of potential risks, and existing/other risk-mitigating technical 
and policy controls.
    NHTSA received a significant number of comments on the issue of 
privacy in response to the ANPRM and Readiness Report. Generally, the 
privacy comments related to consumer acceptance and reflected consumer 
and industry concerns that the V2V system would be used by government 
and

[[Page 3925]]

commercial entities to track the route or activities of individuals, or 
would be perceived by individuals to have that capability. A vast 
majority of the privacy comments addressed one or more of the following 
areas:
    1. NHTSA's privacy impact assessment;
    2. ``privacy by design'' and data privacy protections;
    3. data access and privacy;
    4. consumer education; and
    5. Congressional or other government action related to V2V data.
    Since receiving these comments, NHTSA has worked closely with 
privacy experts to identify and prioritize for further analysis 
specific areas of potential privacy impact in the V2V system. 
Additional privacy research, such as dynamic modeling related to 
location tracking and analysis of PKI best practices, is underway that 
will refine NHTSA's approach to mitigating potential privacy impacts 
stemming from the V2V system. On the basis of the PIA, comments 
received on the NPRM and PIA, and ongoing privacy research, agency 
decision-makers will be in an informed position to determine whether 
any residual risk (i.e., risk in the system that cannot reasonably be 
mitigated) is acceptable--and, in the alternative, whether 
functionality should be sacrificed in order to achieve an acceptable 
level of residual risk, and if so, what functionality.
1. NHTSA's PIA
    Over a dozen organizations requested that NHTSA conduct a privacy 
impact assessment (PIA) of the V2V system as proposed in the NPRM. Many 
of these commenters noted additionally that a PIA will be critical to 
consumer acceptance of V2V. Several organizations requested that NHTSA 
take steps (in addition to conducting a PIA) to help enhance and speed 
consumer acceptance of V2V technologies. Comments relating to the scope 
of NHTSA's PIA included a request that NHTSA broaden the scope of its 
privacy analysis to include privacy impacts associated with vehicle to 
infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle to ``other'' (such as pedestrians) 
(V2X) applications, and also that NHTSA release privacy research 
underlying its PIA.
    The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) suggested that 
NHTSA hold public workshops with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to 
thoroughly investigate privacy issues related to the V2V system. It 
also recommended that NHTSA expand the scope of the PIA so that it 
``considers all possible uses of the envisioned transportation 
communications network including all potential internal and external 
abuses, and other challenges not solely those concerned with safety, 
mobility and the environment.'' The Automotive Safety Council 
recommended that an independent third party review the PIA. Finally, 
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Privacy Rights 
Clearinghouse requested that NHTSA release all initial risk assessments 
and research on which its initial risk assessment and PIA are based, 
including those related to location tracking and identification 
capabilities. Additionally, the Alliance took the position that PIA 
should analyze the privacy concerns relating to the broader V2X 
communications infrastructure, which includes commercial venture, law 
enforcement, and taxation issues. The FTC requested that NHTSA take 
into account the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) framework 
in regulating the V2V system.
    NHTSA agrees with commenters emphasizing the critical importance of 
issuing a PIA detailing the agency's analysis of the potential privacy 
impacts of the V2V system as proposed in the NPRM. Not only is NHTSA 
required by law \185\ to do so, but the FIPPs-based privacy-risk 
analysis documented in the PIA has informed NHTSA's proposal 
significantly, and helped to refine the privacy controls that NHTSA and 
its research partners designed into the V2V system to mitigate 
potential privacy impacts, including that related to vehicle tracking. 
NHTSA intends to work closely with the FTC, which is the primary 
federal agency with authority over consumer privacy and data security, 
on consumer privacy issues related to the V2V system. Such intra-
governmental collaboration is likely to include coordination on the PIA 
and ongoing privacy research. It may also include conducting joint 
public meetings or workshops with stakeholders following issuance of 
the NPRM and PIA, which has undergone intra-governmental review. For a 
variety of reasons, NHTSA did not (and could not) have it reviewed by 
non-governmental third parties prior to publication. However, NHTSA 
looks forward to receiving comments on the privacy issues discussed in 
the NPRM and PIA from a broad range of stakeholders and other 
interested entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \185\ Section 522 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, 
Public Law 108-447.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With regard to the scope of NHTSA's PIA, the agency wishes to 
emphasize that, to the extent possible in the context of a still 
evolving V2V ecosystem, our PIA intentionally is scoped to take into 
account potential internal and external threat actors and potential 
abuses of the V2V system--not solely those directly related to safety, 
mobility or environmental applications. As discussed in the PIA Summary 
section below, NHTSA's PIA focusses not on specific V2V system 
components or applications. Rather, it focuses on data transactions 
system-wide that could have privacy impacts, and the controls that 
mitigate those potential impacts. To the extent that specific V2V data 
transactions might be vulnerable to privacy impacts, our risk-analysis 
broadly considers potential threats posed by a wide range of internal 
and external actors, including foreign governments, commercial non-
government entities, other non-governmental entities (such as research/
academic actors and malicious individuals or groups). Additionally, our 
analysis takes into account potential privacy impacts posed by internal 
V2V system actors.
2. Privacy by Design and Data Privacy Protections
    Many commenters requested that NHTSA deploy the V2V system in a way 
that ensures drivers' privacy and the security of the system. Some 
sought specific privacy protections, such as ``total anonymity'' if 
drivers cannot opt out of the V2V system, the protection of any PII 
associated with the system, and avoidance of using any PII at all. 
Commenters also sought end-to-end encryption of any PII, no local or 
remote V2V data storage, and limitations on V2V data collection, as 
well as technical and administrative safeguards on any V2V data 
collected.
    Mercedes-Benz commented that the security entity envisioned to 
secure the V2V system, called the Security Credential Management Server 
(SCMS), must have security and privacy controls to protect against 
external threats and internal abuses. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) 
expressed concern about the potential privacy impacts of the security 
system's design, called the certificate revocation list (CRL). The 
National Motorists Association emphasized safeguarding V2V messages 
sent via mandated V2V devices. Infineon Technologies pointed out that 
the unique cellular subscriber number would defeat the privacy and 
tracking requirement in the system, as proposed, to the extent that 
cellular is used as a V2V communications media. American Trucking 
Association requested that NHTSA protect the confidentiality of 
proprietary information, such as lane

[[Page 3926]]

density, vehicle specifications, and trip origin and destination. The 
Association of Global Automakers (Global) and GM stated that V2V, as 
envisioned, does not pose significant risks to the privacy of 
individuals. By contrast, EFF stated the exact opposite, noting its 
concern that the V2V system as discussed in the ANPRM and Readiness 
Report does not protect the privacy of drivers adequately.
    Based on our exploration of privacy impacts and analysis of the V2V 
system design to date, we respectfully disagree with the position 
espoused by EFF that the V2V system fails to protect driver privacy. 
The system contains multiple technical and organizational controls to 
help mitigate unreasonable privacy risks posed by external actors 
including those posed by SCMS insiders. V2V transmissions would exclude 
data directly identifying a private motor vehicle or its driver or 
owner and reasonably linkable to an individual via data sources outside 
of the V2V system or over time. V2V devices would transmit safety 
information in only a limited geographical range. Neither the V2V 
system, nor its components (including OBEs) would collect or store the 
contents of messages sent or received, except for a limited time to 
maintain awareness of nearby vehicles for safety purposes or case of 
device malfunction. Additionally, the system described in our proposal 
would be protected by a complex PKI security infrastructure designed 
specifically to help mitigate privacy impacts and create a secure V2V 
environment in which motorists who do not know one another can 
participate in the system without personally identifying themselves or 
their vehicles.
    As discussed in the PIA and demonstrated by the data flows detailed 
in that document, the CRL discussed in the misbehavior reporting 
section of our primary proposal also would be designed to mitigate 
privacy impacts to individuals. It would contain specific information 
sufficient to permit V2V devices to use certificate information to 
recognize safety messages that should be ignored, if received. However, 
the CRL would not contain identifying information about specific 
vehicles or specific certificate numbers--nor would the information on 
the CRL permit third parties or SCMS insiders to identify specific 
vehicles or their owners or drivers.
    The Agency understands that concern about whether the V2V system 
can or will be used by government and commercial entities to track the 
route or activities of individuals is critical to consumer acceptance 
and the viability of NHTSA's proposal. DOT is continuing to work with 
privacy experts to identify additional controls that might further 
mitigate any privacy risks (including that of tracking) in the V2V 
system, no matter how remote. The planned implementation by DOT of a 
proof of concept (PoC) security entity (discussed in Section V.B.6.e)) 
and related policy research will provide an operational environment in 
which to continue to explore the viability of additional privacy 
controls applicable to the V2V system, as currently envisioned and 
designed.
    That said, as we noted in the Readiness Report, it is important to 
emphasize that residual risk stemming from the V2V system will never be 
zero due in part to the inherent complexity of the V2V system design 
and the diversity/large number of interacting components/entities, both 
technological and human. Additionally, technology changes at a rapid 
pace and may adversely impact system controls designed to help protect 
privacy in unforeseen ways. For these reasons, as is standard practice 
in both the public and private sectors, NHTSA has performed a PIA to 
identify potential areas of residual risk and resulting privacy 
consequences/harms that might result from its proposal. The current 
status of NHTSA's PIA is summarized below. The technical framework for 
the V2V system has gone through many iterations and adjustments during 
the conduct of the V2V research program, as the system has evolved to 
meet revised or additional needs and to incorporate the results of 
research. For this reason, while the current technical framework is 
sufficient for purposes of NHTSA's rulemaking proposal, DOT's 
assessment of the potential privacy impacts that could result from the 
V2V proposal necessarily will be an ongoing process that takes into 
account future adjustments to the technology and security system 
required to support the technology, as well as ongoing privacy 
research. After reviewing comments on the NPRM and PIA and working 
closely with the FTC and stakeholders to address privacy concerns, 
NHTSA will issue an updated PIA concurrent with its issuance of a V2V 
final rule.
3. Data Access, Data Use and Privacy
    The issue of data ownership arose in the comments of Ford, Auto 
Care Association, and others. All of these commenters requested 
clarification of who owns the data generated by the V2V system. Many 
commenters asserted that vehicle owners should own V2V and other data 
generated by motor vehicles, generally. Systems Research Associates 
requested a specific regulation vesting ownership in vehicle owners, 
not manufacturers. Another commenter expressed concern about ownership 
of data inherent in the context of car sharing and rentals 
arrangements.
    The inherently related concept of consumer consent also appeared in 
many privacy comments. Civil liberties organizations suggested that 
NHTSA mandate that consumers provide ``active consent'' in the form of 
express written consent before manufacturers may collect data 
containing personally identifiable information (PII). Manufacturers 
requested that NHTSA ensure transparency by requiring that consumers 
authorize collection of PII through either consent or contract, and 
that manufacturers inform vehicle owners of what information will be 
collected and how this information will be used. This approach to 
transparency is consistent with industry privacy principles adopted in 
2014 by members of the Alliance and the Association of Global 
Automakers, entitled ``Consumer Privacy Protection Principles for 
Vehicle Technologies and Services'' (OEM Privacy Principles or 
Principles), discussed in prior sections. Several manufacturers and 
civil liberties organizations, including EPIC and EFF, suggested that 
these voluntary industry principles should serve as a baseline for data 
privacy protections in the V2V context. EPIC also suggested that NHTSA 
follow the White House's Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
    NHTSA feels strongly that in the context a V2V system based on 
broadcast messages, the critical consumer privacy issue is not that of 
data ownership, but that of data access and use--ensuring that the 
consumer has clear, understandable and transparent notice of the makeup 
of the V2V message broadcast by mandated V2V equipment, who may access 
V2V messages emanating from a consumer's motor vehicle, and how the 
data in V2V messages may be collected and used. For this reason, NHTSA 
proposes that motor vehicle manufacturers, at a minimum, include the 
following standard V2V Privacy Statement (set forth below) in all 
owner's manuals (regardless of media) and on a publicly-accessible web 
location that current and future owners may search by make/model/year 
to obtain the data access and privacy policies applicable to their 
motor vehicle, including those specifically addressing V2V data and 
functions. We also seek the public's assistance in identifying 
additional formats and methods for providing this privacy statement to 
consumers that

[[Page 3927]]

with the goal of achieving the timely and effective notice desired--
notice that has increased significance in the context of a V2V mandate 
that effectively (and by design to achieve safety ends) limits consumer 
choice and consent.
4. V2V Privacy Statement
(a) V2V Messages
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires 
that your vehicle be equipped with a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) safety 
system. The V2V system is designed to give your vehicle a 360 degree 
awareness of the driving environment and warn you in the event of a 
pending crash, allowing you to take actions to avoid or mitigate the 
crash, if the manufacturer of your vehicle has installed V2V safety 
applications.
    Your V2V system periodically broadcasts and receives from all 
nearby vehicles a V2V message that contains important safety 
information, including vehicle position, speed, and direction. V2V 
messages are broadcast ten times per second in only the limited 
geographical range (approximately 300 meters) necessary to enable V2V 
safety application to warn drivers of pending crash events.
    To help protect driver privacy, V2V messages do not directly 
identify you or your vehicle (as through vehicle identification number 
or State motor vehicle registration), or contain data that is 
reasonably or, as a practical matter, linkable to you. For purposes of 
this statement, V2V data is ``reasonably'' or ``as a practical matter'' 
linkable to you if it can be used to trace V2V messages back to you 
personally for more than a temporary period of time (in other words, on 
a persistent basis) without unreasonable expense or effort, in real 
time or after the fact, given available data sources. Excluding 
reasonably linkable data from V2V messages helps protect consumer 
privacy, while still providing your V2V system with sufficient 
information to enable crash-avoidance safety applications.
(b) Collection, Storage and Use of V2V Information
    Your V2V system does not collect or store V2V messages except for a 
limited time needed to maintain awareness of nearby vehicles for safety 
purposes or in case of equipment malfunction. In the event of 
malfunction, the V2V system collects only those messages required, and 
keeps that information only for long enough to assess a V2V device's 
misbehavior and, if a product defect seems likely, to provide defect 
information to your vehicle's manufacturer.
    NHTSA does not regulate the collection or use of V2V communications 
or data beyond the specific use by motor vehicles and motor vehicle 
equipment for safety-related applications. That means that other 
individuals and entities may use specialized equipment to collect and 
aggregate (group together) V2V transmissions and use them for any 
purpose including applications such as motor vehicle and highway 
safety, mobility, environmental, governmental and commercial purposes. 
For example, States and localities may deploy roadside equipment that 
enables connectivity between your vehicle, roadways and non-vehicle 
roadway users (such as cyclists or pedestrians). These technologies may 
provide direct benefits such as use of V2V data to further increase 
your vehicle's awareness of its surroundings, work zones, first 
responders, accidents, cyclists and pedestrians. State and local 
entities (such as traffic control centers or transportation 
authorities) may use aggregate V2V safety messages for traffic 
monitoring, road maintenance, transportation research, transportation 
planning, truck inspection, emergency and first responder, ride-
sharing, and transit maintenance purposes. Commercial entities also may 
use aggregate V2V messages to provide valuable services to customers, 
such as traffic flow management and location-based analytics, and for 
other purposes (some of which might impact consumer privacy in 
unanticipated ways). NHTSA does not regulate the collection or use of 
V2V data by commercial entities or other third parties.
    While V2V messages do not directly identify vehicles or their 
drivers, or contain data reasonably linkable to you on a persistent 
basis, the collection, storage and use of V2V data may have residual 
privacy impacts on private motor vehicle owners or drivers. Consumers 
who want additional information about privacy in the V2V system may 
review NHTSA's V2V Privacy Impact Assessment, published by The U.S. 
Department of Transportation at http://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    If you have concerns or questions about the privacy practices of 
vehicle manufacturers or third party service providers or applications, 
please contact the Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov.
5. Consumer Education
    Many commenters emphasized the need to educate consumers about the 
V2V system to enhance public acceptance through a coordinated and wide-
spread information campaign utilizing traditional print and television 
outlets and the web, including the AAA, Global, Arizona Department of 
Transportation, Cohda Wireless, GM, Infineon Technologies, National 
Motorists Association, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 
Toyota, TRW Automotive, Automotive Safety Council, and Delphi 
Automotive.
    Comments from the Automotive Safety Council, TRW Automotive, and 
Delphi Automotive suggested that such education should focus on the V2V 
safety message, what it contains, and how any information in the BSM 
will be used. The National Motorists Association recommended that NHTSA 
educate motorists on the system's privacy protection assurances. AAA 
recommended educating the public on how the V2V system will benefit 
them, and on the privacy and security protections built into the 
system. Toyota suggested that NHTSA educate the public about the fact 
that the V2V system will not transmit or store PII. The Privacy Rights 
Clearinghouse suggested that NHTSA educate the public on how the V2V 
system works. Honda focused more on educating the public on the 
security designed into the V2V system.
    NHTSA agrees with commenters that educating the public about this 
important new safety technology, and the security and privacy 
protections designed into the V2V system, will be critical to consumer 
acceptance. For this reason, as suggested by many commenters, the 
agency plans to work closely with the FTC, motor vehicle manufacturers, 
privacy advocates and other stakeholders to design a comprehensive 
public education strategy on the topic of privacy in the V2V system for 
consumers. Any claims regarding security or privacy made as part of 
NHTSA's public outreach will necessarily be justified by evidence based 
on the best scientific knowledge regarding security and privacy. 
Development of a consumer education strategy will likely be among the 
privacy-specific topics addressed in public meetings and/or workshops 
held by the agency after issuance of the NPRM and PIA.
6. Congressional/Other Government Action
    NHTSA received comments from civil liberties groups and 
manufacturers that included calls on Congress to take action to protect 
consumer privacy in the V2V system. EFF and Privacy Rights 
Clearinghouse took the position that

[[Page 3928]]

Federal legislation is imperative to protect driver privacy. The 
Alliance called on Congress to coordinate the relevant Federal agencies 
``to articulate a framework for privacy and security before further 
rulemaking proceeds'' because, in its view, NHTSA alone does not have 
the authority to address V2V privacy and security issues. Honda and 
EPIC emphasized the need for ensuring that data is legally protected 
from third party access, and that unauthorized access is legally 
punishable. EPIC's comment focused on legal protections from OEM 
access, while Honda's comment focused on legal protections from 
government access.
    NHTSA understands why legislation making it illegal for third 
parties or government agencies to collect V2V messages, or limiting 
those parties' retention or use of V2V messages, would be attractive to 
stakeholders--and the Alliance is correct in its assertion that such 
government action is outside the scope of the agency's regulatory 
authority over manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle 
equipment. As noted above, the introduction of V2V technology creates 
new privacy risks that cannot be fully mitigated. That said, in the 
agency's view, the V2V system is protected by sufficient security and 
privacy measures to mitigate unreasonable privacy risks. NHTSA seeks 
comment on these tentative conclusions--and on whether new legislation 
may be required to protect consumer privacy appropriately.

D. Summary of PIA

1. What is a PIA?
    Section 522 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. L. 
108-447) requires that Federal agencies conduct privacy impact 
assessments (PIAs) of proposed regulatory activities involving 
collections or system of information with the potential to impact 
individual privacy. A PIA documents the flow of information and 
information requirements within a system by detailing how and why 
information is transmitted, collected, stored and shared to: (1) ensure 
compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, and policy requirements 
regarding privacy; (2) determine the risks and effects of the proposed 
data transactions; and (3) examine and evaluate protections and 
alternative processes for handling data to mitigate potential privacy 
impacts. It is a practical method of providing the public with 
documented assurance that the agency has identified and appropriately 
addressed potential privacy issues resulting from its activities. A PIA 
also facilitates informed regulatory policy decisions by enhancing an 
agency's understanding of privacy impacts, and of options available for 
mitigating those potential impacts.
    After reviewing a PIA, members of the public should have a broad 
understanding of any potential privacy impacts associated with a 
proposed regulatory action, and the technical and policy approaches 
taken by an agency to mitigate the resulting privacy impacts.
2. PIA Scope
    The V2V system is complex and involves many different components, 
entities, communications networks, and data flows (within and among 
system components). For this reason, NHTSA opted not to analyze the 
potential privacy impacts in the V2V system on a component-specific 
basis. Rather, NHTSA focused its PIA on discrete data flows within the 
system, as an organic whole. NHTSA worked with privacy experts to zero 
in on discrete aspects of the V2V system most relevant to individual 
privacy for impact assessment purposes, identify and prioritize 
potential privacy impacts requiring further analysis (such as dynamic 
modeling), and validate the privacy-related requirements in NHTSA's 
regulatory proposal.
    The V2V NPRM PIA identifies those V2V transactions involving data 
most relevant to individual privacy and the multiple technical, 
physical and policy controls designed into the V2V system to help 
mitigate potential privacy impacts.
    To place our discussion of potential V2V privacy issues in context, 
NHTSA's PIA first briefly discusses several non-V2V methods of tracking 
a motor vehicle that currently exist.
3. Non-V2V Methods of Tracking
    For comparative purposes, it is useful to consider the potential 
privacy impacts of the V2V system in the context of tracking mechanisms 
that do not involve any aspect of the V2V system (non-V2V tracking 
methods). These non-V2V methods of tracking inform the Agency's risk 
analysis because, to the extent that they may be cheaper, easier, and 
require less skill or access to a motor vehicle, they are relevant to 
our assessment of the likelihood of an individual or entity attempting 
to use V2V as a method of tracking. Examples of mechanisms that 
currently may be used to track a motor vehicle target include physical 
surveillance (i.e., following a car by visual observation), placement 
of a specialized GPS device on a motor vehicle, physical access to 
Onboard GPS logs, electronic toll transactions, cell phone history, 
vehicle-specific cell connections (e.g., OnStar), traffic surveillance 
cameras, electronic toll transponder tracking, and databases fed by 
automated license plate scanners. As compared to the potential 
approaches to V2V tracking discussed below, many of these non-V2V 
tracking methods appear may be cheaper, easier, require less (and/or no 
skill) under certain scenarios.
4. V2V Data Flows/Transactions With Privacy Relevance
    As a starting point for the analysis that underlies this PIA, NHTSA 
identified and examined all data flows within the V2V system to 
determine which included data fields that may have privacy impacts, 
either alone or in combination. We identified three data flows relevant 
for privacy impact purposes:

 Broadcast and receipt of V2V messages (also called Basic 
Safety Messages (BSMs)
 Broadcast and receipt of Misbehavior Reports
 Distribution of Certificate Revocation List (CRL)

    Below, we describe these three data flows and detail the technical, 
policy and physical controls designed into the system to mitigate 
potential privacy impacts in connection with each flow. We then discuss 
the potential privacy impacts that remain, notwithstanding existing 
privacy controls. These constitute potential areas of residual risk for 
consideration by decision-makers.
(a) Broadcast and Receipt of the Basic Safety Message (BSM)
    BSMs are one of the primary building blocks for V2V communications. 
They provide situational awareness information to individual vehicles 
regarding traffic and safety. BSMs are broadcast ten times per second 
by a vehicle to all neighboring vehicles and are designed to warn the 
drivers of those vehicles of crash imminent situations.
    Under NHTSA's proposal and any future adaptation of the technology, 
BSMs would contain information regarding a vehicle's GPS position, 
speed, path history, path trajectory, breaking status and other data, 
as detailed above in Section III.E. As discussed below, some data 
transactions necessitated by the security system may result in 
additional potential privacy impacts, some of which may be residual.

[[Page 3929]]

(b) Broadcast and Receipt of Misbehavior Messages
    Under NHTSA's proposal, when a vehicle receives a BSM from a 
neighboring vehicle, its V2V system validates the received message and 
then performs a cross check to evaluate the accuracy of data in the 
message. For example, it might compare the message content with other 
received messages or with equivalent information from onboard vehicle 
sensors. As a result of that cross check, the vehicle's V2V system may 
identify certain messages as faulty or ``misbehaving.'' NHTSA's primary 
proposal for misbehavior reporting proposes that the V2V system then 
prepares a misbehavior report and sends it to the V2V security entity. 
The security entity evaluates the misbehavior report and may identify a 
defective V2V device. If it does, the V2V security entity will update 
the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) with information about the 
certificates assigned to the defective V2V device. The CRL is accessed 
by all V2V system components and vehicles on a periodic basis and 
contains information that warns V2V system participants not to rely on 
messages that come from the defective device. The security entity also 
might blacklist the device, in which case it will be unable to obtain 
additional security credentials from the security entity.
    Also under our proposal, organizational and/or legal separation of 
information and functions within the security entity are important 
privacy impact-mitigating controls that are designed to prevent a 
single component or insider from having sufficient information to 
identify certificates assigned to a specific vehicle or owner. NHTSA 
plans to work closely with stakeholders to develop policies and 
procedures to institutionalize appropriate separation of data and 
functions within the National SCMS.
    Under the second alternative for misbehavior reporting, the no 
misbehavior reporting proposal would not involve any additional 
broadcast or transmission of reports to V2V security entities. This 
means that no additional privacy risk would be imposed under the no 
misbehavior reporting alternative.
(c) Misbehavior Reports
    As described above, NHTSA's primary proposal for misbehavior 
reporting proposes that the V2V equipment in vehicles send misbehavior 
reports to the V2V security entity. Such reports will include the 
received BSM (which appears to be faulty) and other information, such 
as:

 Reporter's pseudonym certificate
 Reporter's signature
 Time at which misbehavior was identified
 3D GPS coordinates at which misbehavior was identified
 List of vehicles (device/pseudonym certificate IDs) within 
range at the time
 Average speed of vehicles within range at the time
 Suspicion type (warning reports, proximity plausibility, 
motion validation, content and message verification, denial of service)
 Supporting evidence
    [cir] Triggering BSM(s)
    [cir] Host vehicle BSM(s)
    [cir] Neighboring vehicle BSM(s)
    [cir] Warnings
    [cir] Neighboring devices
    [cir] Suspected attacker
(d) Distribution of Certificate Revocation List
    As explained above, by evaluating misbehavior reports, the security 
entity envisioned may identify misbehaving V2V devices in vehicles and 
place information about those devices on the CRL. The security entity 
then would make updated CRLs available to V2V system participants and 
other system parts on a periodic basis to alert OBEs to ignore BSMs 
coming from the defective V2V equipment. There is only one type of CRL. 
Current system design plans do not include placing individual security 
certificates on the CRL. Rather, each CRL would contain information 
(specifically, linkseed1, linkseed2, time period index, and LA 
Identifiers 1 and 2) that OBEs could use to calculate the values of the 
certificates in messages that should be ignored.
5. Privacy-Mitigating Controls
    From the inception of the research program that would result in V2V 
technology over a decade ago, NHTSA has worked with its research 
partners, CAMP and the VIIC, to purse an integrated, privacy positive 
approach to the V2V system. For this reason, the V2V system described 
in our proposal would contain multiple layers of technical, policy and 
physical controls to help mitigate potential privacy impacts system-
wide. Below, we discuss the privacy impact-mitigating controls that 
would apply to each of the three privacy-relevant data flows discussed 
above. In the course of this discussion, we detail some of the key 
privacy controls that we expect to see in a National SCMS (based on the 
current SCMS technical design, see Section V.B.2).
(a) Privacy Controls Applicable to the Broadcast and Receipt of the 
Basic Safety Message (BSM)
(1) No Directly Identifying or ``Reasonably Linkable'' Data in V2V 
Transmissions
    Under our proposals, the BSM would not contain information that 
directly identifies a private motor vehicle (as through VIN, license 
plate or registration information) or its owner or driver. BSM 
transmissions also would exclude data ``reasonably linkable'' or ``as a 
practical matter'' linkable to a specific individual.
(2) Rotating Security Credentials
    Another critical control would help mitigate privacy risks created 
by signing messages. At the time of manufacture, a vehicle's V2V 
equipment would receive 3 years' worth of security certificates. Once 
the device is initialized into the V2V security system, the security 
system would send to the device keys on a weekly basis that will unlock 
20 certificates at a time. During the course of the week, a vehicle's 
V2V equipment would use the certificates on a random basis, shuffling 
certificates at five minute intervals. These certificates would enable 
a vehicle's V2V system to verify the authenticity and integrity of a 
received BSM or, in the alternative, identify V2V messages that should 
be ignored (i.e., those that the security entity has identified as 
coming from misbehaving V2V equipment and placed on the CRL). The 
shuffling and random use of certificates every five minutes also will 
help minimize the risk of vehicle tracking by preventing a security 
certificate from becoming a de facto vehicle identifier (also referred 
to as a ``quasi-identifier'').
(3) Limited Transmission Radius
    V2V equipment in vehicles would transmit safety information in a 
very limited geographical range, typically only to motor vehicles 
within a 300 meter radius of a V2V device. This limited broadcast is 
sufficient to enable V2V crash avoidance applications in neighboring 
vehicles, while limiting access by more geographically distant vehicles 
that cannot benefit from the safety information.
(4) No BSM Data Collection or Storage Within the V2V System
    Neither V2V devices in motor vehicles, nor the V2V system as a 
whole would collect or store the contents of V2V messages sent or 
received, except for the short time period necessary for a vehicle to 
use messages for safety applications or in the limited case of

[[Page 3930]]

device malfunction. These technical controls would help prevent in-
vehicle V2V equipment or the V2V system, as a whole, from after-the-
fact tracking of a vehicle's location by accessing and analyzing a 
vehicle's BSMs. Although specialized roadside and mobile equipment 
would be able to access and collect BSMs, the V2V data collected would 
contain no information directly identifying or reasonably linkable to a 
specific private vehicle or its driver or owner, because the 
transmission of such information would not be allowed by the V2V rule. 
Research is ongoing on the methods, cost and effort required to use 
collected BSMs in combination with other available information or over 
time to track a specific, targeted vehicle or driver. The Agency 
believes that such linkage between collected BSMs and a specific 
vehicle or driver is plausible, but has not yet determined whether it 
is practical or reasonable, given the resources or effort required. 
This additional research will help to ensure that our proposed V2V 
FMVSS incorporates all available, appropriate controls to mitigate 
unreasonable privacy risk related to collection of BSM transmissions by 
roadside or mobile sensors. We acknowledge that introduction of this 
technology will result in residual privacy risk that cannot be 
mitigated. We seek comment on these tentative conclusions.
(5) FIPS-140 Level 3 HSM
    NHTSA has proposed performance requirements that include use of 
FIPS-140 Level 3 hardware security module (HSM) in all V2V equipment in 
motor vehicles. This physical computing device would safeguard and 
manage a vehicle's security certificates and guard against equipment 
tampering and bus probing. This type of secure hardware provides 
evidence of tampering, such as logging and alerting of tampering, and 
tamper resistance such as deleting keys upon tamper detection.
(6) Consumer Notice
    NHTSA would require that motor vehicle manufacturers, at a minimum, 
include a standard V2V Privacy Statement in all owner's manuals 
(regardless of media) and on a publicly accessible web location that 
current and future owners may search by make/model/year to obtain the 
data access and privacy policies applicable to their motor vehicle, 
including those specifically addressing V2V data and functions, as 
detailed in Section IV.C. As discussed above, NHTSA also considering 
the possibility of requiring additional methods for communicating the 
V2V Privacy Statement to consumers and seeks comment on the most 
effective methods for providing such notice.
(b) Privacy Controls Applicable to Broadcast and Receipt of Misbehavior 
Messages
    When a V2V device in a motor vehicle appears to malfunction, the 
V2V system would collect and store only BSMs relevant to assessing the 
device's performance, consistent with the need to address the root 
cause of the malfunction if it is, or appears to be, widespread.
(1) Encryption of Misbehavior Report
    Like all security materials exchanged between V2V equipment in 
vehicles and a security authority, misbehavior reports would be 
encrypted. This would help limit but not prevent potential privacy 
risks that could stem from unintended or unauthorized access to data in 
misbehavior messages. Specifically, this would reduce the possibility 
that BSMs contained in misbehavior reports may provide information 
about the past location of a reporting vehicle (and thereby of the 
vehicle owner's activities and relationship between the two vehicles), 
or of vehicles located nearby the reporting vehicle.
(2) Functional/Data Separation Across SCMS Components
    A key privacy-mitigating control applicable to this data stream is 
the technical design for the security entity proposed by NHTSA, which 
provides for functional and data separation across different 
organizationally and/or legally separate SCMS components. This 
technical control is designed to prevent individual SCMS entities or 
insiders from using information, including from misbehavior messages, 
for unauthorized purposes. The technical separation of information and 
functions within the security entity could be overcome only by a 
specific entity within the security organization (called the 
Misbehavior Authority or MA) after determining, based on misbehavior 
messages, that a vehicle's V2V equipment is malfunctioning and needs to 
be blacklisted (i.e., prevented from obtaining any additional security 
certificates). In order to do so, the MA would need to gather 
information from the various independent, separate parts of the 
security entity to identify the device to be blacklisted.
(3) Misbehavior Reports Are Stripped of Geographic Location Information
    An example of information separation serving as a privacy control 
is evident in one particular component of the security organization--
the Location Obscurer Proxy (LOP). Misbehavior messages (like other 
communications between a vehicle's V2V equipment and the security 
entity) travel through the LOP entity to get to other parts of the 
security organization. The LOP would strip out information from the 
misbehavior message that otherwise would permit other parts of the 
security organization (like the MA) to associate a vehicle's V2V 
messages with its geographic location. This technical separation of 
geographic information from messages transmitted between vehicle's V2V 
systems and the security entity is designed to prevent individual 
security entities or V2V security organization insiders from colluding 
to use BSM information inappropriately or to track individual vehicles.
(4) Separation of Security Organization Governance
    The design for the V2V security entity (or SCMS) calls for the 
separation of some critical functions into legally distinct and 
independent entities that, together, make up the SCMS. This legal 
separation of security entity governance is designed to prevent 
individual entities or V2V security organization insiders from 
colluding to use information for unauthorized purposes such as tracking 
individual vehicles.
(c) Privacy Controls Applicable to Distribution of the CRL List
(1) Misbehaving V2V Equipment in a Vehicle Stops Broadcasting
    It is possible that information regarding a vehicle's revoked 
security certificates could enable all revoked certificates to be 
associated with the same vehicle. This might be used to persistently 
identify a vehicle during the vehicles' activities. In order to 
mitigate this potential privacy risk, once a vehicle's V2V system 
determines that information about it is on the CRL and that the 
security organization has revoked its security certificates, it would 
stop broadcasting the BSM.
6. Potential Privacy Issues by Transaction Type
    Based on our analysis of the privacy relevant data flows and 
controls discussed above, we identified five potential privacy 
scenarios for further research and/or consideration by the Agency. 
Table IV-1 below summarizes the scenarios and corresponding system 
transactions identified for further analysis.

[[Page 3931]]

        Table IV-1--Transactions Identified for Further Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Transaction type                        Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSM Broadcast Transaction.........  1. Can data elements, such as
                                     location, in the BSM be combined to
                                     form a temporary or persistent
                                     vehicle identifier?
BSM Broadcast Transaction.........  2. Can data elements in the BSM be
                                     combined to identify vehicles
                                     temporarily so that different
                                     security certificates can be
                                     associated with the same vehicle
                                     during the vehicle's activities?
BSM Broadcast Transaction.........  3. Do the physical characteristics
                                     of the carrier wave (i.e., the
                                     wave's fingerprint) associated with
                                     a vehicle's BSM serve as a vehicle
                                     identifier?
Broadcast and Receipt of a          4. Do BSMs in misbehavior reporting
 Misbehavior Message.                provide sufficient information
                                     about the past location of the
                                     reporting or other vehicles to
                                     retrospectively track the vehicle's
                                     path?
Certificate Revocation List (CRL)   5. Does information regarding
 Distribution Transaction.           blacklisted vehicles' security
                                     certificates enable all vehicle
                                     security certificates to be
                                     associated with one another and
                                     thus, with the same specific
                                     vehicle?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, based on our exploration of privacy impacts and 
analysis of the V2V system design to date, it is NHTSA's expectation 
that the multiple technical, policy and physical controls incorporated 
into the design of the V2V system detailed will help to mitigate 
privacy risks to consumers. Methods of tracking vehicles, such as 
surveillance and use of specialized GPS devices already exist and may 
be easier, less expensive, and require less skill and access than would 
vehicle tracking using V2V messages or other information in the V2V 
system in certain conditions. Nevertheless, DOT is continuing to work 
with privacy experts to perform dynamic modeling and explore the 
viability of additional controls that might further mitigate any 
potential impacts demonstrated in the privacy-relevant transactions 
identified above for further analysis. The planned implementation by 
DOT of a PoC security entity (SCMS) and related PKI policy research 
will provide an operational environment in which to continue to explore 
the viability of additional privacy-mitigating controls applicable to 
the V2V System, as currently envisioned and designed. We seek comment 
on whether there are other potential privacy risks stemming from the 
V2V systems proposed that the agency should investigate and, if so, 
what specific risks.

E. Health Effects

    NHTSA received numerous comments from individuals in response to 
the ANPRM concerning the potential for V2V technology to contribute to 
electromagnetic hypersensitivity (``EHS''). Overall, the comments 
focused on how a national V2V deployment could potentially disadvantage 
persons that may be electro-sensitive.\186\ In response, NHTSA engaged 
the DOT Volpe Center to review available literature and government 
agency actions regarding EHS in support of this NPRM. More 
specifically, NHTSA needed to learn more about the potential conditions 
causing EHS, actions taken by other federal agencies that have been 
involved in similar technology deployments or whose mission is 
primarily human health-focused, and any qualifying actions granted by 
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) related to EHS among other 
potential externalities that may affect a potential V2V technology 
deployment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \186\ ``Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Comment Review and 
Analysis'', NHTSA V2V Support--Task 3, dated March 13, 2015, Noblis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Overview
    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), EHS is 
characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms that are attributed 
to exposure to electro-magnetic frequencies (``EMF'') by those 
reporting symptoms. The symptoms most commonly experienced include 
dermatological symptoms (redness, tingling, and burning sensations) as 
well as neurasthenic and vegetative symptoms (fatigue, tiredness, 
difficulty concentrating, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitation, and 
digestive disturbances). The collection of symptoms is not part of any 
recognized syndrome. Reports have indicated that EHS can be a disabling 
problem for the affected individual; however, EHS has no clear 
diagnostic criteria and it appears there is no scientific basis to link 
EHS symptoms to EMF exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, 
nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem.\187\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \187\ ``Electromagnetic fields and public health: 
Backgrounder'', The World Health Organization (WHO), December 2005. 
Available at http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs296/en/ 
(last accessed Sept. 28, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Wireless Devices and Health and Safety Concerns
    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), federal health and 
safety agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration (OSHA) have been actively involved in monitoring 
and investigating issues related to radio frequency (``RF'') exposure. 
Federal, state, and local government agencies and other organizations 
have generally relied on RF exposure standards developed by expert, 
non-government organizations such as the Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Council on Radiation 
Protection and Measurements (NCRP).
    Several U.S. government agencies and international organizations 
are working cooperatively to monitor research on the health effects of 
RF exposure. The World Health Organization's (WHO) International 
Electromagnetic Fields Project (IEFP) provides information on health 
risks, establishes research needs, and supports efforts to harmonize RF 
exposure standards. Some health and safety interest groups have 
interpreted certain reports to suggest that wireless device use may be 
linked to cancer and other illnesses, posing potentially greater risks 
for children than adults. While these assertions have gained increased 
public attention, currently no scientific evidence establishes a causal 
link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses.\188\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \188\ ``Wireless Devices and Health Concerns'', Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), Consumer and Governmental Affairs 
Bureau, updated March 12, 2014. Available at http://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-devices-and-health-concerns (last accessed Dec 12, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Exposure Limits
    In the U.S, IEEE has developed limits for human exposure to RF 
energy, and these limits have been widely influential around the world 
and require periodic updates. Internationally, the exposure limits for 
RF energy vary widely in different countries. A few countries have 
chosen lower limits, in part due to differences in philosophy in 
setting limits. IEEE and most other

[[Page 3932]]

Western exposure limits are designed on the basis of identified 
thresholds for hazards of RF and thus are science-based. Switzerland, 
Italy, and a few other countries have adopted ``precautionary'' 
exposure limits for RF energy. These are not based on identified 
hazards, but reflect the desire to set exposure limits as low as 
economically and technically practical, to guard against the 
possibility of an as-yet unidentified hazard of RF exposure at low 
levels.\189\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \189\ ``COMAR Technical Information Statement the IEEE exposure 
limits for radiofrequency and microwave energy'', Marvin C. Ziskin, 
IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, March/April, 
2005. Available at http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/embs/comar/standardsTIS.pdf (last accessed Dec. 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Implementation
    Many comments to the ANPRM were related to the implementation and 
expansion of ``smart grid'' or ``smart meter'' technology being 
deployed in the United States. The ``smart grid'' generally refers to a 
class of technology used to bring utility electricity delivery systems 
into the 21st century, using computer-based remote control and 
automation. These systems are made possible by two-way communication 
technology and computer processing that has been used for decades in 
other industries.\190\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \190\ Department of Energy ``Smart Grid'' Web site. Available at 
http://energy.gov/oe/services/technology-development/smart-grid 
(last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Federal legislation was enacted in both 2005 (Energy Policy Act, or 
``EPAct'') and 2007 (Energy Independence and Security Act, or ``EISA'') 
that contained major provisions on demand response, smart metering, and 
smart grids.\191\ The primary purpose of using smart meters and grids 
is to improve energy efficiency--very precise electricity usage 
information can be transmitted back to the utility in real-time, 
enabling the utility to better direct how much electricity is 
transmitted, and when, which in turn can improve power generation 
efficiency by not producing more power than necessary at a given time. 
According to a report prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) in December 2014, approximately 15.3 million advanced 
meters were installed and operational through the Department of Energy 
(DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program. Ultimately, 15.5 
million advanced meters are expected to be installed and operational 
under SGIG. All SGIG projects are expected to reach completion in 2014, 
with continued reporting requirements through 2016.\192\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \191\ ``Demand Response & Smart Metering Policy Actions Since 
the Energy Policy Act of 2005--A Summary for State Officials'', 
Prepared by U.S. Demand Response Coordinating Committee for The 
National Council on Electricity Policy, 2008. http://energy.gov/oe/downloads/demand-response-and-smart-metering-policy-actions-energy-policy-act-2005-summary-state (last accessed: Dec 12, 2016)
    \192\ ``Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering'', 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Report, December 2014. 
Available at https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/demand-response/dem-res-adv-metering.asp (last accessed Dec. 12, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the last several years, some consumers have objected to 
deployment of the ``smart'' utility meters needed for DOE's Smart Grid 
implementation. Smart meters transmit information via wireless 
technology using electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). Smart utility 
meters operate in the 902-928 MHz frequency band and the 2.4 GHz range, 
which is where the human body absorbs energy less efficiently and the 
Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits for RF exposure are less 
restrictive.\193\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \193\ Federal Communications Commission, (FCC), 2011. Radio 
frequency safety, available at https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/radio-frequency-safety (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Smart utility meters in households or businesses will generally 
transmit data to an access point (usually on utility poles) once every 
four hours for about 50 milliseconds at a time. Once the smart grid is 
fully active, it is expected that smart utility meters will transmit 
more frequently than once every four hours, resulting in a higher duty 
cycle.\194\ A 2011 report from the California Council on Science and 
Technology (CCST) showed minimum and maximum exposure levels for 
various sources, including a smart meter that is always on at two 
distances from the body. The CCST concluded that RF exposure levels for 
smart meters in either scenario would be less than microwave ovens and 
considerably less than cell phones, but more than Wi-Fi routers or FM 
radio/TV broadcasts.\195\ It should also be noted that a 2011 report 
from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) assessed exposures in 
front of and behind smart utility meters. It determined that the 
average exposure levels from smart utility meters, measured from a 
single meter and from an array of meters, were at levels similar to 
those from other devices that produce RF in the home and surrounding 
environment.\196\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \194\ ``Review of Health Issues Related to Smart Meters'', 
Monterey County Health Department, Public Health Bureau, 
Epidemiology and Evaluation, March, 2011. Available at https://www.nema.org/Technical/Documents/Smart%20Meter%20Safety%20-%20Marin%20Co%20CA%20whitepaper.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
    \195\ ``Health Impacts of RF Exposure from Smart Meters'', 
California Council on Science and Technology, April 2011. Available 
at https://ccst.us/publications/2011/2011smart-final.pdf (last 
accessed Dec 12, 2016).
    \196\ ``RF Exposure Levels from Smart Meters: A Case Study of 
One Model'', Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), February 
2011. Available at http://www.epri.com/abstracts/Pages/ProductAbstract.aspx?ProductId=000000000001022270 (last accessed Dec 
12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A typical ``smart'' utility meter device uses a low power one watt 
wireless radio to send customer energy-usage information 
wirelessly.\197\ The V2V DSRC devices used for NHTSA research in the 
Safety Pilot activities are allowed to transmit at up to 33 dBm \198\ 
(approximately 2.0 watts of power output), as defined by FCC 
specifications.\199\ The ``normal'' operating transmission output range 
for these devices is 20 dBm (or approximately 100mW) for devices 
operating in the allocated DSRC frequency range. For additional 
comparison purposes, the typical cellular phone operates at higher 
power output levels of 27 dBm (approximately 500 mW). Cellular phones 
are capped at the same maximum transmission power output of 33 dBm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \197\ Radio Frequency FAQ, http://www.pge.com/en/safety/systemworks/rf/faq/index.page (last accessed Jun. 5, 2015).
    \198\ dBm or decibel-milliwatt is an electrical power unit in 
decibels (dB), referenced to 1 milliwatt (mW). The power in decibel-
milliwatts (P(dBm)) is equal to 10 times base 10 logarithm of the 
power in milliwatts (P(mW)).
    \199\ ``Table I.5a--Maximum STA transmit power classification 
for the 5.85-5.925 GHz band in the United States'', IEEE 
specification 802.11P-2010, Page 31. Available at https://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/its/current/pdfqf992dHy9x.pdf (last 
accessed Dec. 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The public objections to these deployments have been based on 
concerns over potential health effects. Specifically, some consumers 
are concerned about exposure to wireless RF emissions emanating from 
smart meters in their homes, which has led to legal challenges for 
smart meter programs. Due to these objections, several state 
commissions authorized an ``opt-out'' provision for individual 
consumers who do not wish to have smart meters installed in their 
homes. In response to public perception of the technology, the 
Department of Energy pursued development of outreach materials citing 
current scientific and industry evidence that radio frequency from 
smart grid devices in the home is not detrimental to health. The 
materials are being provided to state commissions, utilities in the DOE 
Smart Grid Program, and other community-based organizations in effort 
to convey

[[Page 3933]]

these messages to the end-user community.\200\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \200\ Recommendations on Consumer Acceptance of Smart Grid, 
Electricity Advisory Committee, Richard Cowart, Chair to Honorable 
Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy, June 6, 2013. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/06/f1/EAC_SGConsumerRecs.pdf (last 
accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Federal Agency Oversight & Responsibilities
    Many consumer and industrial products use or produce some form of 
electromagnetic energy. Various agencies within the Federal Government 
have been involved in monitoring, researching, or regulating issues 
related to human exposure to radio frequency radiation. A summary of 
the federal Government's role is provided below: \201\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \201\ ``Questions and Answers about Biological Effects and 
Potential Hazards of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields'', OET 
Bulletin 56, Fourth Edition, August 1999, Federal Communications 
Commission, Office of Engineering and Technology. Available at 
https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Documents/bulletins/oet56/oet56e4.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Federal Communications Commission (FCC): The FCC 
authorizes and licenses most RF telecommunications services, 
facilities, and devices used by the public, industry, and state and 
local governmental agencies. The FCC's exposure guidelines that V2V 
devices are anticipated to follow, and the ANSI/IEEE and NCRP 
guidelines upon which they are based, specify limits for human exposure 
to RF emission from hand-held RF devices in terms of specific 
absorption rate (SAR). Additionally, under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the FCC has certain responsibilities to 
consider whether its actions will ``significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment.'' To meet its NEPA obligations, the Commission 
has adopted requirements for evaluating the impact of its actions (47 
CFR 1.1301, et seq.). One of several environmental factors addressed by 
these requirements is human exposure to RF energy emitted by FCC-
regulated transmitters and facilities. The FCC's rules provide a list 
of various Commission actions that may have a significant effect on the 
environment. If FCC approval to construct or operate a facility would 
likely result in a significant environmental effect, the applicant must 
submit an Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA is reviewed by FCC 
staff to determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is 
necessary.\202\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \202\ ``Evaluating Compliance with FCC Guidelines for Human 
Exposure to Radio frequency Electromagnetic Fields'', Federal 
Communications Commission, Office of Engineering & Technology, OET 
Bulletin 65 (Edition 97-01), August 1997. Available at https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Documents/bulletins/oet65/oet65b.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration: NTIA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce 
and is responsible for authorizing Federal Government use of the RF 
electromagnetic spectrum. Like the FCC, NTIA also has NEPA 
responsibilities and has enacted similar guidelines and processes to 
those of FCC to ensure compliance.
     Food and Drug Administration (FDA): by authority of the 
Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968, the FDA's Center 
for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) develops performance 
standards for the emission of radiation from electronic products 
including: X-ray equipment, other medical devices, television sets and 
microwave ovens, laser products, and sunlamps. The CDRH has not adopted 
performance standards for other RF-emitting products. The FDA is the 
leading federal health agency in monitoring the latest research 
developments and advising other agencies with respect to the safety of 
RF-emitting products used by the public, such as cellular and mobile 
devices.
     Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): EPA activities 
pertaining to RF safety and health are presently limited to advisory 
functions. EPA has chaired an Interagency Radiofrequency Working Group, 
which coordinates RF health-related activities among federal agencies 
who have regulatory responsibilities in this area.
     Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): OSHA 
is responsible for protecting workers from exposure to hazardous 
chemical and physical agents. In 1971, OSHA issued a protection guide, 
which V2V devices are anticipated to operate within, for exposure of 
workers to radiation (29 CFR 1910.97). The guide covers frequencies 
from 10 MHz to 100GHz. The guide was later ruled to be only advisory 
and not mandatory.\203\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \203\ OET Bulletin #56, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, 
available at https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Documents/bulletins/oet56/oet56e3.pdf (last 
accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH): NIOSH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and conducts 
research and investigations into issues related to occupational 
exposure to chemical and physical agents. NIOSH research is focused on 
radio frequencies, extremely low frequencies (ELF) and static magnetic 
fields. CDC/NIOSH provides various guidance documents related to the 
focused research areas.\204\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \204\ ``EMF (ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS),'' available at 
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emf/ (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 
Board (Access Board): The Access Board is the federal agency devoted to 
the accessibility for people with disabilities. In November 1999, the 
Access Board issued a proposed rule to revise and update their 
accessibility guidelines. During the public comment period on the 
proposed rule, the Access Board received approximately 600 comments 
from individuals with multiple chemical and electromagnetic 
sensitivities. The Board issued a statement recognizing that people 
with these sensitivities may be considered disabled under the ADA if 
conditions perceived to be caused by these sensitivities ``so severely 
impair the neurological, respiratory, or other functions of an 
individual that it substantially limits one or more of the individual's 
major life activities.'' The Board contracted with the National 
Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to establish the Indoor 
Environmental Quality (IEQ) Project. The overall objectives of the IEQ 
project were to establish a collaborative process among a range of 
stakeholders to recommend practical, implementable actions to both 
improve access to buildings for people with EMS while also improving 
indoor environmental quality to create healthier buildings for the 
entire population. The NIBS IEQ Final Report was issued in July 2005 
and provides recommendations for accommodations for people with 
chemical and/or electromagnetic sensitivities. The agency is unaware of 
any further actions by the Access Board on this issue.\205\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \205\ ``IEQ Indoor Quality Final Report, National Institute for 
Building Services, July 14, 2005. http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520945309 (last accessed: Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Department of Defense (DOD): The DOD conducts research on 
the biological effects of RF energy.
6. EHS in the U.S. and Abroad
(a) Americans With Disabilities Act
    The Americans with Disabilities Act (``ADA'') does not contain a 
lengthy list of medical conditions that constitute disabilities. 
Instead, the ADA provides a general definition for ``disability,'' 
which requires a showing of a having a physical or mental impairment 
that substantially limits one or more major

[[Page 3934]]

life activities, a history or record of such an impairment, or being 
perceived by others as having such an impairment. Several states have 
enacted even more liberal policies on disability rights that afford 
greater potential protections than the ADA as it relates to EHS.
    To date, the agency is unaware of any finding that EHS constitutes 
a disability. As mentioned above, the NIBS IEQ provided some 
recommendations, but did not conclude the EHS was in fact a disability. 
The agency is unaware of any further actions, either by the Access 
Board or some other entity, which recognized EHS as a disability or any 
science that would prove this.
(b) Global Recognition
    Globally, some nations have heightened awareness of EHS by 
requiring provisions to accommodate those claiming its effects. In 
Sweden, for example, these provisions could include unique lighting 
fixtures and/or computer monitors for places of employment. The 
Canadian Government, The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) has 
also recognized EMS, describing environmental sensitivities as follows: 
``The term ``environmental sensitivities'' describes a variety of 
reactions to chemicals, electromagnetic radiation, and other 
environmental factors at exposure levels commonly tolerated by many 
people.'' \206\ The CHRC published a series of recommendations for 
building environments in effort to reduce potential EMS 
conditions.\207\ In 2009, the European Parliament urged member states 
to follow Sweden's example to provide people with ES protection and 
equal opportunities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \206\ ``What You Should Know About Electromagnetic Sensitivity 
(EMS)'', Christiane Tourtet. B.A, International MCS/EMS Awareness, 
available at http://www.nettally.com/prusty/CTEMS.pdf (last accessed 
Dec. 8, 2016).
    \207\ Sears, Margaret E., ``The Medical Perspective on 
Environmental Sensitivities,'' May 2007. Available at http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/sites/default/files/envsensitivity_en_1.pdf. (last 
accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Conclusion
    The agency appreciates the ANPRM comments bringing attention to V2V 
technology and a potential relationship to EHS. The agency takes these 
concerns very seriously. The literature review conducted by the agency 
highlighted long, and still ongoing, activities to better understand 
the relationship to electromagnetic radiation and the symptoms of 
individuals reporting electromagnetic hypersensitivity. As a Federal 
government agency focused on automotive safety, NHTSA acknowledges the 
expertise of our sister agencies such as the Federal Communications 
Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, among others, which 
have been involved with electromagnetic fields, in parallel with the 
pervasiveness of cellular phone deployment in the United States and 
globally.
    The FDA currently states in response to the question, ``Is there a 
connection between certain health problems and exposure to 
radiofrequency fields via cell phone use?'' that ``The results of most 
studies conducted to date indicate that there is not. In addition, 
attempts to replicate and confirm the few studies that did show a 
connection have failed.'' \208\ However, NHTSA acknowledges that 
research is still ongoing and, as technology evolves; wireless 
communications will most likely continue to increase. The agency 
believes the continued efforts of the Radiofrequency Interagency Work 
Group (RFIAWG) \209\ may yield any potential future guidance for 
wireless device deployment and usage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \208\ Radiation-Emitting Products, ``Current Research Results,'' 
available at http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainment/CellPhones/ucm116335.htm (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
    \209\ Group members can be found at http://www.emrpolicy.org/litigation/case_law/docs/workgroupmemberslist.pdf (last accessed: 
Dec 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    V2V devices are currently certified for use in the 5.9 GHz 
frequency allocation by the FCC, and the agency additionally 
anticipates any future certifications by the FCC will ensure that V2V 
devices will comply with all criteria related to RF emissions.
    Currently, the FCC publishes a very helpful guide on ``Wireless 
Devices and Health Concerns,'' \210\ in which the Commission states, 
``While there is no federally developed national standard for safe 
levels of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy, many federal agencies 
have addressed this important issue.'' The Commission acknowledges the 
efforts the interagency working group, its members, and their ongoing 
monitoring and investigating issues related to RF exposure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \210\ See ``Wireless Devices and Health Concerns'' https://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-devices-and-health-concerns (last 
accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    V2V devices would operate at distances to humans significantly 
further that the distance relationship of a portable cellular phone to 
its operator, where the device is generally carried on a person or 
pressed directly to the ear. V2V devices used in the Safety Pilot 
operated at similar power levels to handheld cellular phones and the 
agency expects power levels for production deployment to remain 
consistent with the levels used in the Safety Pilot activities. Based 
on these two conditions, we believe it is reasonable to anticipate that 
any new guidance issued by the RFIAWG and its participating federal 
agencies on future cellular phone or wireless device usage could 
potentially be relevant to V2V devices, albeit in a somewhat diminished 
magnitude based on the distances the devices will operate in relation 
to persons.

V. Device Authorization

A. Approaches to Security Credentialing

    As part of exploring different methods of authenticating V2V 
messages, the agency has examined in addition to the primary message 
authentication proposal's PKI base SCMS (single-root approach), two 
potential approaches to ensuring V2V messages are secure. These include 
a vehicle based approach, and an approach where multiple roots of 
confidence would be utilized. Each approach is described in the 
following sections.

B. Federated Security Credential Management (SCMS)

1. Overview \211\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \211\ The SCMS overview and governance discussions in this 
notice are based in significant part on a report DOT entitled, 
``Organizational and Operational Models for the Security Credentials 
Management System (SCMS); Industry Governance Models, Privacy 
Analysis, and Cost Updates,'' dated October 23, 2013, prepared by 
Booz Allen Hamilton under contract to DOT, non-deliberative portions 
of which may be viewed in docket: NHTSA-2014-0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For V2V communications to work effectively and as intended to 
facilitate crash avoidance safety applications, it is critical that 
users of the network have confidence in the validity of basic safety 
messages received from other system users--indistinct users whom they 
have never met and do not know personally. For this reason, DOT and its 
research partners have developed a sophisticated security system that 
allows for the creation and management of digital security credentials 
(referred to as ``certificates'') that enable users to have confidence 
in one another, and the system as a whole. In fact, the security system 
designed to create confidence in the V2V environment is a more complex 
and sophisticated version of the same public key infrastructure (PKI) 
system that consumers and merchants use every day to verify credit card 
transactions at the supermarket or make on-line purchases (any time you 
see the ``https,'' for example). PKI systems also have long been used 
by the Federal government and corporate America,

[[Page 3935]]

successfully and securely, to verify the identity of their employees 
for access and security purposes.
    In the V2V context, system participants use digital certificates to 
validate the integrity of safety messages exchanged 10 times per second 
by V2V devices in motor vehicles. The body of each safety message is 
unencrypted; the sender signs the message with a digital certificate 
and the receiver checks to ensure that the signature is valid before 
relying on the message content. This PKI verification process requires 
an organization referred to as a Security Credential Management System 
(SCMS) to provide those necessary signing credentials (i.e., digital 
certificates) and conduct related security functions, such as 
identifying and removing malfunctioning V2V devices from the system. 
The V2V Readiness Report details the SCMS component of the V2V 
system.\212\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \212\ See Section IX.B of the V2V Readiness Report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When NHTSA issued its V2V Readiness Report, for a variety of 
reasons discussed therein, the agency envisioned that the SCMS would be 
established, funded, and governed primarily by one or more private 
entities--possibly a consortium of automobile and V2V device 
manufacturers--with limited Federal involvement. Through comments to 
the ANPRM, the SCMS RFI process, collaborative research with the VIIC, 
and additional DOT policy research, NHTSA now has developed several 
different potential processes by which a V2V SCMS might be stood up, 
owned, operated, and governed. DOT is committed to playing a central 
pre-deployment role in developing the organizational framework of a 
viable and sustainable V2V SCMS, as well as the policies and procedures 
required to support the SCMS--depending on comments received in 
response to this NPRM. In order to do so, DOT has expanded the scope of 
its pre-deployment policy research significantly to include several 
additional critical activities. DOT intends to work closely with 
experienced PKI and organizational management consultants and 
stakeholders to:
     Deploy a Proof-of-Concept SCMS based on the current design 
to support additional privacy and security research, as well as the 
certificate needs of CV Pilots funded by DOT and early industry 
adopters of V2V;
     Develop policies and procedures (based on industry best 
practices, standards, comparable privacy-sensitive PKIs, and individual 
input from SCMS and V2V stakeholders) that could be used to govern the 
organization, accreditation, and operation of a V2V SCMS and its 
components, including drafts of an SCMS Certificate Policy (CP), 
Certification Practice Statement (CPS), and Privacy Policy;
     Develop a model for, and then prototype a private, multi-
stakeholder governance entity (on the basis of existing multi-
stakeholder models) that could support deployment of an operational 
SCMS.
     Develop one or more public-private governance models (on 
the basis of existing comparable organizations) that could support 
deployment of an operational SCMS, given appropriate funding.
    We are hopeful that this critical technical and policy research 
will provide government and private stakeholders with a detailed 
blueprint of several viable options for standing up an SCMS. One 
promising path that DOT actively will continue to explore is that of 
working with a private sector, multi-stakeholder entity that could 
serve as an SCMS Manager to deploy, govern, and coordinate operation of 
a fully-operational V2V SCMS, in which DOT would play an ongoing 
advisory role. However, DOT's planned research also encompasses robust 
exploration of other paths that could support the deployment of a 
sustainable, operational V2V SCMS, given appropriate public and/or 
private funding.
    We begin this discussion with a description of the technical and 
organizational design of the SCMS that will support V2V, V2I, and V2X 
communications. We then summarize and address comments on the technical 
design received by NHTSA in connection with the ANPRM, V2V Readiness 
Report, and RFI process. As the foundation to a discussion of SCMS 
governance, we identify the diverse group of public and private 
entities and stakeholders with interests in deployment of a V2V SCMS 
(together described in this document as members of a ``SCMS ecosystem'' 
or ``SCMS industry'' requiring governance for successful deployment of 
V2V communications). We summarize and address governance comments 
received in response to the ANPRM, V2V Readiness Report, and during the 
RFI process. We detail DOT's planned deployment of the proof-of-concept 
(POC) SCMS. We then detail planned work with experts and SCMS 
``industry'' participants to develop policies and procedures for the 
National SCMS, and to flesh out one or more a viable model for 
organization, ownership, and governance of the National SCMS. Following 
is a discussion of ICANN as a comparative industry example of 
successful, private sector multi-stakeholder governance, the evolution 
of which is instructive to government and private sector stakeholders 
in the SCMS ecosystem. Finally, we outline NHTSA's plan to issue, on 
the basis of this additional PKI and organizational research, a policy 
statement on SCMS governance on which we will seek comment from 
stakeholders representing all aspects of the SCMS ecosystem.
2. Technical Design
    The technical design for a SCMS reflects the processes associated 
with certificate production, distribution, and revocation, and 
illustrates how these SCMS functions interact with each other and with 
OBE. Several functions work together in a PKI system. The V2V SCMS is 
based on a standard PKI design to which additional functions have been 
added specifically to address the identified security and privacy needs 
of V2V, V2I, and V2X technologies. The term ``pseudonym functions'' is 
used to refer to those functions responsible for creating the short-
term certificates used by the OBE in V2V messaging. The term 
``pseudonym'' is used to indicate that short-term certificates contain 
no unique or personally-identifying information about users or their 
vehicles, but still allow users to participate in the system, in 
essence allowing use of a pseudonym. The pseudonym functions differ 
from those functions that take part in the ``bootstrap'' process, 
described later in this section. Pseudonym functions create, manage, 
distribute, monitor, and revoke short-term certificates for vehicles.
    These functions are listed below in alphabetical order:

 Intermediate Certificate Authority (Intermediate CA)
 Linkage Authority (LA)
 Location Obscurer Proxy (LOP)
 Misbehavior Authority (MA)
 Pseudonym Certificate Authority (PCA)
 Registration Authority (RA)
 Request Coordination
 Root Certificate Authority (Root CA)
 SCMS Manager

    Distinct from the pseudonym functions that execute the short-term 
certificate processes are the functions that carry out the 
``bootstrap'' process (the initialization of the device into the 
system). The bootstrap process establishes the initial connection 
between OBE and the SCMS. This process is characterized by its chief

[[Page 3936]]

component, the Enrollment Certificate Authority (ECA), which is 
responsible for assigning an enrollment certificate to each OBE. The 
bootstrap functions remain separate from the pseudonym functions 
because of the potential connection to individual identifying 
information (like a VIN) during bootstrap.
    The functions within the bootstrap process are listed below in 
alphabetical order:

 Certification Lab
 Device Configuration Manager (DCM)
 Enrollment Certificate Authority (ECA)

    A brief description of each SCMS function is provided in Table V-1.

               Table V-1--SCMS Components and Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Abbreviation            Function name          Activities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certification Lab............  Certification     Tests OBE and informs
                                Lab.              ECA that units of a
                                                  particular type are
                                                  eligible for
                                                  enrollment
                                                  certificates.
DCM..........................  Device            Coordinates initial
                                Configuration     distribution with OBE
                                Manager.          and enables OBE to
                                                  request certificates
                                                  from RA.
ECA..........................  Enrollment        Activates OBE and
                                Certificate       credentials users.
                                Authority.
Intermediate CA..............  Intermediate      Shields Root CA from
                                Certificate       system and provides
                                Authority.        more flexibility for
                                                  trust management.
LA...........................  Linkage           Each pair of LAs
                                Authority.        communicates with the
                                                  RA to provide linkage
                                                  values necessary for
                                                  certificate
                                                  production, and
                                                  assists the MA in
                                                  misbehavior processes.
LOP..........................  Location          Obscures the locations
                                Obscurer Proxy.   of requesting devices
                                                  (e.g., OBE requesting
                                                  certificates) from
                                                  other functions, such
                                                  as the RA.
MA...........................  Misbehavior       Collects misbehavior
                                Authority.        reports from OBE and
                                                  analyzes system-wide
                                                  misbehavior.
                                                  Coordinates with PCA
                                                  and RA to produce CRL.
                                                  Other activities
                                                  include CRL
                                                  generation, broadcast,
                                                  and store; internal
                                                  blacklist manager
                                                  (IBLM); and global
                                                  detection.
PCA..........................  Pseudonym         Generates and signs
                                Certificate       short-lived
                                Authority.        certificates.
RA...........................  Registration      Coordinates certificate
                                Authority.        production with other
                                                  functions; sends
                                                  certificates to OBE
                                                  (during full
                                                  deployment).
Request Coordination.........  Request           Coordinates certificate
                                Coordination.     requests from OBE to
                                                  RA.
Root CA......................  Root Certificate  Provides system-wide
                                Authority.        confidence through CME
                                                  certificates issued to
                                                  all CMEs; represents
                                                  the basis of
                                                  confidence in the
                                                  system.
SCMS Manager.................  Security          Defines and oversees
                                Credentials       standards and
                                Management        practices for the
                                System Manager.   SCMS, related to both
                                                  technical and policy
                                                  issues.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The technical design of the SCMS is focused on communications and 
activities of the various PKI functions. Among other fundamental 
principles, the technical design for the system incorporates a 
``privacy by design'' approach that separates information and 
organizational functions in order to mitigate potential risks to 
consumer privacy. The model depicted in Figure V-1 below illustrates 
one way these functions could be grouped into legal/administrative 
organizations within the larger SCMS ``industry,'' while still 
protecting consumer privacy appropriately and ensuring secure, 
efficient communications.

[[Page 3937]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.010

    Blue boxes in the diagram represent Certificate Management Entities 
(CMEs), or groupings of SCMS functions. Functions carried out within 
the CMEs are represented by the white boxes. For purposes of this 
illustrative model, these groupings clarify those functions that may be 
owned by multiple organizations, versus those that may be best handled 
in a more centralized manner. However, as noted in the V2V Readiness 
Report, ultimately, the decision as to which SCMS functions may be 
perform by a single entity and whether central and non-central 
functions may be combined are matters of governance defined by the 
system's Certificate Policy. For this reason, if this PKI technical 
design for the SCMS is implemented, the final decision on which 
organizations can be owners/operators and how scope and responsibility 
will be divided among the CMEs will likely be a central policy issue 
determined jointly by NHTSA and the entity that takes the lead in 
governing and coordinating operation of the V2V SCMS.
3. Independent Evaluation of SCMS Technical Design
    The design of the Security Credential Management System has gone 
through many iterations and adjustments throughout V2V research program 
as the system has evolved to meet revised or additional needs. 
Additionally, evolutionary changes have occurred as a result of 
implementation and operation in support of the USDOT's Safety Pilot 
Model Deployment.
    To better understand maturity and robustness of the SCMS, the USDOT 
retained the MITRE Corporation to conduct an independent evaluation and 
risk assessment of both security and privacy design features of the 
SCMS. This work was used to inform continuing refinements and provide 
USDOT with a basis for future policy and technical decisions related to 
deployment.
    MITRE was directed to conduct: (1) An independent and comprehensive 
evaluation and risk assessment of the July 2013 SCMS design for a V2V 
connected vehicle environment; and (2) a technical analysis of the 
potential privacy risks of the entire V2V system that includes security 
but also focuses on the operation of V2V communications in support of 
crash avoidance safety applications.
    The independent evaluation by MITRE identified security 
requirements needed to support secure V2V communications, and revisited 
threats and risks in relation to the design and how the identified 
requirements addressed the potential risks. The results of the SCMS 
design evaluation are detailed in Final Requirements Report, September 
11, 2015, Report Number: FHWA-JPO-15-235, and Final Design Analysis 
Report, September 18, 2015, Report No: FHWA-JPO-15-237.
    The MITRE evaluation was based on the previous 6 years of research 
that investigated core issues related to: Securing DSRC communications; 
privacy implications; achieving interoperability; governance and 
organizational structure; and identifying and addressing communication 
threats and risks. The Government provided reports associated with 
these studies to the MITRE Corporation as a basis to conduct their 
evaluation and identify the minimum requirements of the SCMS that would 
support the three primary components of the system that are:
    1. V2V devices that support DSRC messages broadcast to and received 
from other devices; and the ability to send/receive messages to/from 
the Security Certificate Management System for digital security 
credentials that provide the means of message authentication;
    2. A Security Certificate Management System (SCMS) which is the 
security organization that issues, distributes, and revokes digital 
security credentials. The

[[Page 3938]]

SCMS is comprised of a number of entities and functions. It is also 
designed to detect and remove misbehaving devices; and
    3. A communications network that facilitates two-way encrypted 
communications between an SCMS and a DSRC device (to include both 
vehicles and roadside units).
    The MITRE evaluation focused on a revised SCMS technical design 
that benefited and evolved from knowledge gained during operation of a 
technical prototype implemented as part of the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment. This prototype implementation exercised initial technical 
functionality needed to produce and manage security certificate 
material for the deployed devices, and, there was a rudimentary 
technical organization and management structure. This early SCMS 
prototype provided technical data related to PKI architecture and 
functions, and there were new insights gained regarding the over-the-
air transmission of security materials and use of alternate 
communication media that include DSRC and cellular.
    Prior to the MITRE evaluation were years of research conducted to 
understand and develop the SCMS design. The first forma research was 
conducted in 2010. CAMP commissioned 5 leading communication/internet 
security entities to assess the security needs and identify a security 
approach for DSRC communications. Security Innovations, Escrypt, 
Telcordia Technologies Carnegie Mellon University, University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and General Motors India Science Lab 
investigated aspects of the system and collaborated on recommendations. 
Security Innovations and Escrypt conducted a risk analysis and 
identified initial risks related to broadcast communications among 
vehicles and devices. These risks included denial of service attacks, 
Sybil attacks, altered messages, replay of messages, and compromised 
nodes. The risks were rated and mitigation techniques identified. The 
risk analysis was combined with investigations by: Telcordia 
Technologies (design and analysis of applicable and scalable PKI 
systems); Carnegie Mellon and University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (adaptations to address privacy); and General Motors India 
Lab (misbehavior detection solutions). The overall recommendation was a 
PKI based system with frequently changing certificates.
    Two years later after preliminary work was done on the SCMS design, 
USDOT and CAMP conducted a risk assessment based on the NIST 800-30 
publication, Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments. Using the NIST 
framework, attackers and attack scenarios were identified. Identified 
attackers included, for example, a clever outsider and a well-funded 
foreign hostile organization. Attack scenarios included local and 
widespread Sybil attacks, Root Compromise, Intermediate Certificate 
Authority Compromise, Registration Authority Compromise, False 
Misbehavior Report, False Certificate Requests, and Trust Management 
Compromise. For various attack scenarios risk was estimated based on 
likelihood and impact. The estimates were based on a modified NIST risk 
matrix given the NIST matrix did not rate any scenario as ``high''. The 
risk assessment identified Root Compromise, Intermediate Certificate 
Authority Compromise, Registration Authority Compromise, and Trust 
Management Compromise to have high risk even after possible mitigation 
techniques were considered. This work informed the next stage of SCMS 
design refinement which included (among other refinements) an objective 
of finding new innovative techniques to move high risks to medium 
risks, and medium risks to low risks.
    An updated high level SCMS design was completed July 2014 and 
documented via 4 separate but connected reports that included: (1) 
Study 1, Security Credential Management System, Final Report, July 
2014; (2) Vehicle Safety Communications Security Studies Final Report, 
July 2014; (3) Study 3 Final Report, Definition of Communication 
Protocols Between SCMS Components, July 2014; and, (4) Phase 2 Final 
Report Volume 3: Security Research for Misbehavior Detection, Nov 2014.
    These reports formed the base of the information available to MITRE 
regarding the latest design of the SCMS.
    Other reports provided to MITRE included past research findings 
concerning interoperability, initial communications security needs, and 
SCMS organizational analysis.
    MITRE also had access the standards referenced in the reports that 
included SAEJ2735, IEEE 1609, and the latest input to SAEJ2945 that was 
being developed during the MITRE evaluation.
    MITRE used the information described above to identify the minimum 
or essential requirements needed for a SCMS design to support the three 
primary components identified above (Final Requirements Report--
September 11, 2015, Report Number: FHWA-JPO-15-235), and an assessment 
of how the latest SCMS design aligns with these minimum requirements 
(Final Design Analysis Report--September 18, 2015, Report No: FHWA-JPO-
15-237). The Requirements Report also includes a risk assessment where 
MITRE reviewed past risk assessments and identified threats, threat 
actors, attacks, vulnerability, consequence, likelihood, impact 
severity, and risk in relation to the minimum requirements and latest 
design information base on the NIST 800-30, Guide for Conducting Risk 
Assessments.
    The risk assessment assessed a number of possible threats to the 
system, some described by the CAMP reports, others identified by the 
MITRE team. Of the twenty-one threats identified, MITRE concluded that 
fourteen may be mitigated by a system design that conforms to the 
minimum requirements, but for seven of the threats, no system design 
requirements seemed to apply.\213\ In some cases, threats may be 
mitigated by additional system design features that perform to the 
minimum requirements. For other threats, no system requirements are 
listed. These include threats that involve compromises of or 
unauthorized access to SCMS or OEM system components or databases. For 
these, mitigation will depend not on system technical design but rather 
on implementation of security policies and operational practices that 
would be part of the SCMS operational governance function. Further, 
MITRE noted that such Governance functions and policies may be captured 
in documents such as a Certificate Policy and the Certificate Practice 
Statement. These documents and other governance policies and protocols 
will be developed as part of the SCMS PoC operations project that will 
support V2X deployment projects as discussed in Section V.B.6.e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \213\ The threats list from the MITRE report is not a 
comprehensive list of threats or risks to overall V2V system 
success, but are focused on threats to the objectives of providing 
secure V2V communication, protecting the privacy of vehicle 
operators, and enabling the identification and removal of bad actors 
from system participation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The MITRE Final Design Analysis report evaluates the SCMS design 
(as documented in the above listed Reports from CAMP) against a list of 
derived minimum requirements from the Final Requirements Report.
    MITRE noted that the design of the SCMS has several innovative 
elements that deserve further development and analysis in future design 
revisions and system operational implementations. The list below 
identifies areas

[[Page 3939]]

recommended by MITRE for further development:
     Required cyber-resiliency capabilities, such as designs 
for continuous monitoring for proper operation, anomaly detection 
functions, and systematic software reset of installed software 
components.
     Misbehavior Authority (MA) design. The MA constitutes a 
critical single point of failure as conceived. Additionally, it 
presents enticing points for adversary compromise against key system 
objectives surrounding trustworthiness, misbehavior handling, and 
acceptance.
     Design of capabilities that would enable secure updating 
of on board equipment (OBE), Security Credential Management System 
(SCMS), and other component software, especially given the complexity 
and lifetime of the system and its components.
     Completion and clarification of the specifications of the 
operation and reporting functions around misbehavior, blacklist, 
revocation, and of the data elements maintained.
     Evaluation of the reduction of risks in privacy protection 
with the pseudonym certificate (PC) design instead of other, less 
complex, yet suitable privacy sensitive designs.
    The above areas will be addressed by USDOT and its industry 
partners as the SCMS design continues to be refined, and as part of the 
implementation and operation of the first-ever fully representative 
SCMS proof of concept (PoC).
    Further, even though it is not yet clear whether the SCMS should be 
designated as a ``critical national infrastructure'', once the SCMS 
Proof-of-Concept becomes operational, USDOT intends to apply the NIST 
Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, 
(currently, Version 1.0, February 12, 2014). Much of the guidance 
provided in The Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 
Cybersecurity is directed at organizational practices to identify 
cybersecurity risks; protect against threats and detect cybersecurity 
events; and respond to and recover from cybersecurity breaches. As the 
SCMS PoC organizational design and governance policies mature and are 
actually being implemented, then USDOT will be able to apply the NIST 
Framework to help identify and mitigate residual risks.
    In should be noted that USDOT (and MITRE) were precluded from 
applying the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 
Cybersecurity because the design of the SCMS was only conceptual (not 
yet implemented) and detailed organizational designs, governance 
structures, and operational policies and procedures remained to be 
completed and implemented. However, the risk assessment performed by 
MITRE did follow the basic process of identifying the state of the 
current system and developing a target state of cybersecurity to obtain 
through refinement and additions to technical, operational and 
governance aspects of the system. Examples include the MITRE risk 
assessment, the investigation regarding the role, functions, and 
governance responsibilities of an SCMS manager, and the analysis and 
evaluation of cybersecurity protection needs that moved the protection 
requirement from FIPS-140 Level 2 to Level 3. The SCMS design continues 
to mature to address risks such as Root Compromise \214\ and software 
updates. Continued refinement is also evident through the ``SCMS Proof-
of-Concept End-Entity Requirements and Specifications Supporting SCMS, 
Software Release Version 1.1, being used by Connected Vehicle Pilots as 
they prepare to connect to the SCMS PoC for security.\215\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \214\ See Root Elector System Design at http://www.mycreativeregistry.net/IPCOM/000245336 (last accessed Dec 4, 
2016).
    \215\ The EE Requirements and Specifications can be found via 
the following link: http://www.its.dot.gov/pilots/pdf/SCMS_POC_EE_Requirements.pdf (last accessed Dec 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, it should be understood that the SCMS PoC is being 
implemented at this time by USDOT to serve USDOT sponsored 
demonstrations and early deployments--and to allow for a better 
understanding both technically and operationally of how the SCMS may be 
deployed at a national level. To this extent, the designs, methods, 
policies and procedures implemented to ensure secure communications, 
manage privacy risks, and address cybersecurity threats will need to be 
accepted and implemented by the private entities that choose to 
establish and operate a National SCMS.
    We welcome comment concerning: The cybersecurity risks associated 
with the SCMS; the analysis methods used to date to assess risk; and 
what framework/assessment methods should be used during SCMS PoC 
implementation and operation; and any other information regarding 
possible threats and risk that have not yet be identified.
4. SCMS RFI Comments and Agency Responses
    As discussed in Section II.F, NHTSA issued a Request for 
Information (RFI) \216\ regarding a potential Security Credential 
Management System (SCMS) that could support the National deployment of 
a secure V2V communication system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \216\ 79 FR 61927 (Oct 15, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The purposes of the RFI were to help the agency: (1) Become aware 
of private entities that may have an interest in exploring the 
possibility of developing and/or operating components of a V2V SCMS; 
(2) Receive responses to the questions posed about the establishment of 
an SCMS provided in the last section of the RFI; and (3) Obtain 
feedback, expressions of interest, and comments from all interested 
public, private, and academic entities on any aspect of the SCMS.
    NHTSA received twenty-one responses to the RFI with approximately 
eleven of the responses indicating an interest in running aspects of, 
or the entire, SCMS. The respondents included vehicle manufacturers, 
software component developers and suppliers, cryptography experts, 
certificate management entities, satellite and cellular service 
providers, and academia.
    Deployment of a V2V communications system, and of an SCMS to 
support confidence in V2V communications, are unprecedented activities. 
For this reason, the agency believed it was appropriate to meet with a 
subset of respondents, the eleven expressing interest in operating 
aspects of the SCMS or the SCMS as a whole, to ensure there was a 
shared understanding of respondents' comments, potential role in an 
SCMS, and the agency's position on a possible SCMS creation and 
implementation. The agency was able to meet with ten of the eleven 
respondents that had indicated interest in operating aspects of a 
potential SCMS. One respondent, Verizon, was not able to meet with the 
agency. The meetings took place between January and March of 2015 at 
DOT headquarters either in person or via teleconference.
    Overall, the meeting discussions were very informative and the 
agency greatly appreciated the time and effort the respondents expended 
following-up their RFI responses. In general, based on the RFI comments 
and the discussions with respondents, the team identified the following 
key themes concerning various aspects of the SCMS.
     Government must play a significate role in the 
establishment and management of the SCMS.
     Business opportunities are seen at the CME and Security 
services levels.

[[Page 3940]]

     Security system entities understand the relationship of 
the design to privacy, with some indicating they may be able to find 
some efficiency as they develop their systems.
     One respondent indicated that the design sets a new 
paradigm that other regions may adopt in the future.
     An SCMS Board of Directors needs to be initialized by the 
Federal Government--specifically citing the existing ICANN Model,\217\ 
charged with managing the world-wide-web domain and server naming 
allocation and standard, as an example framework that could transcend 
to V2V.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \217\ See, e.g., https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/chart-2012-02-11-en (last accessed Dec. 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Establishment of the SCMS Manager would require capital/
initial funding.
     One entity discussed being the SCMS Manager.
     One entity indicated they would build and operate the 
entire SCMS system but would need another entity to be the SCMS 
Manager.
     Little information provided about potential financial 
models.
     Possible revenue sources included: CME license fees, 
certificate subscription fees, yearly service fees.
     To move forward with development/deployment, all indicated 
they need more information regarding the Government role, the SCMS 
Manager, and details about the security design.
     Liability was a major concern, with a strong interest from 
all participants in some form of Federal indemnification.
(a) SCMS RFI Comments
(1) UMTRI
    The University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute 
(UMTRI) met with representatives from the NHTSA V2V NRPM Team to 
discuss their SCMS RFI response. UMTRI's response provided views 
regarding privacy, governance, potential SCMS component separation and 
linkage. UMTRI's RFI response indicated other parties may be better 
suited to respond on specific governance organizational aspects but 
supported a public-private partnership model for overall governance, a 
potential model discussed in the V2V Readiness Report. UMTRI went one 
step further by offering the suggestion of an additional ``public-
private-academic'' model that could potentially benefit from an 
academic partner's fundamentally neutral stance, little commercial 
interests and direct access to significant research resources. More 
specifically, UMTRI expressed interest in participating in the SCMS 
Manager and potentially being ``a proper candidate'' for operating the 
two Linkage Authorities identified in the current system design. UMTRI 
indicated their regular work on classified projects, existing 
infrastructure, and their experience ``running highly privacy sensitive 
computer systems such as the University of Michigan Health System 
support their interest in operating the Linkage Authorities.''
    UMTRI indicated other parties may be better suited to provide a 
response regarding financial sustainability. In our meeting, however, 
UMTRI indicated they could possibly pose the SCMS financial 
sustainability proposition to their MBA students as a potential 
project.
    When discussing potential SCMS operational and policy standards, 
UMTRI indicated support for NHTSA's approach that SCMS components like 
the CME should be legally distinct. Support for keeping SCMS components 
legally separate is rooted in the need to ensure privacy and based on 
the key notions that firewalls within a single legal entity might not 
be sufficient to ensure privacy, different legal organizations will 
most likely protect a data center with a differing technologies, and 
that distinct legal organizations inhibit the possibility of a single 
point of entry into multiple systems.
    UMTRI suggested two types of operational policies, Type 1 for 
applications that are under governance of SCMS Manager (e.g., V2V 
safety applications) and Type 2 for applications that are not under the 
governance of SCMS Manager but are part of the V2X application 
portfolio (e.g., mobility applications provided by third party 
providers).
(2) Certified Security Solutions, Inc.
    Certified Security Solutions, Inc. (CSS) represented the exposure 
to new potential stakeholders, suppliers, and services V2V is bringing 
to NHTSA. CSS supplies security solutions such as security certificate 
management systems and managed public-key infrastructures (PKI). CSS 
also provides digital security consulting services related to PKI and 
identity and access management. Historically, the agency has not 
interacted with suppliers such as CSS in the course of regulating 
vehicle manufacturers and, similarly, CSS has been involved with 
industries far removed from the auto industry, such as supporting 
digital certificates for surgical devices like heart pacemakers.
    CSS indicated interest in three areas of the SCMS: (1) 
Participation in an advisory board regarding the policy, 
specifications, and requirements of the SCMS, V2V initiative, and its 
components, (2) creating components and solutions, such as the 
Registration Authority or Device Configuration Manager, and (3) 
creating software and/or managed service offerings for operations and 
oversight such as ``dashboards'' used for monitoring system 
performance.
    CSS's response to the RFI centered on the first question related to 
governance. CSS foresees a large and diverse array of participants 
involved in the operation of a National SCMS deployment. As such, CSS 
indicated examples of ``self-governance'' advisory boards that have, 
``proven to be relatively effective in improving the interoperability 
and overall security of their respective areas.'' In their view, CSS 
suggested that this sort of overall model ``makes the most sense when 
considering the magnitude and importance of an initiative such as the 
SCMS.'' These examples included:
     The certification authorities (CA)/Browser forum (https://cabforum.org), comprised of CA and web browser vendors with a focus on 
defining a coordinated set of guidelines to improve browser and SSL 
security.
     The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) (www.ietf.org) 
and its collection of specific Working Groups.
     The Industrial Internet Consortium (www.iiconsortium.org), 
an industry-driven working group aimed at solving the challenges posed 
by large-scale machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.
    The agency's meeting with CSS yielded additional details on their 
written response along with ideas for potential approaches to a 
National SCMS deployment. At the highest level, CSS indicated a 
potential SCMS advisory board would be responsible to define the 
appropriate certificate policy standards to ensure consistent and 
successful implementations that will be required for the anticipated 
multiple CAs deployed across multiple systems.
    CSS indicated that utilizing multiple root CAs may benefit from 
redundancy versus a single root CA, and also brought forth the notion 
of ``bridged'' root CAs that could be cross-signed to allow different 
vehicle or device manufacturers to ``trust'' each other while 
maintaining their own ``root of trust,'' enhancing confidence in 
message exchanges.
    SCMS financial sustainability discussions were limited to existing 
approaches for certificate management services, where per certificate 
fees could potentially be avoidable.

[[Page 3941]]

(3) Trustpoint Innovation Technologies, Ltd.
    Representatives from Trustpoint Innovation Technologies met with 
the V2V NPRM Team to discuss their submission to the RFI response. 
Trustpoint was founded in 2012 by Dr. Scott Vanstone and Sherry 
Shannon. Mr. Vanstone was also a co-founder of Certicom, whom also 
provided a response the SCMS RFI, which was acquired by BlackBerry in 
2009.
    Trustpoint has been involved with the SCMS and security design 
research conducted with the agency's research partner, CAMP. 
Trustpoint's response to the RFI focused on their interest in helping 
to develop deployment-ready SCMS components such as the Pseudonym CA, 
Registration Authority, Linkage Authority, Enrollment CA, Intermediate 
CA, and Root CA.
    Trustpoint indicated that significant investment and development in 
software and testing will be necessary to deploy a National SCMS. This 
is based on their belief the PKI approach used for SCMS research will 
need to be extended and extensively proven for a production system, 
based on the need for a new software stack \218\ built around new 
cryptography and protocols. Trustpoint is interested in being part of a 
consortium to deploy production SCMS components.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \218\ A software stack is a set of programs that work together 
to produce a result; typically an operating system and its 
applications. For example, a smartphone software stack comprises the 
operating system along with the phone app, Web browser and other 
basic applications. See http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51702/software-stack (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When meeting with the agency, Trustpoint expanded on their views of 
a National SCMS deployment. The key discussion points included 
cryptography approaches, attack vectors, participation in a consortium, 
and thoughts on production deployment that includes clear policies and 
procedures, and thoughts on device level security. In addition, 
Trustpoint reviewed the cost model the agency provided with the ANPRM 
and V2V Readiness Report.
    Trustpoint discussed how Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is, in 
their opinion, the only feasible security solution for resource-
constrained environments where processing power, power consumption, 
storage space, and bandwidth are limited. In comparison to RSA,\219\ an 
early wide-spread remote device security mechanism, ECC is much more 
compact yet provides a higher level of security. Trustpoint indicated 
that 500 bits of ECC information is equivalent to nearly 1500 bits of 
RSA cryptographic information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \219\ RSA is a cryptosystem for public-key encryption, and is 
widely used for securing sensitive data, particularly when being 
sent over an insecure network such as the Internet. See http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/RSA (last accessed Dec. 8, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Trustpoint supported the development of a ``test bed'' for 
components that could operate in a National, deployed system. 
Successful deployment and verified operation in the test bed could be 
considered ``certified for deployment.'' Components certified in the 
test bed would support an ``off-the-shelf'' software component approach 
that, for example, would yield Registration Authorities for each 
manufacturer. Trustpoint stressed the need to have standardized 
components for consistent system interaction while allowing each OEM to 
manage their vehicle fleets individually versus a central management 
approach. The SCMS Proof of Concept project currently under development 
by the agency and CAMP, to support connected vehicle test beds that 
will be deployed regionally along with expansion of the Safety Pilot 
Model Deployment environment more broadly throughout southeastern 
Michigan, could potentially serve as a test bed for broader, National 
system deployment. Trustpoint suggested, however, that additional 
definition and implementation will be needed in the areas of operation, 
management, and auditing for a successful National SCMS deployment.
    Trustpoint suggested the cost model provided by the agency and used 
in the V2V Readiness Report cost calculations needed some adjustment in 
the areas of bandwidth, hardware security module, and software 
development costs. More specifically, Trustpoint indicated replication 
for hardware security would be needed for redundancy and continuous, 
uninterrupted system operation. Trustpoint estimates the annual 
issuance of 36 million certificates will have additional bandwidth 
needs beyond that estimated in the cost model. Finally, Trustpoint 
believed the software development cost used in the cost model was 
substantially underestimated.
(4) DURA Automotive Systems, LLC
    Dura Automotive Systems, LLC is a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive 
industry supplying structural body systems, mechatronic control 
systems, and exterior systems including window systems and exterior 
trim. Dura responded to the SCMS RFI with a vision of how the SCMS 
Manager could be formed, implemented and sustained. Dura indicated they 
would like to fulfill the role of developing and implementing the SCMS 
governance board and participating as a member. Dura was the only 
respondent indicating interest in taking the role of developing 
functions at the SCMS Manager level and above.
    Dura favored a private model governance approach for the SCMS, 
excluding some identified issues. In their response, DURA identified 
two successful examples of both private and public models currently in 
place that address requirements similar to those identified in the RFI. 
A private model example is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names 
and Numbers (``ICANN''),\220\ a private, not-for-profit corporation 
established in 1998. The public model cited by Dura is the operating 
arrangement for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the 
national air traffic control system.\221\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \220\ For more information on the ICANN private model, see 
https://www.icann.org/resources/unthemed-pages/icann-mou-1998-11-25-en (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
    \221\ For more information on the public FAA model, see http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/pol_adjudication/agc400/litigation/ (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DURA specifically suggested, ``a policy statement from the 
Department of Transportation advising the public that the U.S. 
government is prepared to enter into an agreement with a new, not-for-
profit corporation formed by private sector transportation multi-
stakeholders to administer the Security Credential Management System'' 
and suggested the corporation be referred to as, ``the Inter-Connected 
Automotive Safety Network (``ICASN''). Additionally, Dura suggested 
that its incorporation, governance and operation mirror as much as 
possible to that of ICANN.''
    Dura suggested a subscription-based approach for ongoing SCMS 
sustainability and further recommended ``aligning the subscription 
period with vehicle licensing/annual license plate renewal.'' Dura also 
commented on how liability for system operation could influence costs; 
more specifically, from an insurance cost perspective.
(5) Bosch--ESCRYPT
    Robert Bosch LLC affiliate ESCRYPT provided a response to the SCMS 
RFI with comments on potential governance strategies and expressed 
interest in implementing the Pseudonym Certificate Authority (PCA) and 
Linkage Authority (LA) components.
    Bosch-ESCRYPT supported a private-public collaboration versus a 
self-governance model and commented that SCMS ownership should take a 
multi-layered approach, with high level

[[Page 3942]]

policies residing within the USDOT and lower level implementation 
responsibility given to private organizations. ESCRYPT supported having 
the SCMS spread amongst differing, distinct organizations to help 
maintain privacy, and recommended a governance board to fulfill the 
SCMS Manager function, with membership defined by NHTSA but to include 
representatives from government, vehicle manufacturers, private 
organizations, and privacy groups.
    ESCRYPT expressed interest implementing a production SCMS PCA and 
LA based on their support of the Safety Pilot Model Deployment. In 
their SCMS RFI response, ESCRYPT proposed an architecture that utilizes 
two types of certificates to ensure privacy. The first is short term 
pseudonyms, lasting from seconds to hours and being switched 
frequently. The second is long-term certificates along with three 
Certification Authorities: Long-Term; Pseudonym; and a Resolution 
Authority, the latter of which strips anonymity from pseudonym 
certificates that are believed to be a potential threat.
    When meeting with the agency, Bosch-ESCRYPT expressed the 
importance of regional policy harmonization and stable standards, 
indicating that, once implemented, these important pieces will be not 
be changed easily or quickly.
    The agency asked ESCRYPT for their experience on device management 
and how ESCRYPT has handled conditions such as managing and closing 
security breaches, device ``end of life'' management, and hardware 
security to help inform potential approaches for this NPRM. ESCRYPT 
indicated that over-the-air (OTA) software update is the best approach 
to closing potential security breaches and in support of NHTSA's vital 
recall efforts. When discussing device ``end of life'' scenarios, 
ESCRYPT suggested the approach of revoking existing certificates for an 
identified device and preventing future certificate updates allowing, 
in theory, the device to ``fade away'' from the system. Finally, when 
discussing potential hardware security needs, Bosch indicated they have 
experience with hardware security modules (``HSM'') and secure hardware 
extensions (``SHE'') successfully deployed in Europe and that, in terms 
of V2V, a lower-security implementation limits potential use cases of a 
system. The agency interprets this discussion, overall, that proposing 
a hardened device could extend a device's capability and contribute to 
overall system confidence.
(6) Certicom/Blackberry Technology Solutions
    Certicom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blackberry Ltd., provided a 
response to the SCMS RFI and also met with the agency to follow-up 
their response. Certicom provides ``applied cryptography and security 
solutions for the embedded market'' including engagement with 
governments and vehicle OEMs. Certicom has experience implementing 
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), ``which provides the most security 
per bit of any known public key cryptosystem.'' Certicom's parent 
company, BlackBerry, builds devices used by government and enterprise 
organizations, and operates a global secure network and mobile 
messaging platform. BlackBerry Technology Solutions also operates 
BlackBerry's QNX group which has presence in automotive telematics 
implementations.
    Certicom supported a private consortium to manage a V2V SCMS, 
indicating that this approach could help ``accelerate the deployments 
of V2X systems'' serving both infrastructure and aftermarket devices. 
They stated that a possible ``concern could arise if regulation 
unnecessarily limits the opportunity for participants to drive 
commercial innovation.'' Certicom expressed interest in the SCMS 
operational roles of the Certificate Management Entity (CME) such as 
operating a Certification Authority (CA) and/or a Registration 
Authority (RA). However, Certicom indicated revenue models and costs 
would need to be better understood before committing definitively to 
any portion of the system operation.
    Certicom commented that long-term viability of the SCMS is highly 
dependent on public acceptance. As such, participants in the system 
need a strong public identification (brand) and experience with 
successful security, safe, reliable and privacy implementations.
    During the agency's meeting with Certicom, the discussion focused 
on clarifying the RFI responses but also in key areas of revenue 
generation, security approaches, and certificate and device management 
approaches used for Blackberry devices and other implementations that 
Certicom has supported, which includes public utility installed 
residential ``smart meters.''
    Certicom indicated there could be many reasons that entities would 
want to participate in a National SCMS and there could be potential 
opportunities presented such as the support of the security needs for 
manufacturing and system operations. In addition, expanded future 
roadside equipment could lead to yet-unknown revenue generation 
opportunities. Overall, V2V and a supporting SCMS could, in theory, 
``create a whole new market.'' Certicom also suggested participants in 
the SCMS could generate on-going revenue by royalties from device 
manufacturers.
    In terms of approaches to device security, Certicom indicated there 
are at least three security key-scenarios for devices. The following 
table provides an overview of these approaches and a corresponding, 
relative level of security provided by each.

                                   Table V-2--Overview of Security Approaches
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security Method......................  PKI....................  Keys/Certificates sent   In device chipset
                                                                 to device at time of     (``silicon'').
                                                                 manufacture.
Example..............................  Thermostat.............  Telematics.............  Blackberry.
Relative Security....................  Sufficient.............  Better.................  Best.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When discussing device and certificate management, Certicom 
provided an overview of three certificate distribution and management 
systems: Blackberry PKI, the ZigBee Smart Energy public utility 
residential meter system, and Certicom's approach to certificate and 
asset management for device original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
    The certificate service for Blackberry devices is designed for 
scalability, and secures devices from ``birth'' where a registration 
``seed'' is embedded in the a device's onboard microchip (``silicon'') 
at the time of device manufacturer. The registration seed could be 
viewed like a V2V enrollment certificate, all of which is linked to the 
``root of trust'' for the Blackberry ecosystem.
    Certicom's overview of the ZigBee public utility smart meter 
certificate system varies from Blackberry devices,

[[Page 3943]]

in that devices participating in that system are supplied from various 
manufacturers--similar to how V2V device implementation is envisioned, 
but the ecosystem itself could be viewed as localized.
    In this implementation, ZigBee ``Smart Energy'' device certificates 
utilize an EQCV format issued in batches of one million. Certicom 
indicated they are able to issue approximately one million certificates 
in approximately one and half hours of processing. Each device 
participating in the system is identified by unique vendor 
identification, and verification is performed to confirm that each 
device's media access control (MAC) \222\ address is unique. Key pairs 
for each device are then bound to the device MAC address and vendor ID 
through the certificate. Figure V-2 shows a graphic representation of 
the ZigBee certificate management system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \222\ Media Access Control address refers to the unique 48-bit 
serial number in the network circuitry of Ethernet and Wi-Fi devices 
that identifies that machine from every other globally. See http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/46422/mac-address (last accessed 
Jul. 14, 2015).
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.011

    Finally, Certicom provided an overview of a certificate authority 
and asset management system that they are able to supply for device 
original equipment manufacturers. The system is designed to enable OEMs 
and silicon vendors to remotely secure devices that are assembled at 
geographically-dispersed locations, similar to how vehicles are 
assembled. The system described provides operational visibility and 
control of secure key injection into a device at time of manufacture or 
initialization, secure device serialization and tracking, and support 
for anti-cloning and anti-counterfeiting. Figure V-3 provides a 
representation of this system and shows the remote management across 
various locations. The ``tester'' would be the point of security key 
injection into a device.

[[Page 3944]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.012

    Certicom indicated that this system enables OEMs to manage and 
distribute the sensitive security keying material, along with 
potentially other sensitive information, to an untrusted contract 
manufacturing environment supplying components for their end product. 
Figure V-4 shows the process flow for loading security information to a 
device in an untrusted manufacturing environment.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.013

[[Page 3945]]

    As mentioned elsewhere in this section, device management also 
involves potential updates to device software to support technology 
updates and, importantly, in support of potential device recall 
scenarios. Certicom discussed Blackberry's OTA update service used for 
updating, configuring, and managing software and applications. Their 
updates leverage the existing Blackberry exclusive secure 
infrastructure for global distribution. This system also gathers status 
and data to support fleet monitoring capabilities for device operation. 
A graphic overview of the system is shown in Figure V-5.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.014

    With end-of-life and misbehavior being key elements of a national 
V2V deployment, the agency inquired about approaches for managing 
devices under these conditions. Certicom indicated that Blackberry 
devices can be remotely made non-functional (``bricked'') when a device 
is determined to be out of service, stolen, not functioning properly or 
potentially ``misbehaving.'' Reactivation of a ``bricked'' device 
requires interaction with Blackberry.
(7) SiriusXM Satellite Radio
    SiriusXM Satellite Radio provided a response to the SCMS RFI and 
also met with the V2V NPRM team as follow-up. Their written response to 
the RFI focused on the opportunity for satellite transmission to 
perform non-safety-critical, ``back haul'' type operations for a SCMS. 
This could include certificate distribution, over the air updates, and 
certificate revocation list distribution, among other potential 
supporting transactions. SiriusXM commented that employing a satellite 
network as an alternative distribution path for safety certificates and 
the CRL would promote the development of a V2V system by enhancing 
scalability and the SCMS network footprint, and enable faster 
distribution of security information for V2V-equipped vehicles.
    SiriusXM indicated that satellite transmission could potentially 
``bridge the gap'' between initial V2V deployment and roadside unit 
deployment and, in the longer term, support more remote regions that 
may not have roadside units deployed. SiriusXM indicated that their 
infrastructure ``could provide the ubiquitous, simultaneous, and robust 
distribution of security certificates and the certificate revocation 
list (``CRL'') in a V2V system.'' SiriusXM's satellite network covers 
the contiguous United States and portions or Canada and Mexico, which 
could possibly assist with potential cross-border challenges. Their 
network also includes signal repeating equipment to supplement service 
in urban areas where satellite reception could be blocked by buildings 
or other obstacles.
    According to SiriusXM, 69 million vehicles are currently equipped 
with their radios, and they expect this to increase to 100 million 
vehicles by 2017 as approximately 70% of new vehicles are equipped with 
their receiver.
    When discussing privacy, SiriusXM indicated that no subscription 
would be required to receive satellite V2X data and that it would be 
available to any vehicle equipped with their satellite receiver. 
SiriusXM did not present any potential revenue generation concepts 
during the discussion. Additionally, SiriusXM stated V2X will be a 
transparent data service on its system, meaning that no V2X-related 
data is collected on the vehicle, and that the satellite delivery 
system has no knowledge of which vehicles are active and receiving data 
or where vehicles are located.
    In terms of device management, SiriusXM suggested a hardware 
security module (HSM) for V2V-enabled devices as part of a trusted, 
secure data exchange environment. SiriusXM provided very detailed 
technical descriptions of how device-level security could be 
implemented and managed using satellite radio service. This included 
discussing the potential use of group codes, interaction with the HSM, 
in-use certificate downloads, available service channels, and revoked 
vehicle identification, all of which leverages its experience with the 
development and deployment of its satellite radio network that appears 
to have addressed many similar challenges found in V2V device 
deployment and management.
(8) Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen Group of America
    Ford Motor Company (``Ford'') and Volkswagen Group of America 
(``Volkswagen'') submitted joint comments to the SCMS RFI. Together, 
Ford and Volkswagen indicated they are encouraged by the progress made 
in the collaborative activities between NHTSA and CAMP, in which they 
participate. However, they state in their comments that remaining items 
need resolution to enable an effective deployment of a V2V 
communications system, such as: (1) NHTSA's authority to mandate an 
SCMS; (2) an acceptable and stable funding model, and; (3) measures to 
address potential liabilities associated with participating in and/or 
being subject to a SCMS.

[[Page 3946]]

    Ford and Volkswagen commented that the SCMS cannot be a private 
entity because vital functions of the SCMS cannot be delegated to a 
``private'' entity, ``which lacks the authority to require all 
participants in a V2V (let alone V2X) communication system to adhere to 
the system's necessarily rigorous operational policies, and enforce 
revocation based on unacceptable performance.'' Ford and Volkswagen 
stated that they, other OEMs, and others that will necessarily rely on 
the SCMS must have a role, along with government, in establishing SCMS 
operational policy. Additionally, they stated that Federal authority 
over the SCMS is essential and a binding governance board for SCMS 
management is needed.
    Finally, Ford and Volkswagen stated that funding for centralized 
SCMS components or functions should come from a federal source. They do 
not support any funding model relying on the sale of data to third 
parties, and, additionally, the SCMS funding model ``should not be 
based on a potential requirement that specific services must be enabled 
within the vehicle to offset operational costs.'' Conversely, non-
centralized components, like the certificate management entity (CME) or 
registration authority (RA), could be established independently for 
their own use.
(9) SAE International
    The Society of Automotive Engineers (``SAE'') responded to the RFI 
with interest in playing a supporting role in SCMS deployment. SAE 
indicated interest in working with SCMS stakeholders in a partnership 
and/or larger consortium to support the SCMS functions, ``through a 
combination of standards development, conformance programs and 
training.''
    SAE International standards J2735 and J2945 were revised and are 
being developed to support a national V2V deployment by providing a 
consistent, standardized approach to V2V device implementation across 
the industry.
(10) The American Motorcyclist Association
    The American Motorcyclist Association (``AMA'') commented to the 
SCMS RFI by urging DOT to test the V2Vcommunication systems to ensure 
that motorcyclists' safety and privacy are secure. AMA expressed their 
support for DOT's position ``for further testing before adopting the 
rule authorizing U-NII devices (e.g., Wi-Fi) to operate in the band to 
ensure vehicles using advanced crash-avoidance and vehicle-to-vehicle 
technologies are not compromised.'' AMA also expressed concern about 
the potential for ``hacking'' into a future V2V network, and 
specifically, the potential to manipulate traffic signals which could 
be ``especially disconcerting for motorcyclists who comprise the most 
vulnerable roadway user group.'' AMA closed their comments stating that 
the safety of all highway users should always be a priority whenever 
new technologies are considered.
(11) Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Inc.
    The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (``Alliance'') 
reiterated their comments to NHTSA's V2V ANPRM where they ``agreed with 
NHTSA's assessment that a strong SCMS is necessary for a properly 
functioning V2V communications system.'' The Alliance also reiterated 
its ANPRM comments expressing concerns with how a privately-run SCMS 
could address the broad structural and governance challenges that an 
SCMS manager would need to address, such as:

 Funding, deployment, operation and maintenance of a DSRC-based 
V2X security communications network
 Sustainable funding for V2X PKI security system operations and 
management
 Governance of a V2X security system (Rules of Use, 
Certification, and system access)
 Protection of consumer privacy
 Liability, risk management, and intellectual property 
protections
 International considerations including possible Canada-US-
Mexico cross-border traffic, international agreements, or standards 
harmonization.

    The Alliance maintained in its RFI response that addressing the 
above policy issues, which are necessarily national in scope, requires 
strong unified Federal leadership, not just presence.
(12) Association of Global Automakers
    The Association of Global Automakers (``Global Automakers'') 
provided general comments along with direct responses to the RFI 
questions. In its comments, Global Automakers strongly supported a 
public-private partnership model for SCMS operation by stating that 
``the agency has underestimated the necessary governmental role in 
managing the SCMS and too narrowly constrained the participation of 
other agencies in SCMS operations. Contractor operation of many aspects 
of the SCMS is feasible but must be conducted under the authority and 
supervision of a significant governmental entity.''
    Global Automakers further stated that, to be effective, the SCMS 
must be a monopoly, which is not allowed under law for a private 
entity, and that funding for the SCMS should come from the government 
rather than from revenue generated by consumers; less potential 
consumer subscription funding opportunities for some potential V2I 
services. Additionally, the SCMS should be developed to support V2V and 
V2X holistically, at the outset, in partnership with the Federal 
Highway Administration (FHWA) and possibly other agencies such as the 
Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission 
where privacy is of concern. Global Automakers stated that cross-agency 
coordination and harmonization is critical to the effective operation 
of the SCMS.
    Global Automakers expressed concern with the potential approach for 
the ``Device Non-compliance and Potential Recalls'' discussion in the 
RFI materials, specifically, that it believed that the approach 
suggested by the agency would undermine consumer privacy, be 
impractical, and be redundant to systems that are already in place to 
manage recalls. It commented that the proposed ``link between specific 
installed V2V devices or production lots of devices and enrollment 
certificates'' would create a potential perception that V2V 
communications could be traced to individual vehicles and drivers.
(13) Verizon Communications, Inc.
    Verizon Communications' RFI response focused on potential steps and 
pathways to achieving a National SCMS deployment and focused on three 
key approaches to SCMS policies and operations standards and potential 
adjustments to the PKI implementation. In more detail, Verizon 
suggested that: (1) NHTSA should define a system of policies, 
regulations, workflows, and technical interoperability that provides 
for the management and control of the overall SCMS; (2) implement an 
``identity PKI'' as a baseline and ``bootstraps'' anonymously allowing 
linkage between certificates and supporting potential device recalls; 
and (3) an ``anonymity PKI'' solution that allows the device to perform 
any necessary operations anonymously.
(14) General Motors, LLC
    General Motors, LLC (``GM'') submitted comments to the SCMS RFI 
that also included broader V2V rulemaking comments. GM stated, in the

[[Page 3947]]

broader context of V2V, that they support NHTSA's rulemaking initiative 
for all passenger cars and light trucks to be sold in the United 
States, and that ``a comprehensive and connected ecosystem must be 
developed and implemented offering seamless and trusted communication 
between vehicles'' to obtain all the potential benefits of V2V 
technology. GM commented that it strongly believes that a NHTSA 
rulemaking process is the only method to successfully establish a V2V 
ecosystem; that, as envisioned, the system cannot be established and 
managed by a single manufacturer or industry group.
    Focused comments regarding the SCMS stated its belief in the 
requirement for Federal oversight of the SCMS Manager, the central root 
authority organization, direct engagement with the Misbehavior 
Authority and coordination of certification labs.
(15) CTIA--The Wireless Association
    CTIA is an international nonprofit organization representing the 
wireless communications industry. CTIA's members include wireless 
carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of 
wireless data services and products. CTIA's comments to the SCMS RFI 
focused on the benefit of leveraging existing authentication and 
security technology, along with utilizing existing networks and 
infrastructure to promote standardization and interoperability. CTIA 
also stated that the private sector is best positioned to address V2V 
SCMS cybersecurity and privacy concerns and should be utilized to help 
implement cybersecurity best practices.
(16) Tesla Motors, Inc.
    Tesla Motors, Inc. (``Tesla'') commented primarily on the security 
of the SCMS design presented in the V2V Readiness Report by urging 
NHTSA ``to ensure that all possible security aspects are considered and 
accounted for when implementing its chosen design.'' Tesla commented 
that much more analysis and consideration needs to be given to the SCMS 
before it is implemented as proposed. Tesla acknowledges that it has 
not been involved with the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) 
consortium and that this brings a new perspective to the CAMP SCMS 
design.
    Tesla believes that, as envisioned, the CAMP system fails to 
consider adequately how the system could be attacked or the vast 
amounts of information that will necessarily pass between vehicles and 
that NHTSA's proposed system has gaps that must be addressed before it 
is implemented.
    Tesla narrowed its primary concerns into the following: (1) Because 
inputs are insecure, false messages are likely, even with secure V2V 
subsystems; (2) vehicles must have some way to determine whether 
messages, particularly misbehavior reports, are legitimate; (3) 
certificate revocation lists (``CRLs'') do not scale well for 
widespread use; (4) public[hyphen]key cryptography is poorly suited to 
the demands of an embedded, high[hyphen]speed environment; and (5) 
transmitted messages could be the source of privacy breaches.
    Tesla concluded their comments by stating that ``the Company 
believes that the CAMP system has fundamental issues and challenges 
that must be revisited in order to allow for successful implementation 
of the SCMS.''
(17) Intercede Ltd.
    Intercede, Ltd. is a software company solely focused on producing 
and delivering identity and credential management solutions to entities 
such as Government, Aerospace and Defense, Finance, Healthcare, Large 
Corporations and Managed Service Providers. Intercede's response to the 
RFI focused on the need for the SCMS to provide a secure and trusted 
environment for V2X, and stated that it will be necessary to consider 
the V2X communication devices over their entire lifetime, which was 
defined as:
     Initial manufacture;
     Upgrade;
     Maintenance;
     Transfer of ownership;
     Renewal;
     Compromise;
     Natural end of life.
    Intercede's response went on to state that ``it is also important 
to consider the interactions beyond the communication channels that 
must be established into a secure trust system. Failure to do so would 
open up potential back doors into this trust system that could allow 
for compromise to occur from within.'' Follow-up discussion with 
Intercede stressed its views regarding the need for a complete, systems 
approach to security--encompassing ``cradle to grave'' for devices. And 
that, ``By adopting a controlled and secure approach to device identity 
management, NHTSA will enable a strong trust environment to be 
established that can then be built on for large-scale key generation 
during the lifetime of the device in the field for V2X 
communications.''
(b) SCMS RFI Agency Response
    The RFI responses and subsequent meetings benefitted NHTSA greatly 
by providing additional technical perspectives on the SCMS PKI design. 
For example, DOT had originally dismissed the use of satellites as a 
viable communications media for transmission of security materials 
between the SCMS and OBE, but our meeting with Sirius XM Radio brought 
to NHTSA's attention the fact that, due to advances in technology and 
the close working relationship between the auto and satellite 
industries, satellite could in fact be a technologically and 
economically viable, secure and private media for such security 
transmissions. Similarly, the PKI technical model put forth by NHTSA in 
its Readiness Report assumes that a single root must form the basis for 
trust system-wide. However, as a result of meetings with CSS, NHTSA now 
is aware of the possibility that, through use of a trust bridge, one or 
more SCMS organizations, possibly representing different regions or 
even manufacturers, may be able to co-exist and together, provide more 
redundancy in security for V2V and V2X DSRC communications.
5. SCMS ANPRM Comments and Agency Response
(a) ANPRM SCMS Comments
    With limited exception, comments received in response to the ANPRM 
generally endorsed the PKI design as an appropriate security solution 
for V2V and V2I DSRC communications. For example, GM, the Alliance, 
Toyota, and the Automotive Safety Council all concurred that the SCMS 
design described in the ANPRM and the V2V Readiness Report should 
provide the required level of security while also protecting the 
privacy of the end users. Throughout all the comments there were two 
major concerns with the SCMS design that were cited by multiple 
commenters: (1) The overall complexity of the design; and (2) a 
fallback plan for a compromised root.
    One of the recurring comments in the ANPRM focused on the overall 
complexity of the design of the SCMS and the plan for implementing such 
a system. The design of the SCMS is more complicated than any existing 
PKI systems due primarily to the need to protect the privacy of the end 
users both from outsider and insider attacks. As such the various 
functions in the system are separated logically and organizationally in 
an attempt to ensure that one organization does not have access to all 
the information needed to identify the end users. Therefore, this

[[Page 3948]]

level of complexity is necessitated by the system requirements.
    The second technical concern highlighted in the comments is the 
impact on the system if the private key of the SCMS root certificate 
authority is compromised. If the root CA is compromised, then this 
would compromise certificates for all V2V devices, roadside 
infrastructure devices, and SCMS components. Reissuing the certificates 
for over 350 million end users would require a significant amount of 
time and resources to complete. For example, all V2V devices would need 
to be re-initialized in order to receive a new enrollment certificate; 
however, this process must occur over a secure communications channel. 
This may require all devices to return to the dealership or service 
center in order to have access to the secure communications channel 
required for the initialization process.
(b) ANPRM Agency Response
    In response to the first concern, the agency agrees that the level 
of complexity of the design does increase the risk associated with the 
implementation and deployment of this system. To combat that risk, one 
commenter suggested that the system be implemented through a phased 
development approach where components of the system are developed, 
tested, and deployed incrementally. This approach would ensure that the 
deployed components are secure and reliable for additional components 
are deployed into the system. The agency agrees with this 
recommendation and is employing in it the development of the SCMS 
Proof-of-Concept. This system is being developed using an incremental 
approach that focuses on first implementing and testing the core 
components of the system, followed by the non-core components. After 
the system is developed and tested, it will be operated for a 
significant period of time by DOT. During this operational period, 
existing V2V and V2I test beds will be integrated with the SCMS POC, 
and it will provide the necessary security credential materials to 
these test beds. The knowledge gained from the operation of the SCMS 
POC will inform the development of the National SCMS that will be 
required to support an eventual FMVSS.
    The agency also concurs that it would be a catastrophic event for 
the root CA to be compromised, and as such we are exploring various 
approaches for disaster recovery that can be implemented to mitigate 
this risk. The SCMS Proof-of-Concept will implement and test root 
management and disaster recovery solutions that will allow a root CA to 
be revoked without requiring the recall and re-initialization of all 
the V2V and V2I devices in a secure environment. One of the solutions 
to be tested in the SCMS POC is a distributed root management approach 
that utilizes root electors to manage the trust relationships in the 
system. Another solution being evaluated includes the use of redundant 
root CAs where only a single root is active at any one time. These 
approaches will be tested and evaluated during the operation of the 
SCMS POC to ensure that in the event of a compromised root, the system 
can be recovered without the need to recall every V2V and V2I device.
6. SCMS Industry Governance
(a) The SCMS ``Industry''
    Deployment of an SCMS PKI to secure V2V DSRC communications will 
require governance of a wide range of complex functions and involve 
numerous public and private stakeholders, which together we refer to 
here as the SCMS ``industry'' or SCMS ``ecosystem.'' We expect that 
SCMS stakeholders will include: Manufacturers of OBE, RSU, and 
aftermarket safety devices (ASD); certification labs that test OBE (and 
potentially ASDs); organizations supporting V2V communications; auto 
manufacturers; standards organizations; PKI experts; State and local 
government users, and others. In Figure V-6, below, the shapes 
represent different groups of organizations that interact with the SCMS 
in some way. Some of these organizations will need to be stood up, 
while others currently exist today and will likely expand their 
operations to play a role in the SCMS. The overlapping of shapes 
represents mutual reliance in executing operations, and the arrows 
represent communication and the need for inter-organizational 
arrangements. The SCMS is the focal point of the certificate management 
industry, as it encompasses the CMEs that oversee all PKI functions 
responsible for establishing the foundation of security in the V2V/V2I/
V2X system.

[[Page 3949]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.015

    Some of the questions that NHTSA raised in the V2V Readiness Report 
about industry governance structure for the SCMS include:
     How and by whom are decisions made about various policies, 
standards, requirements, and practices?
     Who has the authority to mandate and enforce compliance 
with the policies, standards, and industry requirements?
     Who makes up the overseeing financial, legal, management, 
and executive operations of the entities in the SCMS?
     Is there a central industry body and, if so, who oversees 
it? Who is part of this central industry body?
     How do the various entities interact with each other?
     How is risk and liability allocated across the 
organizations?
     Who will own the intellectual property (data and software) 
of the system and how will it be licensed (allocated) among responsible 
entities?
    In answering these questions, NHTSA continues to explore a variety 
of governance models (ranging from public to public-private to private) 
as potential options for governing the SCMS industry. Due primarily to 
the absence of Federal funds to support a public SCMS, to date NHTSA 
has focused primarily on fleshing out a model of private SCMS ownership 
and governance that assumes costs will be covered by increases in the 
purchase price of new vehicles and V2V safety devices. As we noted our 
V2V Readiness Report, in a private SCMS industry the organizational 
structure and operation of the SCMS would be determined largely by 
private owners and operators of CME components, under oversight of an 
SCMS Manager (ideally an industry-wide coalition of CME owners and 
other stakeholder representatives who, together, agree on the terms of 
self-governance and system-wide rules and policies). The SCMS Manager 
would provide critical system management by enforcing and auditing 
compliance with uniform technical and policy standards and guidance 
system-wide. Uniform standards and guidance would establish and ensure 
consistency, effectiveness, interoperability, sustainability, and 
appropriate privacy protections across the CMEs to facilitate necessary 
communications, sharing of information, and operational connections, 
and would be based in large part on existing technical and policy 
standards applicable to PKI systems.
    The Readiness Report explained NHTSA's view that, in the context of 
a privately owned SCMS ``industry,'' a private model could be a viable 
mechanism for SCMS governance in which NHTSA would have only a minimal 
role in ensuring system integrity, largely through its traditional 
regulatory activities. We also indicated that NHTSA's existing legal 
authority would accommodate the use of grants, cooperative agreements, 
or other agreements to facilitate stakeholder--and even DOT--input into 
governance of a private SCMS.
(b) ANPRM Governance Comments
    Comments to the ANPRM and Readiness Report relating to SCMS 
ownership and governance came mostly from members of the automotive 
industry and their trade groups. While agreeing with NHTSA's assertion 
that a V2V system is not complete without a robust SCMS, almost without 
exception, industry commenters vehemently disagreed that a private 
self-governing industry coalition could be a viable mechanism for SCMS 
system governance. Commenters believed that a private SCMS could not 
provide the security, privacy, certainty, stability, long-term 
functionality, or management of costs and risk required for a 
nationwide SCMS to support V2V DSRC communications, and lacked the 
legal authority to address cross-border issues

[[Page 3950]]

or require industry-wide participation and compliance with uniform 
requirements. For these reasons, virtually all industry commenters took 
the position that a strong leadership role for the Federal government 
in the SCMS would be required for successful deployment of V2V and V2X 
DSRC communications.
    For example, both the Alliance and Mercedes described the SCMS as a 
``core government responsibility.'' Noting that ``for V2V to work 
effectively, every vehicle manufacturer will have to participate in the 
SCMS and abide by its rules,'' the Alliance explained that:

a private organization, such as a voluntary coalition of 
manufacturers, cannot compel unwilling manufacturers to join the 
organization, and cannot enforce deviations from the organization's 
rules except by expelling misbehaving members. There is no effective 
mechanism to ensure the universal participation of all manufacturers 
and to compel their obedience to the necessary common SCMS 
requirements. . .

    The Alliance also stated that ``resolution of policy issues 
requires coordination among multiple federal agencies (FHWA, FTC, FCC, 
EPA),'' and that ``Congress was best positioned to provide the needed 
coordination and nationwide-scope for addressing infrastructure, 
governance of networks and SCMS, consumer privacy, sustainable funding, 
international cross-border and liability/IP policy issues.''
    Global commented that ``private sector options for operating the 
Security Credential Management System (SCMS) do not guarantee certainty 
over the management or the cost of operation the system and its long-
term stability.'' GM, likening the issuance of security certificates to 
the minting of coinage by the Federal government, argued that ensuring 
a secure V2V system would require that the Federal government: (i) 
Operate or support operation of a central root CA that all V2V 
certificates must use, or mandate that all V2V certificates use a 
central root CA; and (ii) review and approve minimum levels of security 
for the keys and cryptography used by the root CA and subordinate CAs 
authorized by the root CA. Mercedes described the SCMS as a ``backbone 
infrastructure, which must be set up and controlled with the leadership 
of state and federal authorities'' and echoed the comments of the 
Alliance that only Federal government oversight would ensure industry-
wide participation in an SCMS and compliance with its requirements. 
Similarly, Honda commented that the federal government should be 
responsible to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the V2V 
security framework, and should consider a public-private partnership as 
an option for the operation and management of the SCMS, with federal 
oversight, supervision and funding.
    The agency agrees with commenters that, for a variety of policy 
reasons, ideally the Federal government should play a more central 
leadership role in the establishment and governance of a V2V SCMS. For 
this reason, as detailed above, DOT now has taken the lead in working 
with SCMS stakeholders to develop the policies and standards that 
should form the basis for governance of a National V2V SCMS, as well as 
to model and prototype organizational options for a governance entity 
to manage SCMS operations.
(c) A Comparative Industry Example: ICANN
    In analyzing SCMS governance options, NHTSA and its research 
partners have investigated a variety of industries with characteristics 
similar to those seen as critical for a V2V SCMS governance model, 
including security, privacy protection, stability, sustainability, 
multi-stakeholder representation and technical complexity.\223\ We 
investigated an array of public, public-private and private governance 
models, with particular emphasis on safety-critical and privacy-
sensitive systems. We also examined how risk was managed in the context 
these models. Some of the industries researched included:

    \223\ VIIC Assessment of Key Governance Policy Considerations 
for a Connected Vehicle Cooperative Safety Communications System,'' 
dated March 12, 2013, at page 11 http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NHTSA-2014-0022-0046 (last accessed Dec. 8, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
 DTE Energy Company
 Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC)
 End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corporation (ELVS)
 The FAA's Next Gen Air Transportation System
 The FRA's Positive Train Control
 Smart Grid
 The Rail/Transit Train Control Systems (ATC and CBTC)
 FMCSA's EOBR
 Coast Guard's MSSIS
 Army Corp of Engineer's MRGO
 Medical Devices failure and liability
 Security in nuclear industry and liability
 Warning/Signal Failures
 UAVs
 HIPAA/Health Care industry/Electronic Health Records (EHRs)/
CONNECT system
 Credit Card Payment industry and PCI standards
 Hospital/Health care industry

    Of the governance models we examined, governance of the internet 
naming protocol systems (DNS) by the Internet Assigned Numbers 
Authority (ICANN) possessed numerous characteristics that seem to 
translate most directly to a private or public-private governance model 
for the V2V SCMS. ICANN is a private, not-for-profit corporation 
created by private sector entities in direct response to efforts by the 
Federal government to privatize certain Internet-related tasks in a 
manner that permits robust competition and international participation 
in its management. ICANN is managed by a multi-stakeholder Board of 
Directors (representative of the functional and geographic diversity of 
the Internet) that oversees a number of Internet-related functions 
previously performed directly on behalf of the Federal government by 
other organizations, notably the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority 
(IANA) (formerly located within the Department of Commerce but now 
operated by ICANN). Pursuant to various Memoranda of Understanding with 
ICANN (ICANN MOUs), the Department of Commerce agreed gradually to 
transfer to ICANN certain Internet-related functions, with the goal of 
having ICANN carry out operational responsibility for these functions 
in a financially self-sustaining manner after a limited transition 
period. At the same time, the Department of Commerce also entered into 
a series of funded project agreements with ICANN, on a sole source 
basis, to perform technical and policy activities required to 
facilitate the transition of authority for those functions to 
ICANN.\224\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \224\ ICANN background information, contract and agreement 
content can be found at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/page/docicann-agreements (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ICANN MOUs and project agreements called for the Federal 
government to exercise significant oversight of ICANN's activities 
until such time as ICANN was stable and could provide certain 
stability, sustainability and policy assurances to the Federal 
government. After 11 years, the Department of Commerce gave up its 
oversight of ICANN with respect to the operation and governance of 
specific Internet naming protocol functions, but committed to ongoing 
participation in ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). ICANN 
continues to perform certain technical maintenance tasks under contract 
to Commerce, as do other Commerce contractors. In 2014,

[[Page 3951]]

Commerce announced its intention to work with ICANN to privatize key 
Internet domain name functions still remaining under its control.
    How is ICANN relevant to governance of the V2V SCMS? ICANN provides 
NHTSA with a potential road map for how it can work with public and 
private stakeholders to develop a successful governance structure for a 
multi-stakeholder, geographically and functionally diverse technology-
intense system not unlike V2V. Like the V2V SCMS, successful deployment 
of an Internet naming protocol required uniform and consistent 
application of technical and policy standards enabling interoperability 
and system-wide confidence. As would be required for enforcement in a 
privately governed SCMS, ICANN uses a binding Registry Agreement as the 
enforcement mechanism through which it ensures that its policy and 
technical standards are applied Internet-wide. Like the SCMS ecosystem 
or ``industry,'' the Internet ``industry'' involves numerous 
commercial, academic, geopolitical, and other private and public 
stakeholders involved in a broad range of Internet-related functions, 
the success of which requires system-wide, coordinated governance. As 
would be likely in the SCMS context, ICANN was developed and operates 
on a foundation of the fundamental principles of security, stability, 
resiliency, multi-stakeholder participation, openness, fairness and 
robust completion. Additionally, as detailed in the ICANN MOUs, after a 
period of direct government oversight and funding, the privatized 
functions governed and coordinated by ICANN were designed to be 
financially self-sufficient (i.e. financed by fees paid for services).
    We agree with Dura and the VIIC that ICANN's organizational 
structure could translate well to a potential V2V SCMS governance 
model. The details of ICANN's mission, core values, powers, 
responsibilities, governing principles and procedures are set forth in 
its Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Charter, and other publicly 
available documents. In accordance with those documents, ICANN is 
governed by the binding decisions of a Board of Directors, consisting 
of both voting Directors and non-voting liaisons. The voting Directors 
consist of members selected by a functionally and regionally diverse 
nominating committee that reflects the diversity of Internet ecosystem, 
as a whole: the Address-Supporting Organization (ASO), the Country-Code 
Names Supporting Organization (CCNSO), the Generic Names Supporting 
Organization (GNSO), the At-Large Community and the President ex 
officio. Directors may not be officials of countries or multinational 
geo-political entities. Only ICANN's President can be both a Director 
and ICANN employee. Non-voting liaisons are a means for the Board to 
obtain input from world-wide governments, through the Government 
Advisory Committee (GAC), and three function-specific expert 
committees, the Internet Engineering Task force (ETF), Security and 
Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) and Root Server System Advisory 
Committee (RSSAC). The organization has an Ombudsman appointed by the 
Board to act as a neutral dispute resolution practitioner and provide 
an independent internal evaluation of complaints by members of the 
ICANN community who believe that the ICANN staff, Board or an ICANN 
constituent body has treated them unfairly.
    NHTSA also found quite instructive the procedures used by the 
Department of Commerce to effectuate the process of successfully 
privatizing certain Internet-related functions. In July 1997, the 
Department of Commerce first published a Request for Comments on behalf 
of an interagency working group examining the appropriate future role 
of the Federal government in the DNS and other issues related to the 
administration of the DNS. The following year, in early 1998, based on 
the 1400 pages of comments it received to its Request for Comments, it 
issued a rulemaking notice proposing certain actions designed to 
privatize the management of Internet names and addresses in a manner 
that allowed for the development of robust competition and facilitates 
global participation in Internet management.\225\ The proposed 
rulemaking addressed a variety of issues relating to DNS management 
including private sector creation of a new not-for-profit corporation 
(the ``new corporation'') managed by a globally and functionally 
representative Board of Directors. The rulemaking proposed, among other 
things, the new corporation's authorities, detailed the role of the 
federal government in policy oversight during the transition, 
identified funding, and contained a detailed proposed governance 
structure (specific to the number of seats on the Board of Directors) 
with substantive stakeholder participation and openness requirements. 
The rulemaking explained that, the new corporation would:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \225\ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-02-20/html/98-4200.htm (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).

    Act much like a standard-setting body. To the extent that the 
new corporation operates in an open and pro-competitive manner, its 
actions will withstand antitrust scrutiny. Its standards should be 
reasonably based on, and no broader than necessary to promote its 
legitimate coordinating objectives. Under U.S. law, a standard-
setting body can face antitrust liability if it is dominated by an 
economically interested entity, or if standards are set in secret by 
a few leading competitors. But appropriate processes and structure 
will minimize the possibility that the body's actions will be, or 
will appear to a court to be, anti-competitive.\226\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \226\ http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/022098fedreg.txt, at page 8818 (last accessed Dec. 8, 2016).

    Later the same year, in July 1998, the Department of Commerce opted 
to proceed with privatizing management of the internet DNS not through 
rulemaking but by issuing a Statement of Policy expressing the 
Government's intent to ``recognize, by entering into agreement with, 
and to seek international support for, a new, not-for-profit 
corporation formed by private sector Internet stakeholders to 
administer policy for the Internet name and address system.'' \227\ In 
a July 7, 2000 report,\228\ the GAO confirmed the appropriateness of 
the Department of Commerce's actions. The GAO determined, among other 
things, that:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \227\ See https://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/1998/statement-policy-management-internet-names-and-addresses (last 
accessed Dec. 8, 2016).
    \228\ See Department of Commerce: Relationship with the Internet 
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, July 7, 2000 (B-284206) 
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/og00033r.pdf (last accessed Dec. 8, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Department of Commerce had the authority to support 
privatization of the DNS on the basis of its general authority \229\ to 
foster, promote, and develop foreign and domestic commerce and NTIA's 
more specific authority to coordinate the telecommunications activities 
of the executive branch; \230\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \229\ In so doing, GAO noted that ``there is no explicit 
legislation requiring the government to exercise oversight over the 
domain name system.'' Id at 3.
    \230\ 47 U.S.C. 902(b)(2)(H).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The APA notice and comment requirements did not apply to 
the Department of Commerce's general statement of policy, as it 
contained not substantive regulatory requirements but a general 
framework for privatizing the DNS;
     Establishment of ICANN by the private sector was not 
subject to the Government Corporation Control Act or various other 
legal requirements applicable to entities that are part of or 
controlled by the Federal Government;
     Department of Commerce had authority to enter into the 
MOUs,

[[Page 3952]]

cooperative agreements and sole source contracts with ICANN based on 
its general legal authority to work with and enter into these types of 
agreements with non-profit entities.
    It must be noted that the circumstances that led to creation of 
ICANN are different, in significant respects, than those that now 
necessitate the creation of an SCMS to support V2V DSRC communications. 
When it issued its Policy Statement, Department of Commerce had funds 
dedicated to administration of the DNS it sought to privatize and 
already had taken on responsibility for performing that function, in 
accordance with Federal law. For this reason, the Department of 
Commerce had a legal obligation closely to oversee ICANN's assumption 
of responsibility for the DNS during a transition period. It also 
continued to fund ICANN in the performance of certain additional 
functions previously performed by IANA, even after it ceased to oversee 
ICANN's policies and operation of the DNS in 2009. By contrast, to 
date, NHTSA has not assumed responsibility for carrying out any 
security functions relative to mandated automobile equipment, so no 
infrastructure or funding for this purpose now exists. Additionally, 
NHTSA seeks not to privatize existing federal security functions or 
infrastructure, but to work closely with public and private V2V 
stakeholders to take the technical design, intellectual property and 
body of policy developed through DOT's SCMS research and facilitate the 
creation of a new operational entity--a National SCMS to support V2V, 
V2I, and V2X DSRC communications.
    Despite these differences, NHTSA believes that ICANN serves as a 
strong comparative industry model of how NHTSA can work with 
stakeholders in the SCMS ecosystem to facilitate creation and support 
of a multi-stakeholder private sector entity to govern and coordinate 
operation of the V2V SCMS.
(d) Potential SCMS Implementation Model
    It is clear that there are numerous different paths that government 
and private stakeholders theoretically could follow in implementing a 
National SCMS to support the V2V ecosystem--paths the organization, 
governance and financial viability of which DOT expects its expanded 
policy research to develop and assess. There may even be other viable 
security models that could provide sufficient confidence and consumer 
privacy protection to V2V messages. However, if NHTSA mandates V2V 
communications equipment in light motor vehicles and moves forward with 
implementing the SCMS technical design described above, the agency 
believes that one promising path was that pursued by Department of 
Commerce when it spurred private sector establishment of ICANN. 
Specifically, DOT could facilitate the creation of a multi-stakeholder 
entity capable of governing and coordinating operation of a National 
SCMS. DOT's expanded policy research, including stakeholder input, 
modeling, and prototyping of potential governance models, as well as 
comments on the NPRM, will help determine whether such an SCMS should 
be a purely private entity in which DOT plays an advisory role--or 
whether the Federal government should assume control over some critical 
SCMS functions (for example, ownership of the definitive root).
    The process followed by the Department of Commerce as it privatized 
certain DNS functions could be a useful roadmap for how NHTSA might 
work with the private sector to establish a new, multi-stakeholder 
entity to take on governance and coordinate operation of a V2V SCMS. 
NHTSA's 2014 ANPRM, V2V Readiness Report and SCMS RFI could be viewed 
as the first steps in this process. NHTSA used the input the agency 
received in response to these public documents, in meetings with RFI 
respondents, and through SCMS policy research performed by the VIIC and 
others, to expand the scope its planned SCMS governance and policy 
research discussed in Section V.B.6. This critical SCMS policy research 
is intended to give DOT a central role in, and direct control over, 
development of draft policies, procedures and standards that could the 
basis for governance of a National SCMS, including draft a Certificate 
Policy, Certificate Practice Statement, Registration Agreements, and 
Privacy Policy. Another central aspect of DOT's planned SCMS policy 
research will be working with PKI and organizational consultants and 
stakeholders to prototype a multi-stakeholder governance structure 
(much like ICANN's Board of Directors) capable of satisfying the needs 
of the broad range of diverse participants in the SCMS ecosystem. If 
successful, this prototype could serve as a model for a private sector 
entity that could establish and oversee a deployed National SCMS.
    If appropriate based on the Department's planned research, DOT then 
could issue a draft V2V SCMC Policy Statement describing a process 
(similar to that followed by DOC and ICANN) by which the Department 
could, if it chooses to, work collaboratively with a new multi-
stakeholder private entity to develop the binding policies and 
technical standards required for stable and sustained operation of a 
V2V SCMS. After an initial period of joint policy development and 
direct DOT oversight under contract, prior to full SCMS deployment, DOT 
gradually could terminate some or all its oversight of the new entity's 
activities, completing the transition of authority prior to full SCMS 
deployment. Thereafter, representatives of NHTSA and other Federal 
government agencies, both within DOT (DOT-R, FHWA, FMCSA, and the 
others) and elsewhere in the Federal Government (FCC, FTC), could serve 
in an advisory capacity on a Government Advisory Committee or as 
nonvoting SCMS Manager Board Members.
(e) SCMS Proof-of-Concept Operational Model Development Plan
    As a result of a better understanding obtained from operating the 
prototype security system during Model Deployment, as well as feedback 
from the SCMS Request for Information, ITS-JPO and NHTSA realized that 
expanding to a National level SCMS would require an intermediate step. 
Specifically, that additional research was required to prove the 
concept and develop a SCMS working model that allows for investigating 
the full range of technical, policy, and organizational elements 
involved in deploying and operating the SCMS. Investigating these 
components includes providing security certificate management services 
to continuing vehicle communications research activities and early 
deployments.
    As part of developing a working SCMS model, DOT will:
     Develop and implement a proof of concept SCMS (the SCMS 
PoC) that is fully representative of the Final SCMS design, and which 
will provide certificate management services to early deployments and 
demonstrations, including but not limited to CV pilots,
     Act as the overall SCMS PoC Manager, including developing 
policy and procedures that will govern the interactions between the 
various entities involved in the V2X eco-system, and
     Based on stakeholder input, will advanced and adapt SCMS 
PoC policies and protocols such that they would represent possible 
policies and protocols suitable for the establishment and operations of 
a SCMS that could support a national deployment of vehicle 
communication technology.

[[Page 3953]]

    The SCMS proof-of-concept (PoC) will be fully representative of a 
production SCMS in terms of functionality, features, and capabilities. 
It will support all certificate management ``use-cases'' envisioned for 
a production system, and incorporates all elements of the final design 
developed by DOT and its industry partners. While not intended to be 
``full-scale'', the SCMS PoC will be capable of servicing up to 17 
million vehicles annually. The SCMS PoC is being developed to:
    1. Support end-to-end testing of the certificate management use-
cases thus demonstrating feasibility and practicality of system;
    2. Demonstrate the extensibility of the SCMS design (multiple non-
central components);
    3. Support scalability testing through modeling, simulation, and 
real-world deployments;
    4. Support integrity, robustness and system vulnerability testing;
    5. Will be used in actual connected vehicle operations by servicing 
a variety of early deployments and demonstrations including the 
Connected Vehicle pilots (Tampa, NYC, Wyoming), the Smart City 
Challenge program recipient, as well as other government sponsored 
(state & local) and private sector deployments that we anticipate 
emerging over the next several years; and
    6. Will be able to support future connected vehicle application 
demonstrations programs for FMCSA, FTA, and FRA (e.g., wireless 
roadside inspections; electronic credentialing; grade-crossing safety; 
transit-pedestrian safety; and other applications).
    NHTSA and its industry partners (CAMP) are currently in the process 
of prototyping an SCMS system that is capable of executing all the core 
use-cases associated with the security certificate management life 
cycle including enrollment, certificate generation, certificate request 
and fulfillment, and revocation. This proof-of-concept SCMS (the SCMS 
PoC) is being developed to support real-world operations of early V2V 
deployments at connected vehicles pilots sponsored by DOT (in Florida, 
New York City, and Wyoming and elsewhere). NHTSA and its industry 
partners will continue to refine, test and mature the design of the 
SCMS--including addressing the functions and features listed above--by 
leveraging this prototype environment. To support these refinement 
efforts, we are establishing multiple instantiations of the SCMS 
including Production, Quality Assurance and Development environments. 
Further, we are in the process of retaining an additional (in addition 
to MITRE) independent cyber-security testing and evaluation Team to 
conduct a thorough design review on the Final SCMS design, and to 
complete focused penetration testing and vulnerability discovery on the 
actual SCMS prototype by leveraging the Development environment 
platform.
    DOT will develop, operate, and manage the SCMS PoC through multiple 
contract/agreements with multiple entities, illustrated via Figure 1. 
Figure 1 identifies five research activities including the SCMS PoC 
Governmental Management that represent the SCMS PoC Manager 
Environment. This environment depicts the boundaries of the SCMS PoC 
Governmental Management activities. DOT has already established an 
agreement that is currently developing an initial prototype of the SCMS 
PoC that will be the basis for the operational environment and support 
ongoing functional (refinement) development. SCMS PoC Governmental 
Management includes the development of policies that support the 
technical processes and procedures and the organizational protocols 
that establish interfaces (communications) between entities that 
support policy and operational execution. DOT, with the support 
provided by the Governmental Management contractor, will be the SCMS 
Manager and set policies and protocols that will address threats in 
relation to access and change authority. The SCMS Manager will develop 
and establish a Certificate Policy and Certificate Practice Statement 
that sets the policies and protocols that must be accepted and followed 
to be approved to participate in the SCMS environment.
    A separate agreement will establish the operational SCMS PoC 
(provides the technical functions that enables generation, distribution 
and monitoring of SCMS security materials). Related to the separate 
agreement that establishes PoC operations is an agreement that provides 
for the technical management that encompasses the development and 
documentation of technical process and procedures end entities will use 
to initialize devices and obtain security materials. Another contract 
will provide Connected Vehicle Support Service that supports the 
initial interactions regarding end entity applications for device 
initiations, technical support questions, and questions about policies 
and procedures. The Connected Vehicle Support contractor will establish 
and operate the initial interface with end users.
    Beyond the SCMS PoC manager environment, the SCMS PoC Governmental 
Manager will in most cases indirectly interface with other research 
activities such as the CV Pilots, and other support entities that 
include Certification Service entities, and Device Suppliers. The most 
direct outside relationship will be with the National SCMS Prototype 
Policy Development research. The SCMS Governmental Management effort 
will need to interface with the National SCMS Prototype Policy 
Development research to support national level SCMS prototype policy 
development.
    The SCMS PoC environment, together with the connected vehicle pilot 
sites sponsored by DOT, will provide an opportunity to refine the SCMS 
Manager concept and other non-technology related policies and 
procedures needed to address security threats.
(f) SCMS Request for Comment
    NHTSA has invested considerable resources and effort in refining 
and maturing the Security Credential Management System Design. The 
Agency has enlisted the assistance of leading PKI experts in developing 
the design, and the design has been formerly reviewed by MITRE 
Corporation (see Section V.B.3 for summary of MITRE review) and other 
Federal Agencies including DARPA and NIST have also reviewed the 
design. NHTSA believes that the SCMS concept and design offers a 
practical, efficient and effective means for addressing the need for 
confidence in V2V and V2I communications--while simultaneously 
addressing privacy concerns arising from potential vehicle tracking 
using V2V communications. Nevertheless, a fully representative 
prototype of the SCMS system has not yet been developed and tested, 
although NHTSA and the JPO are in the process of doing just that, (see 
Section V.B.6.e) for details).
    In addition, the SCMS concept calls for periodic (or routine) 
communications between the vehicle and various certificate management 
entities (which reside in the ``infrastructure'' on the internet) to 
execute a variety of certificate management life-cycle services 
including: re-provisioning of on-board pseudonym certificates; 
distribution of certificate revocation lists; and potential a component 
for sending misbehavior detection reports from vehicles to the 
Misbehavior Authority of the SCMS as described in the Proposal. While 
NHTSA believes that such periodic vehicle to infrastructure 
communications can readily be accommodated thru either V2V DSRC 
communications (using roadside units, or RSUs), or through the rapidly

[[Page 3954]]

increasing connectivity of vehicles using commercial wireless services 
(cellular or satellite services that are either integrated into vehicle 
or made available through links with an operator's cell phone), NHTSA 
nevertheless recognizes that security certificate management concepts 
that inherently minimize the need for such periodic V2I communications 
may offer advantages relative to maintaining proper on-board 
certificate credentials.
    To manage the normal risk associated with any new and complex 
information security system, and to address a means for potentially 
reducing the need for V2I security communications, NHTSA has been, and 
continues to investigate alternatives to the SCMS concept.
    NHTSA seeks comments on all aspects of the SCMS. In technical 
design, development, and potential deployment, including DOT's proposal 
to expand its governance role in development of a viable organizational 
model and policies and procedures applicable to a National SCMS, and 
the use of ICANN as a possible roadmap for how to facilitate 
establishment of a private, multi-stakeholder entity to manage and 
oversee operation of the National SCMS.

C. Vehicle Based Security System (VBSS)

    In late 2012 NHTSA began investigating a certificate management 
concept termed the ``vehicle based security system'' (VBSS). VBSS is 
based on principals associated with Group Manager concepts for managing 
cryptographic materials--and adapted for vehicular application by NHTSA 
engineers.
    The major difference between SCMS and VBSS is in generating short-
term certificates. The SCMS approach relies on individual vehicles to 
periodically request pseudonym certificates from infrastructure-based 
entities, (most notably a Pseudonym Certificate Authority, or PCA) 
which in turn generates and signs short-term certificates. Vehicles 
then download batches of certificates which are used to digitally sign 
BSM messages. In contrast, the VBSS concept calls for delegating this 
authority to individual vehicles, and as a result the communications 
with the infrastructure are reduced.
    DOT funded a Feasibility Study of the VBSS concept in 2014 
(completed by Oakridge National Laboratory, ORNL) and the first phase 
of study was completed in December, 2015.\231\ Figure X depicts a high 
level comparison of the VBSS and SCMS architectures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \231\ ``Vehicle Based Safety Systems: A Feasibility Study: 
December 23, 2015, ORNL.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.016

    Under the VBSS concept, the Pseudonym Certificate Authority (PCA), 
Registration Authority (RA), Linkage Authorities (LAs) and Request 
Coordination, that are fundamental components in SCMS, are eliminated. 
VBSS establishes a Group Manager/Group Managers (GM) to provide 
credentials that make it possible for each vehicle to act as a 
certificate authority--an entity that can generate short-term 
certificates.
    Each vehicle is a member of a group and is assigned a unique 
membership secret, a signing key. All member signing keys for a 
particular group are associated with a single group certificate. A 
vehicle generates its own ephemeral pseudonym certificates by signing 
the public key from a self-generated key pair with its group signing 
key; vehicles act as subordinate Certificate Authorities and pseudonyms 
are generated on demand based on travel requirements. Pseudonym 
verifiers use the group certificate to authenticate the pseudonym 
certificate,

[[Page 3955]]

and then the pseudonym certificate to verify safety messages. The 
pseudonym generator remains anonymous, since the receiver uses a single 
group certificate to authenticate signatures made by all members from a 
particular group. Groups are managed by one or more infrastructure-
based authorities. Members may be removed from groups by distributing 
information that allows participants to update their group credentials; 
this provides a means to revoke misbehaving vehicles since the 
pseudonyms they create will no longer be authenticated by vehicles that 
have updated their group credentials.
    Use of pseudonyms (short-lived identifiers) and separation of 
distributed identifiers are the primary means of achieving an 
acceptable level of privacy. Within a VBSS, how groups are designed 
will also affect the preservation of individual privacy. As the number 
of distinct groups increases within a geographical area, privacy 
protection decreases; if every vehicle within a geographic area were in 
its own group (the extreme case); the group identifier becomes a unique 
vehicle identifier. This situation can be mitigated by ensuring group 
diversity is minimized regionally.
    Misbehavior detection and reporting, and revocation are maintenance 
operations that are common to both SCMS and VBSS. There are misbehavior 
reporting alternatives discussed in SCMS security section of this 
proposal. In relation to misbehavior and revocation, VBSS may offer 
some advantages relative to managing communications associated with 
revoked vehicles. With SCMS, as the number of revoked vehicles grows--
including those vehicles revoked because they are at the end of their 
useful life, the CRL list must also grow. NHTSA and its industry 
partners are investigating mechanisms for managing the size the CRL but 
nevertheless remains a challenge. With VBSS, instead of sending out 
CRLs to revoke vehicles, a Group Broadcast (GB) distributes group 
credential updates to participating vehicles; this occurs when a 
sufficient number of vehicle misbehavior reports have been validated 
resulting in one or more revocations; otherwise, group credentials do 
not change. With comparison to the SCMS using CRL list to remove 
compromised devices from the V2V communication system, the size of CRL 
will increase with the number of compromised devices, VBSS revocation 
mechanism's advantage is that the size of group credential updates will 
not increase with the number of compromised devices.
    The Phase I study of VBSS and comparisons with other approaches 
suggests VBSS is feasible because group-based credentials provide a 
means to delegate infrastructure-based operations to vehicles in an 
effective way while facilitating the basic requirements of 
authentication, privacy, and maintenance of confidence. However, while 
Group-based signature schemes are an active area of research they are 
evolving and much less mature than other cryptographic systems. For 
this reason, VBSS remains in its preliminary stages.
    NHTSA is continuing its research of the VBSS concept and is 
beginning a Phase II research Study in 2016. This work will focus on 
modeling a Group Manager and enhancing our understanding of the Group 
Manager software engineering requirements. NHTSA seeks comment on the 
viability of the VBSS certificate management approach including 
potential advantages and disadvantages relative to the SCMS approach. 
Specifically, we seek comment on the following:

--Could requirements to update an entire group's credentials (to enable 
revocation of selected vehicles) actually increase V2I communications 
during early deployment (versus distribution of a CRL)?
--Are there CRL distribution schemes that could limit, or otherwise 
manage, the growth of the CRL--particular as vehicles reach the end of 
their life and are place on the CRL?
--How will requirement to self-generate short-term certificates onboard 
the vehicle impact processing and memory requirements onboard the 
vehicle--as well as the need to provide high integrity hardware 
security modules to support such operations?

D. Multiple Root Authority Credential Management

    U.S. DOT research, performed in partnership with European, 
Australian, and Japanese partners, has recognized that the world will 
evolve into a multi-root world and that crypto-agility will be a 
required capability as a response to increasing cybersecurity 
attacks.\232\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \232\ This work and its outcomes are described at: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/news/harmonized-security-policies-cooperative-intelligent-transport-systems-create-international.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While these capabilities are not required at the initiation of a 
connected, cooperative environment, they are useful technical and 
policy constructs to incorporate as the threat profile shifts and as 
the operational environment grows.
    There are three potential paths to consider, all with advantages 
and disadvantages (we further note that these paths are not exclusive 
and that as the technologies evolve, they may converge):
    (1) There is the path of establishing a single chain to the Root 
Authority that allows for devices/equipment or operational entities to 
become enrolled and implicitly trusted by the system. In such a system:
    a. The Root Authority requires a significant level of security to 
ensure that it is not comprised.
    b. The root authority can authorize intermediate certificate 
authorities which can support a diversity of operational parameters. 
However, all intermediate certificate authorities under a single root 
authority must operate with the allowable policies of the root 
authority.
    c. There is a requirement for a mechanism to manage root 
authorities which is capable of transitioning the fundamental 
cryptographic elements if the Root Authority is compromised. This 
mechanism must be similarly as highly secured as the root authority and 
has the ability to revoke the compromised root and add a new root in a 
controlled and efficient way for all participants in the security 
system.\233\ While allowing for some diversity of operational usage 
within the policies of the root, there is a minimum of interfaces 
between the root and other nodes, consequently, the threat surface 
remains smaller.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \233\ See Root Elector System Design at http://www.mycreativeregistry.net/IPCOM/000245336 (last accessed Dec 4, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    d. The mechanism for managing the root, although requiring (and 
incurring costs for) a high level of security, allows for orderly 
migration of the security system to incorporate root replacements and 
cryptographic improvements (as long as the devices within the system 
are capable of adopting such new cryptographic processes), thus future-
proofing the overall system to the extent possible within known 
parameters.
    This is the path that the US is taking to establish initial 
operations to support emerging connected vehicle environments.
    (2) There is the path of establishing multiple, co-existing roots 
in which each Root Authority must have an agreement with other root 
authorities that describe an appropriate level of trust. Based on the 
trust level, a host of interfaces have to be enacted for data transfer 
that assures one operational root that the other operational root 
remains trusted. See the report titled,

[[Page 3956]]

``Cooperative-ITS Credential Management System Functional Analysis and 
Recommendations for Harmonization Document HTG6-4 Version: 2015-09'' 
\234\ for greater details on the trust levels and how to enact the 
trust levels from both a policy perspective as well as a data flow 
perspective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \234\ http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?action=display&doc_id=11398.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A benefit to this path is that with multiple operational roots, if 
one is compromised, another root could potentially take over operations 
(although this is highly dependent upon the trust levels--if the other 
operating root that has to take over does not trust the credentials of 
the compromised root (even if the credentials in use are still valid 
and not compromised), then all actors enrolled in the compromised root 
will have to cease operations of the cooperative applications until 
they can be proven to be trusted actors and enrolled in the 
uncompromised root authority).
    Understanding the different trust levels is the key to 
understanding whether there are benefits to a multiple root world. A 
key conclusion to the analysis on how to enact different trust levels 
is that adding even one additional root to the system increases the 
number of interfaces among entities which exponentially increases the 
attack surface of the inter-related systems. This model also increases 
costs of running different organizations, increases the costs 
associated with data analysis, and increases the costs of auditing and 
updating policies. In addition, it seems that agreement of common 
security policies under the initialization of parallel operational 
roots, operated by different organizations with different priorities, 
is likely to be very difficult, adversely affecting the level of trust 
that may be established among various root authorities.
    Furthermore the Government will have no authority to compel one 
Root Authority to interface with another Root Authority. This would 
adversely affect interoperability given the equipment under the 
different roots would not interact in crash avoidance situations 
reducing the effectiveness of V2V. For example a group of OEMs could be 
covered under one Root Authority were as a group of aftermarket 
suppliers could be covered under a different Root Authority. If the OEM 
group decides that the aftermarket devices do not meet the OEM level of 
performance then no agreement would be implemented and equipment in the 
OEM group would not interact with equipment in the aftermarket group. 
This could create market disparity and reduce consumer choice.
    (3) There is one additional path that is very similar to path #2, 
but also incorporates the use of different types of security 
credentials (or security certificates). The use of the NIST elliptical 
curve SHA-256 offers a significant advantage over other types of 
credentials in that it includes the lowest amount of overhead for an 
appropriate level of trust and authentication among vehicle moving at 
very high speeds.
    This version of the model would allow for different credentials 
(such as ``brainpool'' or other curves) to also be used in operations. 
This version of the model significantly increases the complexity of the 
system. While it offers greater crypto-flexibility, having the ability 
to recognize and use different credentials will require that ALL 
equipment/devices/applications will have to be able to recognize and 
trust messages created with either type of credential in order to 
ensure continued interoperability. This path may increase the cost and 
complexity of equipment on the vehicle and/or change the nature of the 
equipment, as the receivers will have to recognize the different 
cryptographic technologies and perform additional/different validity 
checks for the different cryptographic technologies. Also, this 
capability/path is not yet proven and would need to be demonstrated 
under a number of conditions to ensure that the transactions and timing 
can still meet the safety applications requirements for latency of the 
exchange and scalability of the dedicated spectrum available for low-
latency communications, such as the V2V Basic Safety Message.
    This is the path that is under consideration within the European 
Union at this time.
    All of these paths are, in some sense, multi-root in that it is 
necessary to have at least a back-up root as part of an internal 
system. The analysis of the different paths highlights some of the key 
issues that will need to be addressed as the future evolves:
     Security credentials: At some point, we can expect that 
the security credentials based upon the current cryptographic level 
will be broken due to quantum computing and that new security 
approaches and/or new cryptographic curves will be needed. Research is 
needed into new curves to ensure that new security approaches do not 
significantly increase the communications overhead in order support the 
latency requirements for V2V communications.
     Governance/Certificate Policies: New root management and 
recovery solutions will need to be developed as the initial, smaller 
connected vehicle environments evolve into more complicated, region-
wide, overlapping environments that may operate at different levels of 
security. This has been addressed in the first path through the 
innovative creation of Root Electors that provide the ability to revoke 
a compromise Root and establish a new Root without having to re-
initialize devices.\235\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \235\ See Root Elector System Design at http://www.mycreativeregistry.net/IPCOM/000245336 (last accessed Dec. 4, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. What is the agency's legal authority to regulate V2V devices, and 
how is this proposal consistent with that authority?

A. What can NHTSA regulate under the Vehicle Safety Act?

    NHTSA has broad statutory authority to regulate motor vehicles and 
items of motor vehicle equipment under the National Traffic and Motor 
Vehicle Safety Act (the ``Safety Act'').\236\ As applied in this 
context, the agency's authority includes all or nearly all aspects of a 
V2V system. Congress enacted the Safety Act in 1966 with the purpose of 
reducing motor vehicle crashes and deaths and injuries that occur as a 
result of motor vehicle crashes and non-operational safety hazards 
attributable to motor vehicles.\237\ The Safety Act, as amended, is now 
codified at 49 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \236\ For more discussion and analysis of NHTSA's authority to 
regulate advanced crash avoidance technologies, including V2V 
technologies, under the Safety Act, see the Potential Regulatory 
Challenges of Increasingly Autonomous Vehicles, 52 Santa Clara L. 
Rev. 1423 (Wood et al., 2012) at http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview/vol52/iss4/9/ (last accessed Dec. 6, 2016).
    For example, the agency's authority to address the privacy and 
security of vehicle data associated with the operation of those 
technologies is discussed at length. Id., at pp. 1448, 1465-72. 
Addressing data security is necessary to safeguard the effectiveness 
of these technologies and promote their acceptance by vehicle users. 
Addressing privacy is similarly necessary to promote public 
acceptance. The views expressed in that article fairly encompass the 
agency's views of its regulatory authority.
    \237\ H.R. Rep. No. 89-1776, at 10 (1966).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The vehicle technologies that enable vehicles to send messages to 
and receive messages from each other are vastly different from those 
that existed when the Safety Act was enacted. Then, the vehicle 
operating systems were largely mechanical and controlled by the driver 
via mechanical inputs and linkages. Components and systems were either 
designed into the vehicle at the time of original manufacture or were 
later

[[Page 3957]]

attached to or physically carried into the vehicle. Sensing of a 
vehicle's performance and the roadway environment was done solely by 
the driver.
    Today, in contrast, an increasing number of vehicle functions are 
electronic. These functions can be activated and controlled 
automatically and do not necessarily require driver involvement, unlike 
the mechanical functions of previous generations of vehicles. V2V 
technologies require no driver involvement in order to send and receive 
information that can be used for vehicle safety functions. Other ways 
in which V2V technologies differ from the mechanical technologies 
prevalent when the Safety Act was first enacted include the fact that 
how they operate can be substantially altered by post-manufacture 
software updates, and that advances in communications technology make 
it possible for nomadic devices with vehicle-related applications to be 
brought into the vehicle.
    The language of the Safety Act, however, is broad enough to 
comfortably accommodate this evolution in vehicle technologies. NHTSA's 
statutory authority over motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment 
would allow the agency to establish safety standards applicable both to 
vehicles that are originally manufactured with V2V communications 
devices, and to those devices added after original manufacture.
    In the Safety Act, ``motor vehicle'' is defined as a ``vehicle 
driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for 
use'' on public roads.\238\ The definition of ``motor vehicle 
equipment,'' as cited below, is broader and thus effectively 
establishes the limit of the agency's authority under the Safety Act:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \238\ 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (A) Any system, part, or component of a motor vehicle as originally 
manufactured;
    (B) any similar part or component manufactured or sold for 
replacement or improvement of a system, part, or component, or as an 
accessory or addition to a motor vehicle; or
    (C) any device or an article or apparel, including a motorcycle 
helmet and excluding medicine or eyeglasses prescribed by a licensed 
practitioner, that--
    (i) is not a system, part, or component of a motor vehicle; and
    (ii) is manufactured, sold, delivered, or offered to be sold for 
use on public streets, roads, and highways with the apparent purpose of 
safeguarding users of motor vehicles against risk of accident, injury, 
or death.\239\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \239\ Section 30102(a)(7)(C); MAP-21, Public Law 112-141, sec. 
31201, 126 Stat. 405. Congress added subparagraph (C) to the 
statutory definition of ``motor vehicle equipment'' in 1970 when it 
amended the definition in order to clarify the Department's 
authority over additional objects such as motorcycle helmets. See S. 
Rep. No. 91-559, at 5 (1970). However, Congress did not seek to 
limit the extension of the Department's authority only to motorcycle 
helmets and instead utilized the broad terms ``device, article, and 
apparel'' to describe the universe of objects that are within the 
agency's authority. See id. Acknowledging the concerns of those who 
authored the House version of the amendatory language that utilizing 
the terms ``device, article, and apparel'' might unduly extend the 
Department's authority to objects that have only a tangential 
relation to motor vehicle safety, the conference committee added a 
use restriction. See id. Congress relaxed this use restriction in 
the statutory definition of ``motor vehicle equipment'' as part of 
the amendments to the Safety Act in MAP-21. See MAP-21, Public Law 
112-141, sec. 31201, 126 Stat. 405. Thus, the Department's 
regulatory authority under subparagraph (C) is limited to those 
devices, articles, or apparel that are used for ``the apparent 
purpose of safeguarding users of motor vehicles against risk of 
accident, injury, or death.'' See id. (Emphasis added.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA's authority over these groups of items--(1) systems, parts, 
and components installed or included in a vehicle, (2) replacements and 
improvements to those systems, parts, and components, (3) accessories 
and additions to motor vehicles, and (4) devices or articles with an 
apparent safety-related purpose--is very broad. The status of these 
items as motor vehicle equipment does not depend on the type of 
technology or its mode of control (mechanical or electronic), or 
whether an item is tangible or intangible. The transition from 
mechanical to electromechanical systems has thus had no effect on the 
extent of NHTSA's authority over motor vehicle performance. NHTSA has 
regulatory authority under the Safety Act over all the systems, parts, 
and components installed on new motor vehicles, even as motor vehicle 
control systems become increasingly electronic, and perhaps 
increasingly automated, in the future.
    Put in the context of V2V-related motor vehicle equipment, NHTSA 
considers the following items subject to the agency's regulatory 
authority:
    (1) Any integrated original equipment (OE) used for V2V 
communications or safety applications reliant on V2V communications.
    (2) Any integrated aftermarket equipment used for V2V 
communications or safety applications reliant on V2V communications, 
under 30102(a)(7)(B), if the equipment ``improves'' an already-existing 
function of the vehicle or is an ``addition'' to the vehicle.
    (3) Some non-integrated aftermarket equipment, depending on its 
nature and apparent purpose, under 30102(a)(7)(B), if the equipment is 
a motor vehicle ``accessory'' (something to be used while the vehicle 
is in operation, that enhances that operation), or 30102(a)(7)(C), if 
the equipment is a device used for the apparent purpose of traffic 
safety (purpose would be clearly observable from the characteristics of 
the object and the context of its use, rather than necessarily defined 
by the manufacturer's intent for the equipment).
    (4) Software that provides or aids V2V functions, and software 
updates to all of this equipment, because, under 30102(a)(7)(B), 
updates can be considered as replacements or improvements.
    (5) Potentially some roadside infrastructure (V2I), under 
30102(a)(7)(B) and (C), because if its apparent purpose is safety, it 
may be an ``accessory'' or a ``device . . . manufactured . . . with the 
apparent purpose of safeguarding users of motor vehicles against 
accident, injury, or death.'' We currently anticipate that only a small 
subset of roadside infrastructure may fall within this category.
    A number of commenters to the ANPRM and Readiness Report raised 
issues with the agency's discussion of the bounds of its authority. 
While most commenters agreed that the agency has clear authority to 
require V2V communications devices in new vehicles and to regulate 
aftermarket V2V devices,\240\ the Alliance argued that it appeared that 
the agency sought to regulate ``the relationship between the vehicle 
manufacturers and their customers,'' \241\ given that NHTSA had 
discussed the potential need for additional security certificates 
during a V2V communications device's lifetime, as well as the 
possibility of software updates as needed. The Alliance argued that the 
Safety Act did not authorize a ``lifetime maintenance mandate'' to 
cover the potential need to provide additional certificates or software 
updates.\242\ Moreover, the Alliance argued, NHTSA could not require 
consumers to renew security certificates or accept downloaded 
certificates pushed directly to the vehicle, or to ensure that DSRC 
remained operable over the lifetime of the vehicle, and therefore a 
FMVSS would not be publicly accepted, and therefore inconsistent with 
the agency's authority

[[Page 3958]]

under the Safety Act, because consumers might not be confident that 
DSRC would continue to work properly over the vehicle's lifetime.\243\ 
The Alliance even suggested that it could violate the Computer Fraud 
and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. 1030) to push new certificates to consumers 
without their consent.\244\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \240\ Alliance, at 13, 15.
    \241\ Alliance, at 7.
    \242\ Alliance, at 15.
    \243\ Id, and at 15, 47-48.
    \244\ Alliance, at 15.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In response, NHTSA agrees that we have authority under the Safety 
Act to require V2V communications devices in new vehicles and mandate 
specific aspects of their performance, and to require similar 
performance from aftermarket V2V devices designed to participate in the 
V2V system, as long as those standards are consistent with Safety Act 
requirements.
    We disagree, however, with the points raised by the Alliance 
regarding certificate and software updates. At this time, NHTSA is not 
requiring that certificate and software updates be pushed to vehicles 
without consumers' consent--we are simply requiring that manufacturers 
alert consumers, via a telltale or message center indicator, to the 
fact that V2V will not work if they are out of certificates or in need 
of some other kind of update, and that devices be capable of receiving 
such updates.\245\ Consumers will need to know what action the telltale 
or message center indicator is telling them to take in order to 
continue to obtain the safety benefits of V2V, so vehicle or device 
manufacturers will need to ensure either that the message center 
indicator is clear about the needed action and the consequences of not 
taking that action, or that the explanation for the message or telltale 
is contained somewhere (like the owner's information) where the 
consumer can easily find it and understand what to do. Alternatively, 
vehicle manufacturers could obtain consumer consent for automatic 
certificate and software updates at the time of first sale, although 
that consent would not cover subsequent vehicle owners. Even if 
manufacturers make it necessary for consumers to consent to each new 
download, NHTSA expects that the need to do so would be sufficiently 
infrequent and well-explained by vehicle manufacturers in order to 
ensure that consumers recognize the significant safety risk of failing 
to accept the download. We assume that, at this point in time, nearly 
all consumers are already well-accustomed to the need for software 
updates on their electronic devices, like computers and smartphones, 
and regularly accept and initiate such updates. We seek comment from 
manufacturers on how they plan to develop succinct and compelling 
explanations to accompany these consent requests that would encourage 
consumers to accept the updates in a timely manner. We also seek 
additional comment regarding all aspects of consumer consent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \245\ See Section III.E.13, above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Alternatively, if manufacturers are concerned that consumers would 
not accept new certificate downloads and would thereby lose the safety 
benefits of V2V communications, manufacturers could install V2V devices 
that are pre-loaded with all the certificates that the device would 
need over its lifetime. This approach would presumably necessitate more 
storage capacity on the V2V device (and thus more cost), and could also 
present a potentially bigger security risk if the device were somehow 
compromised. We seek comment on whether requiring devices to come pre-
loaded with a lifetime's worth of certificates could be a better 
approach than requiring consumers to consent to (and obtain) new 
downloads, and if so, why.
    Besides certificates, however, we expect that software associated 
with both the V2V communications device itself, and with any 
accompanying applications that rely on V2V communications for 
information, would likely need updating during the vehicle's lifetime. 
As explained above, as for certificate updates, we are proposing to 
require that manufacturers include a means to communicate to the driver 
if and when a software update is needed. If the driver then chooses not 
to accept the update, the system must continue to warn them that V2V 
functionality is not available. If manufacturers choose not to update 
software when issues with it are discovered, and safety problems 
result, NHTSA may choose to pursue those problems under its enforcement 
authority.
    Some commenters disagreed with the agency's statements in the 
Readiness Report that our Safety Act authority extended to cover 
RSE.\246\ The Alliance argued that RSE only indirectly served a safety 
purpose, because they would perform non-safety functions as well, and 
therefore could not be motor vehicle equipment. CTIA and others 
presented a similar argument regarding the agency's authority to 
regulate mobile devices and applications for mobile devices, as it has 
elsewhere.\247\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \246\ Alliance, at 7, 16.
    \247\ CTIA in general; TIA at 6; CEA at 2-9; Wi-Fi Alliance at 
7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With regard to the agency's authority under the Safety Act over 
RSE, although we are not proposing in this NPRM to regulate any RSEs, 
we disagree that a device that performs non-safety functions in 
addition to safety functions is necessarily not motor vehicle 
equipment. Tires, for example, perform the non-safety function of 
helping a vehicle travel down the road by creating friction between the 
wheel and the road, but that friction also plays a safety role by 
helping the vehicle stop rapidly when the driver hits the brakes. 
Brakes and steering wheels, for that matter, help drivers execute turns 
which may be necessary to reach their intended destination, but they 
also help drivers avoid crashing their vehicles. Many items of motor 
vehicle equipment that NHTSA regulates perform safety functions in 
addition to being generally necessary for the driving task. NHTSA can 
regulate those items insofar as they affect vehicle safety. By 
providing a link between the SCMS and the vehicle, and potentially 
being the mechanism by which the vehicle's V2V communications device is 
able to obtain new security certificates and information about which 
other vehicles to trust and not to trust, the RSE may play a vital role 
in creating the environment needed for safety. A BSM cannot be sent 
without a certificate, and a V2V communications device must not trust 
an untrustworthy partner vehicle, or safety applications may not 
function properly.
    That said, NHTSA does not currently anticipate the need to specify 
requirements for the RSE that may participate in the overall V2V 
system. We note that FHWA has already issued specifications for 
roadside units that are publicly available,\248\ and at this point, we 
would expect the ones participating in the overall V2V system and 
interacting with V2V-equipped vehicles to conform to these 
specifications, or to updated specifications if and when they exist. We 
seek comment on whether additional regulation of RSE/RSU by NHTSA might 
be important to ensure that, among other things, they do not collect 
information that could be unnecessarily harmful to privacy; pose no 
cybersecurity threat to the overall V2V system; or perform (or risk 
failing to perform) any other task that could be harmful to vehicles or 
the V2V system

[[Page 3959]]

or in any way negatively impact safety benefits associated with V2V.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \248\ U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration, ``DSRC Roadside 
Unit (RSU) Specifications Document, Version 4.0, April 15, 2014.'' 
Available at http://docplayer.net/11087167-Dsrc-roadside-unit-rsu-specifications-document.html (last accessed Dec. 6, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thus, the agency believes that our existing Safety Act authority 
comfortably allows us to require V2V communications devices in new 
motor vehicles and aftermarket equipment. The following section 
examines what the Safety Act requires NHTSA to consider in developing 
an FMVSS, and how the proposal in this NPRM may meet those 
requirements.

B. What does the Vehicle Safety Act allow and require of NHTSA in 
issuing a new FMVSS, and how is the proposal consistent with those 
requirements?

    Under the Safety Act, NHTSA's motor vehicle safety standards are 
generally performance-oriented.\249\ Further, the standards are 
required to be practicable and objective, and to meet the need for 
safety.\250\ The following paragraphs will discuss briefly the meaning 
of each of these requirements, and then explore how the agency believes 
that the proposal may meet those requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \249\ 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(8) (defining ``motor vehicle safety'' 
as ``the performance of a motor vehicle . . . in a way that protects 
the public against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring because 
of the design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle''); 
and sec. 30102(a)(9) (defining ``motor vehicle safety standard'' as 
``a minimum standard for motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment 
performance''). See also: S. Rep. No. 89-1301, at 2713-14 (1966) 
(stating that motor vehicle standards issued by NHTSA should specify 
a minimum level of safety performance).
    \250\ 49 U.S.C. 30111(a) (establishing requirements for NHTSA to 
follow when issuing motor vehicle safety standards).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. ``Performance-Oriented''
    In the Safety Act, the Secretary is directed to issue motor vehicle 
safety standards. ``Motor vehicle safety standards'' are defined as 
``minimum standard[s] for motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment 
performance.'' \251\ One point to note at the outset is the party of 
whom performance is required: NHTSA's safety standards apply to 
manufacturers of new motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. It 
therefore falls to those ``manufacturers''--from vehicle OEMs to OE 
suppliers to aftermarket device manufacturers to creators of V2V safety 
applications--to certify compliance with any safety standards 
established by NHTSA, and to conduct recalls and remedy defects if 
NHTSA finds them.\252\ Vehicle owners are not required to comply with 
NHTSA's safety standards, which means that for vehicles already on the 
roads, participation in the V2V system would be entirely voluntary: 
NHTSA can regulate how aftermarket devices function, but it cannot 
require manufacturers or drivers to add them to used vehicles. The one 
exception to this rule against retrofit is that NHTSA has authority to 
require retrofit of commercial heavy-duty vehicles,\253\ but that is 
not part of this proposal on light-duty vehicles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \251\ Id.; See also: Sec. 30102(a)(9) (emphasis added).
    \252\ 49 U.S.C. 30115(a), ``Certification of compliance; In 
general''; sec. 30116, ``Defects and noncompliance found before sale 
to purchaser''; sec. 30117(a), ``Providing information to, and 
maintaining records on, purchasers; Providing information and 
notice''; sec. 30118, ``Notification of defects and noncompliance''; 
sec. 30119, ``Notification procedures''; sec. 30120, ``Remedies for 
defects and noncompliance.''
    \253\ Per 49 CFR 1.95, which delegates to NHTSA the Secretary's 
authority under Sec. 101(f) of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement 
Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-159; Dec. 9, 1999) to promulgate safety 
standards for ``commercial motor vehicles and equipment subsequent 
to initial manufacture.'' NHTSA's retrofit authority is coextensive 
with FMCSA's.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While NHTSA is directed to establish performance standards, the 
case law and the legislative history indicate that when necessary to 
promote safety, NHTSA can be quite specific in drafting its performance 
standards and may require or preclude the installation of certain 
equipment. The cases have reinforced this concept by determining that 
NHTSA is ``generally charged'' \254\ with setting performance 
standards, instead of becoming directly involved in questions of 
design.\255\ The legislative history further illustrates that NHTSA's 
standards are to ``[specify] the required minimum safe performance of 
vehicles but not the manner in which the manufacturer is to achieve the 
specified performance.'' \256\ An example cited in the legislative 
history points to ``a building code which specifies the minimum load-
carrying characteristics of the structural members of a building wall, 
but leaves the builder free to choose his own materials and design.'' 
\257\ In that example, the agency could require the wall to be built 
(analogous to requiring certain equipment in vehicles) but would be 
expected to measure the wall's regulatory compliance by its performance 
rather than its design.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \254\ Washington v. Dept. of Transp., 84 F.3d 1222, 1224 (10th 
Cir. 1996) (citations omitted).
    \255\ Id. at 1224 (citations omitted).
    \256\ S. Rep. No. 89-1301, at 2713-14 (1966).
    \257\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although the Safety Act directs NHTSA to issue performance 
standards, however, Congress understood that the agency may preclude 
certain designs through these performance standards. ``Motor vehicle 
safety'' is defined in the Safety Act as the performance of a motor 
vehicle in a way that protects the public from unreasonable risks of 
accident due to (among other things) the design of a motor 
vehicle.\258\ The legislative history indicates that this language is 
not intended to afford the agency the authority to promulgate design 
standards, ``but merely to clarify that the public is to be protected 
from inherently dangerous designs which conflict with the concept of 
motor vehicle safety.'' \259\ This clarification is evidence that 
Congress recognized that performance standards inevitably have an 
impact on the design of a motor vehicle.\260\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \258\ Sec. 30102(a)(9).
    \259\ H.R. Rep. No. 89-1919, at 2732 (1966).
    \260\ Courts have also recognized this fact. See Chrysler Corp. 
v. Dept. of Transp., 515 F.2d 1053, 1058-59 (6th Cir. 1975); see 
also: Washington, 84 F.3d at 1224 (stating ``the performance-design 
distinction is much easier to state in the abstract than to apply 
definitively-so. . . . This is particularly true when, due to 
contingent relationships between performance requirements and design 
options, specification of the former effectively entails, or 
severely constrains, the latter.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The courts have further elaborated on the framework established by 
Congress and have recognized that, when necessary to achieve a safety 
purpose, NHTSA can be quite specific in establishing performance 
standards even if certain designs will be precluded. For example, the 
Sixth Circuit found that an agency provision permitting rectangular 
headlamps, but only if they were of certain specified dimensions, was 
not an invalid design restriction and ``serve[d] to ensure proper 
headlamp performance,'' reasoning that ``the overall safety and 
reliability of a headlamp system depends to a certain extent upon the 
wide availability of replacement lamps, which in turn depends upon 
standardization.'' \261\ Thus, the court found it permissible for the 
agency to establish very specific requirements for headlamps even 
though it would restrict design flexibility.\262\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \261\ Chrysler Corp., 515 F.2d at 1058-59.
    \262\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the cases indicate that NHTSA can establish standards to 
require the installation of certain specific equipment on vehicles and 
establish performance standards for that equipment. For example, the 
Tenth Circuit found in Washington v. DOT that ``NHTSA's regulatory 
authority extends beyond the performance of motor vehicles per se, to 
particular items of equipment.'' \263\ In that case, the validity of 
NHTSA's FMVSS No. 121 requiring ABS systems on air-braked vehicles was 
challenged as ``imposing design specifications rather than

[[Page 3960]]

performance criteria.'' \264\ The court's conclusion was based not only 
on the fact that prior courts had upheld NHTSA's standards requiring 
particular equipment,\265\ but also on the fact that Congress had 
recognized NHTSA's former rulemakings and left NHTSA's authority 
unchanged when it codified the Safety Act in 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \263\ Washington, 84 F.3d at 1222, 1225 (citations omitted).
    \264\ Id. at 1223.
    \265\ Id. at 1225 (citing Chrysler Corp. v. Rhodes, 416 F.2d 
319, 322, 322 n. 4) (1st Cir. 1969) (``motor vehicles are required 
to have specific items of equipment . . . These enumerated items of 
equipment are subject to specific performance standards,'' including 
lamps and reflective devices requiring ``specific items of 
equipment'')); Wood v. Gen. Motors Corp., 865 F.2d 395, 417 (1st 
Cir. 1988) (``requiring seat belts or passive restraints . . . has 
elements of a design standard''); Automotive Parts & Accessories 
Ass'n v. Boyd, 407 F.2d 330, 332 (D.C. Cir. 1968) (``factor equipped 
. . . head restraints which meet specific Federal standards'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thus, in summary, NHTSA is required to issue performance standards 
when regulating motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. However, 
NHTSA is able to be quite specific in establishing performance 
standards and may preclude certain designs that are contrary to the 
interests of safety. Further, NHTSA may require the installation of 
certain equipment and establish performance standards for that 
equipment.
    As Section III.E discusses at length and as the regulatory text at 
the end of this preamble discusses at length, NHTSA has developed a set 
of proposed performance requirements for DSRC performance. These 
sections explain: (1) What information needs to be sent to the 
surrounding vehicles; (2) how the vehicle needs to send that 
information; (3) how a vehicle shows that it is a valid source of 
information; and (4) how a vehicle makes sure the prior three functions 
work in various operational conditions (i.e., broadcast under congested 
conditions, detect/report misbehavior, and obtain new security 
materials). The proposal draws from existing voluntary standards while 
also explaining why a particular threshold or requirements from a 
voluntary standard is appropriate. The proposal contains a mandatory 
Privacy Statement, set forth in Appendix A. Finally, the proposal 
includes a test method for evaluating many of these aspects of 
performance. Having a clear test method helps inform the public as to 
how the agency would evaluate compliance with any final FMVSS. While 
research is ongoing in a few areas (namely message congestion 
mitigation, explicit details for misbehavior detection, SCMS policies 
and procedures), we have described for the public the potential 
requirements that we are considering for an NPRM and the potential test 
methods for evaluating compliance with those requirements. We believe 
that the public comments that we will receive in response (coupled with 
the agency's ongoing research) will produce a robust record upon which 
the agency can make a final decision.
    The provisions allowing alternative technologies to satisfy the 
mandate are performance-oriented, but do not specify a particular way 
of communicating. The goal of this is to maximize industry's ability to 
innovate and potentially employ future communication technologies that 
may be able to meet the performance requirements (like, for example, 
latency) for V2V-based safety warning applications. While alternative 
technologies would be subject to several aspects of the test procedures 
set forth for DSRC-based devices, it leaves open for industry to 
develop a number of aspects of performance, including interoperability 
with all other V2V communications technologies that transmit BSMs. We 
believe that the inclusion of some performance tests makes these 
provisions consistent with the Safety Act requirement of standards 
being ``performance-oriented.'' We seek comment on this tentative 
conclusion.
2. Standards ``Meeting the Need for Motor Vehicle Safety''
    As required by the Safety Act, standards issued by the agency must 
``meet the need for motor vehicle safety.'' \266\ As ``motor vehicle 
safety'' is defined in the statute as protecting the public against 
``unreasonable risk'' of accidents, death, or injury,\267\ the case law 
indicates that there must be a nexus between the safety problem and the 
standard.\268\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \266\ 49 U.S.C. 30111(a).
    \267\ 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(8).
    \268\ See, e.g., Nat'l Tire Dealers Ass'n v. Brinegar, 491 F.2d 
31, 35-37 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (stating that the administrative record 
did not support a significant nexus between motor vehicle safety and 
requiring retread tires to have permanent labels because there was 
no showing that a second-hand owner would be dependent on these 
labels and no showing as to how often such situations would arise); 
see also H&H Tire Co. v. Dept. of Transp., 471 F.2d 350, 354-55 (7th 
Cir. 1972) (expressing doubt that the standard met the need for 
safety because there was little evidence that the required 
compliance tests would ensure that retreaded tires would be capable 
of performing safely under modern driving conditions).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, a standard need not address safety by direct means. In 
upholding NHTSA's authority to issue a safety standard requiring 
standardized vehicle identification numbers, the Fourth Circuit Court 
of Appeals found that an FMVSS requiring VINs met the need for motor 
vehicle safety by such indirect means as reducing errors in compiling 
statistical data on motor vehicle crashes (in order to aid research to 
understand current safety problems and support future standards, to 
increase the efficiency of vehicle recall campaigns, and to assist in 
tracing stolen vehicles).\269\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \269\ Vehicle Equip. Safety Comm'n v. NHTSA, 611 F.2d 53, 54 
(4th Cir. 1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We believe that there is a clear nexus between the safety problem 
and the proposals in this document. In the case of DSRC-based devices, 
DSRC can enable all of the safety applications under consideration by 
the agency, such as Intersection Movement Assist, Left Turn Assist, and 
Electronic Emergency Brake Light, which means that DSRC can help to 
address the safety problems of, e.g., intersection collisions, 
collisions with forward stopped or slowing vehicles, collisions that 
occur because a driver chose to pass a forward vehicle without enough 
room to do so safely, etc. For some of the other safety applications, 
which can also be enabled by other technologies besides DSRC, such as 
on-board sensors, radar, or cameras, DSRC can add robustness to an on-
board system. DSRC will either be the sole enabler of some safety 
applications or present a possible enhancement to on-board systems with 
regard to other applications. In either case, DSRC will address safety 
needs.
    Moreover, case law supports that DSRC need not directly create more 
safety itself, as long as it is enabling other safety applications. If 
VINs could be upheld as meeting the need for motor vehicle safety 
simply by virtue of the fact that they aid research in understanding 
safety problems and supporting future standards, as well as aiding 
recall campaigns and tracking of stolen vehicles, then DSRC, which 
would directly enable half a dozen safety applications at its inception 
and perhaps many more eventually, seems even more clearly to meet the 
need for safety in that respect.
    Non-DSRC devices should have a similar nexus to the safety problem.
3. ``Objective'' Standards
    A standard is objective if it specifies test procedures that are 
``capable of producing identical results when test conditions are 
exactly duplicated'' and performance requirements whose satisfaction is 
``based upon the readings obtained from measuring instruments as 
opposed to subjective opinions.'' \270\ The requirement that standards 
be stated in

[[Page 3961]]

objective terms matches the overall statutory scheme requiring that 
manufacturers self-certify that their motor vehicles or motor vehicle 
equipment comply with the relevant FMVSSs.\271\ In order for this 
statutory scheme to work, the agency and the manufacturer must be able 
to obtain the same result from identical tests in order to objectively 
determine the validity of the manufacturer's certification.\272\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \270\ Chrysler Corp. v. Dept. of Transp., 472 F.2d 659, 676 (6th 
Cir. 1972); see also Paccar, Inc., v. Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety 
Admin., 573 F.2d 632, 644 (9th Cir. 1978).
    \271\ 49 U.S.C. 30115(a).
    \272\ Chrysler Corp., 472 F.2d at 675.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Using those two elements of objectivity (capable of producing 
identical results and compliance based on measurements rather than 
subjective opinion), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the 
test procedure in question in an early version of FMVSS No. 208 was not 
objective because the test dummy specified in the standard for use in 
compliance testing did not give consistent and repeatable results.\273\ 
The court in this case was unconvinced that the standard met the 
objectivity requirements even though NHTSA based its test procedure on 
a test dummy in a voluntary automotive industry standard (Society of 
Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice J963). The court rejected 
NHTSA's explanation that, although J963 ``may not provide totally 
reproducible results,'' ``dummies conforming to the SAE specifications 
are the most complete and satisfactory ones presently available.'' 
\274\ Further, the court rejected NHTSA's reasoning that, in the event 
that the agency's test results were different from those of the 
manufacturers because of the difference in the test dummies, NHTSA's 
test results would not be used to find non-compliance, stating that 
``there is no room for an [ ] agency investigation [ ] in this 
procedure'' that enable the agency to compare results of differing 
tests.\275\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \273\ As the court stated,
    The record supports the conclusions that the test procedures and 
the test device specified . . . are not objective in at least the 
following respects: (1) The absence of an adequate flexibility 
criteria for the dummy's neck; the existing specifications permit 
the neck to be very stiff, or very flexible, or somewhere in 
between, significantly affecting the resultant forces measured on 
the dummy's head. (2) Permissible variations in the test procedure 
for determining thorax dynamic spring rate (force deflection 
characteristics on the dummy's chest) permit considerable latitude 
in chest construction which could produce wide variations in maximum 
chest deceleration between two different dummies, each of which 
meets the literal requirements of SAE J963. (3) The absence of 
specific, objective specifications for construction of the dummy's 
head permits significant variation in forces imparted to the 
accelerometer by which performance is to be measured.
    Id. at 676-78.
    \274\ Id. at 677.
    \275\ Id. at 677-79.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other courts have also reached similar conclusions. The Ninth 
Circuit Court of Appeals, relying on the same reasoning adopted by the 
Sixth Circuit, found that a compliance road test specifying the use of 
surfaces specifically rated with quantifiable numbers (defining the 
``slickness'' of the surfaces) was objective despite ``[t]he fact that 
it is difficult to create and thereafter maintain a road surface with a 
particular coefficient of friction,'' which the court held ``does not 
render the specified coefficient any less objective.'' \276\ In this 
case, both NHTSA and the manufacturer would perform road tests on 
surfaces with identically rated friction coefficients.\277\ In a later 
case, the Sixth Circuit upheld NHTSA's decision not to incorporate a 
test suggested by a commenter for wheelchair crashworthiness performed 
with a ``test seat'' that ``shall be capable of resisting significant 
deformation'' during a test as not sufficiently objective.\278\ In the 
absence of language quantifying how much deformation is significant, 
terms such as ``significant deformation'' do not provide enough 
specificity to remove the subjective element from the compliance 
determination process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \276\ Paccar, Inc. v. Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 573 
F.2d 632, 644 (9th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 862 (1978).
    \277\ Id. (stating that the ``skid number method of testing 
braking capacity meets the [objectivity] definition. Identical 
results will ensue when test conditions are exactly duplicated. The 
procedure is rational and decisively demonstrable. Compliance is 
based on objective measures of stopping distances rather than on the 
subjective opinions of human beings.'').
    \278\ Simms v. Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 45 F.3d 999, 
1007-08 (6th Cir. 1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed above, under the proposal, we have developed and are 
proposing performance requirements, including compliance test 
procedures, for DSRC. We will continue evaluating the compliance test 
procedures further and receiving public input during the comment period 
that can assist us in fine-tuning the procedures and ensuring that they 
meet our statutory requirements. For alternative technologies, given 
that the testing to this point that led to the development of the test 
procedures for interoperability did not evaluate the use of non-DSRC 
communication technologies, we seek comment on how the regulatory text 
alternative technologies can achieve interoperability in an objective 
manner.
4. ``Practicable'' Standards
    In general, the practicability of a given standard involves a 
number of considerations. The majority of issues concerning the 
practicability of a standard arise out of whether the standard is 
technologically and economically feasible. An additional issue is 
whether the means used to comply with a standard will be accepted and 
correctly used by the public.
    First, significant technical uncertainties in meeting a standard 
might lead a court to find that a standard is not practicable. For 
example, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld NHTSA's decision to 
amend FMVSS No. 222 to include requirements for wheelchair securement 
and occupant restraint on school buses with a static \279\ compliance 
test instead of a dynamic test,\280\ noting that the administrative 
record showed that this particular dynamic test was underdeveloped and 
had many unresolved technical problems.\281\ The court noted that it is 
not practicable ``[t]o attempt to fashion rules in an area in which 
many technical problems have been identified and no consensus exists 
for their resolution . . . .'' \282\ In another example, the Ninth 
Circuit Court of Appeals found a compliance test procedure using a 
specified friction (slickness) coefficient to be impracticable due to 
technical difficulties in maintaining the specific slickness test 
condition. As mentioned

[[Page 3962]]

above, the Ninth Circuit found the specified coefficient test condition 
to be objective.\283\ However, simply being objective did not also make 
the test condition practicable. Thus, the cases show that when 
significant technical uncertainties and difficulties exist in a 
standard promulgated by NHTSA, those portions of the standard can be 
considered impracticable under the Safety Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \279\ Static testing tests the strength of individual components 
of the wheelchair separately, while dynamic testing subjects the 
entire wheelchair to simulated real-world crash conditions. See 
Simms, 45 F.3d at 1001.
    \280\ Id. at 1006-08. Petitioners argued that NHTSA had acted 
unlawfully in promulgating standards for the securement of 
wheelchairs on school buses based only on ``static'' instead of 
``dynamic'' testing. Id. Static testing tests the strength of the 
individual components of a securement device. Id. Dynamic testing is 
a full systems approach that measures the forces experienced by a 
human surrogate (test dummy) in a simulated crash that replicates 
real-world conditions and assesses the combined performance of the 
vehicle and the securement device. Id.
    \281\ Id. at 1005-07. NHTSA agreed that dynamic testing is the 
preferred approach (because it more fully and accurately represents 
the real-world conditions in which the desired safety performance is 
to be provided), but explained that it was not practicable at that 
time to adopt dynamic testing because there was:
    (1) [N]eed to develop an appropriate test dummy; (2) need to 
identify human tolerance levels for a handicapped child; (3) need to 
establish test conditions; (4) need to select a ``standard'' or 
surrogate wheelchair; (5) need to establish procedures for placing 
the wheelchair and test dummy in an effective test condition; and 
(6) need to develop an appropriate test buck to represent a portion 
of the school bus body for securement and anchorages.
    Id. at 1005.
    \282\ Id. at 1010-11.
    \283\ Paccar, Inc. v. Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 573 
F.2d 632, 644 (9th Cir. 1978).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, the requirement that a standard be technologically 
feasible does not include the additional requirement that the agency 
show that the technology to be used to comply with the standard is 
already fully developed and tested at the time that the standard is 
promulgated. The Sixth Circuit upheld a NHTSA standard requiring 
``Complete Passive Protection,'' that required the installation of 
airbags as standard equipment by a future date, rejecting petitioner's 
contention that NHTSA may only establish performance requirements which 
can be met with devices which, at the time of the rulemaking, are 
developed to the point that they may be readily installed.\284\ Relying 
on the legislative history of the Safety Act, the court found that the 
agency ``is empowered to issue safety standards which require 
improvements in existing technology or which require the development of 
new technology, and is not limited to issuing standards based fully on 
devices already developed.'' \285\ Thus, the requirement that standards 
be technologically feasible is sufficiently broad that it can be 
satisfied by showing that new technology can be developed in time to 
comply with the effective date of the standard.\286\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \284\ See Chrysler Corp. v. Dept. of Transp., 472 F.2d at 671-
75. Stages one and two required vehicle manufacturers to provide 
``Complete Passive Protection'' or one of two other options on 
vehicles manufactured between January 1, 1972 and August 14, 1973 
(for stage one) and after August 15, 1973 (stage two). See id. at 
666-67. Stage three, requiring solely ``Complete Passive 
Protection,'' was required by August 15, 1975. Id. at 667.
    \285\ Id. at 673. In making its decision, the court stated
    [I]t is clear from the Act and its legislative history that the 
Agency may issue standards requiring future levels of motor vehicle 
performance which manufacturers could not meet unless they diverted 
more of the ir resources to producing additional safety technology 
than they might otherwise do. This distinction is one committed to 
the Agency's discretion, and any hardships which might result from 
the adoption of a standard requiring . . . a great degree of 
developmental research, can be ameliorated by the Agency under . . . 
The section [that] allows the Secretary to extend the effective date 
beyond the usual statutory maximum of one year from the date of 
issuance, as he has done [here].
    Id. at 673.
    \286\ A corollary of the agency's authority to issue technology-
driving standards is that the agency can rely on data other than 
real-world crash data in justifying those standards. Technology that 
is not yet either fully developed or being installed on production 
vehicles cannot generate real-world performance data. Thus, in 
justifying the issuance of technology-driving standards, it is 
permissible, even necessary, for the agency to rely on analyses 
using experimental test data or other types of non-real world 
performance information in determining whether such standards ``meet 
the need for vehicle safety.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Second, a standard can be considered impracticable by the courts 
due to economic infeasibility. This consideration primarily involves 
the costs imposed by a standard.\287\ In the instances in which a court 
has been called upon to assess whether a standard is economically 
feasible, typically with respect to an industry composed largely of 
relatively small businesses, the courts have asked whether or not the 
cost would be so prohibitive that it could cause significant harm to a 
well-established industry. In essence, this consideration generally 
establishes a non-quantified outer limit of the costs that can be 
reasonably imposed on regulated entities. If compliance with the 
standard is so burdensome, i.e., costly, so as to create a significant 
harm to a well-established industry, courts have generally found that 
the standard is impracticable in its application to that industry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \287\ E.g., Nat'l Truck Equip. Ass'n v. Nat'l Highway Traffic 
Safety Admin., 919 F.2d 1148, 1153-54 (6th Cir. 1990); Ctr. for Auto 
Safety v. Peck, 751 F.2d 1336, 1343 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (panel opinion 
by Circuit Judge Scalia).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, a standard might not be considered practicable if the 
public were not expected to accept and correctly use the technologies 
installed in compliance with the standard. When considering passive 
restraints such as automatic seatbelts, the D.C. Circuit stated that 
``the agency cannot fulfill its statutory responsibility [in regard to 
practicability] unless it considers popular reaction.'' \288\ While the 
agency argued in that case that public acceptance is not one of the 
statutory criteria that the agency must apply, the court disagreed. The 
court reasoned that ``without public cooperation there can be no 
assurance that a safety system can `meet the need for motor vehicle 
safety.' '' \289\ Thus, as a part of the agency's considerations, a 
standard issued by the agency will not be considered practicable if the 
technologies installed pursuant to the standard are so unpopular that 
there is no assurance of sufficient public cooperation to meet the 
safety need that the standard seeks to address.\290\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \288\ Pac. Legal Found. v. Dept. of Transp., 593 F.2d 1338, 
1345-46 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 830 (1979).
    \289\ Id.
    \290\ Pursuant to concerns about public acceptance of various 
seat belt designs, NHTSA issued a final rule in 1981 adding seat 
belt comfort and convenience requirements to Standard No. 208, 
Occupant Crash Protection. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; 
Improvement of Seat Belt Assemblies, 46 FR 2064 (Jan. 8, 1981) 
(codified at 49 CFR part 571).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We believe that the proposal is consistent with these requirements. 
Technologically, DSRC has existed for over a decade, and is currently 
being used in Japan to support V2I applications and electronic toll 
collection. The performance requirements and test procedures being 
proposed to help ensure interoperability should also ensure the 
technological practicability of the proposal. In terms of economic 
practicability, NHTSA currently assumes that the cost of a DSRC 
standard would include costs for device hardware and software, as well 
as costs for the security and communications system that would be 
necessary in order for DSRC to function properly. As discussed in 
Section VII below, we estimate the likely total cost for a V2V system 
to the consumer (vehicle equipment costs, fuel economy impact, SCMS 
costs, and communication costs) at approximately $350 per new vehicle 
in 2020. Economic practicability requires that compliance with the 
standard should not be so burdensome as to create a significant harm to 
a well-established industry. It does not seem likely that a court would 
find the standards economically impracticable either for the auto 
industry, or for any small business interests potentially implicated, 
since those would more likely be in the context of aftermarket devices 
(phone apps and so forth), which are entirely voluntary and do not 
represent a mandate.
    For the question of public acceptance, the main concerns with 
regard to the proposal likely relate to security and privacy. To 
address such concerns, the requirements in the proposal include tests 
to ensure tamper-resistance of the DSRC unit; security requirements for 
the messages themselves; express requirements that certain identifying 
information not be included in the BSMs, and so forth. We are also 
proposing that manufacturers alert drivers when software upgrades and 
patches and certificate updates are needed, and we are hopeful that 
such updates would be as seamless as possible.

[[Page 3963]]

    With respect to comments on the agency's authority received to the 
ANPRM and Readiness Report, commenters tended to support generally the 
agency's authority to establish an FMVSS for V2V communications, while 
some commenters offered their own interpretations of what would be 
necessary for a standard to be consistent with the Safety Act. The 
Alliance, for example, argued that a proposal to mandate DSRC in new 
vehicles and set standards for DSRC aftermarket devices would not meet 
the Safety Act criteria if (1) NHTSA could not prove that the standard 
would improve safety as compared with not adopting a new FMVSS; (2) 
NHTSA did not present how a security system would be ``established, 
funded, governed and operated'': and (3) FCC opened the 5.9 GHz 
spectrum to unlicensed wireless devices and the operation of those 
devices resulted in harmful interference to V2X communications.\291\ 
Additionally, the Alliance underscored the importance of addressing 
public perception issues in order to ensure that consumers are willing 
to accept DSRC technology, because otherwise a mandate would not be 
practicable and the market failure would not be cured.\292\ The 
Alliance suggested that the agency consider working with other federal 
agencies with more direct experience in addressing health and privacy 
concerns to address potential public acceptance issues.\293\ Global 
Automakers agreed that it was important to a DSRC mandate that NHTSA 
work carefully with other Federal agencies (i.e., FCC and NTIA) to 
ensure that DSRC communications can be effective and interoperable 
without harmful interference.\294\ Toyota stated that a necessary pre-
condition for a DSRC mandate was a limited deployment of a production-
ready, DSRC-equipped fleet to confirm product design.\295\ TIA 
commented that any FMVSS for V2V communications should be entirely 
technology agnostic and focus on performance requirements (data 
latency, size, interoperability) that could be met by any technology, 
not only DSRC, and allow technologies to evolve over time.\296\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \291\ Alliance at 6-7, 13-14.
    \292\ Alliance at 9, 14.
    \293\ Alliance at 10.
    \294\ Global at 11.
    \295\ Toyota at 1.
    \296\ TIA at 4, 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed above, NHTSA continues to believe that the proposal is 
consistent with the Safety Act. As Section III.E discusses at length 
and as the proposed regulatory text for the proposal at the end of this 
preamble discuss at length, NHTSA has developed proposed requirements 
for DSRC performance. These sections explain: (1) What information 
needs to be sent to the surrounding vehicles; (2) how the vehicle needs 
to send that information; (3) how a vehicle shows that it is a valid 
source of information; and (4) how a vehicle makes sure the prior three 
functions work in various operational conditions (i.e., broadcast under 
congested conditions, detect/report misbehavior, and obtain new 
security materials). The proposal draws from existing voluntary 
standards while also explaining why a particular threshold or 
requirements from a voluntary standard is appropriate. Finally, the 
proposal includes a test method for evaluating many of these aspects of 
performance. Having a clear test method helps inform the public as to 
how the agency would evaluate compliance with any final FMVSS based on 
the proposal. While research is ongoing in a few areas (namely message 
congestion mitigation, explicit details for misbehavior detection, SCMS 
policies and procedures), we have described for the public the 
potential requirements in the proposal and the potential test methods 
for evaluating compliance with those requirements. We believe that the 
public comments that we will receive in response (coupled with the 
agency's ongoing research) will produce a robust record upon which the 
agency can make a final decision.
    We do not agree with commenters that the proposed standard must be 
perfectly neutral regarding technology, nor that all possible issues 
associated with ensuring the long-term success of V2V must be resolved 
prior to issuing a proposal. As explained above, case law supports the 
principle that an FMVSS may restrict design flexibility if certain 
designs would be contrary to the interests of safety. Additionally, we 
do not believe that waiting to issue a proposal until, for example, 
DSRC is more thoroughly tested in the fleet, or an SCMS is fully funded 
and operational, or every potential consumer concern is resolved, would 
be in the best interest of safety. S9 of the regulatory text, however, 
is directly responsive to the TIA comment requesting that the agency 
consider a technology agnostic approach. As covered in the discussion 
concerning why we are proposing to require V2V communications, for a 
technology like V2V, where a critical mass of equipped vehicles is 
needed to create the environment for safety benefits to be possible, 
the agency does not believe that sufficient quantities of V2V-equipped 
vehicles will be introduced in the market absent a mandate. By 
proposing this FMVSS, we aim to create an information environment 
which, we believe, will then enable the market to bring forth the 
safety, mobility, and environmental benefits that we anticipate V2V can 
provide. We intend to continue working closely with other Federal 
agencies and industry stakeholders on spectrum issues, with industry 
stakeholders and consumer groups and others on consumer-related 
concerns, and with all relevant parties on developing an SCMS to 
support a V2V network. We will also continue our research to improve 
and refine potential performance requirements and test procedures, as 
discussed above. Again, public comment on the proposal will facilitate 
our careful consideration of these issues, and we look forward to 
hearing from commenters on how to resolve them to best serve the 
interests of safety.

C. How are the regulatory alternatives consistent with our Safety Act 
authority?

    Besides the proposal, the agency is considering two regulatory 
alternatives--the first, a ``mandate V2V communications and safety 
applications'' alternative, under which the agency also requires new 
vehicles to have IMA and LTA capabilities; and the second, an ``if-
equipped'' alternative, that would set baseline requirements for V2V 
communications, but not require new vehicles to have this technology on 
any specific schedule. Under both the ``mandate V2V communications'' 
proposal and the ``and safety applications'' alternative, the phase-in 
rate for V2V communications for new vehicles would be 50 percent in the 
first required year, 75 percent in the second year, and 100 percent in 
the third year and beyond. We have evaluated the ``and safety 
applications'' alternative in terms of two different phase-in 
scenarios--in the first scenario, safety applications would be required 
for new vehicles at a phase-in rate of 0 percent--50 percent--75 
percent--100 percent over four years; while in the second scenario, 
safety applications would be required for all new vehicles in the first 
year that V2V communications are required. The ``if-equipped'' 
alternative, on the other hand, faces much greater uncertainty 
regarding the technology adoption. Based on the estimated costs of V2V 
radios and the SCMS, and the ``network'' nature of V2V communication, 
the agency believes that Alternative 2 is unlikely to lead to

[[Page 3964]]

meaningful deployment of V2V communications. Consequently, Alternative 
2 would delay, potentially for a significant period of time, the 
anticipated benefits of V2V communications. Furthermore, there is a 
high probability that the designated spectrum for V2V safety 
applications would be lost if a mandate was not pursued. For these 
reasons, the ``if-equipped'' alternative is not a viable alternative. 
Due to this, as well as to the significant uncertainty surrounding the 
technology adoption, the PRIA does not examine the costs and benefits 
for this alternative.
    The ``if-equipped'' alternative is consistent with the agency's 
Safety Act authority, which does not require NHTSA to require 
technology for new vehicles. It is therefore not discussed further in 
this section.
    The agency evaluated our authority to mandate specific safety 
applications in the Readiness Report \297\ and sought comment on that 
evaluation in the ANPRM.\298\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \297\ See Readiness Report at Section IV.B.3.
    \298\ 79 FR at 49271 (Aug. 20, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed in the Readiness Report, an FMVSS for a safety 
application must include minimum requirements for its performance. This 
first requires a determination of what tasks the safety applications 
need to perform, which would vary based on the types of safety risks/
crash scenarios that the application is intended to address. The agency 
explained in the Readiness Report that it is examining the currently-
available (research-stage) performance and test metrics associated with 
each safety application, and analyzing these metrics against the 
available safety data to determine whether these metrics cover the 
relevant safety problem.
    The Readiness Report explained that the agency envisioned that an 
FMVSS for one of the analyzed safety applications would set performance 
requirements that could be met by any technology, but that if V2V 
communications performance requirements made it reasonable to require 
more robust performance, we could require that performance if V2V 
communications were mandated. The agency recognized for some 
applications, like IMA and LTA, performance requirements can likely be 
met only with V2V communications-based technologies due to their 
ability to detect crossing-path vehicles, but for others, a variety of 
technologies could potentially be used.
    With regard to other Safety Act requirements for an FMVSS, the 
Readiness Report concluded as follows:
     Meet the need for safety: FMVSSs for the V2V-based safety 
applications would be issued to address safety problems that continue 
to cause crashes in the absence of regulation or market forces driving 
their adoption, and would address those problems by warning drivers of 
dangerous conditions and triggering a response to avoid the danger. 
However, given that research continues at this point to develop driver-
vehicle interfaces for each of the safety applications, and given that 
the agency was not yet able to demonstrate how effective the DVIs we 
may eventually mandate are at warning the drivers and inducing them to 
avoid the dangerous situation, our evidence could be stronger that the 
V2V safety applications will meet the need for safety.
     Objective test procedures and performance requirements: 
Test procedures and performance requirements for the V2V safety 
applications are still being developed, but NHTSA would ensure that any 
test procedures it may require would meet the criteria of being 
objective.
     Technological practicability: Because test procedures and 
requirements (including those for DVIs) are still being developed for 
the V2V safety applications, additional lead time could be helpful to 
meet eventual standards in order to ensure that manufacturers have the 
opportunity to work out how to comply.\299\ More research will be 
helpful in informing future assessments of technological 
practicability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \299\ See discussion above regarding the Sixth Circuit's finding 
in Chrysler, 472 F.2d at 659, 666, and 671-75 (6th Cir. 1972).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Economic practicability: NHTSA currently assumes using 
preliminary cost estimates that the cost of standards for the V2V-based 
safety applications would primarily include costs for software that 
would be used by the vehicle to interpret V2V signals and make 
decisions about whether to warn the driver, as well as costs for any 
hardware that would be necessary to make those warnings happen via the 
DVI. While it seems unlikely that economic practicability would be an 
issue for potential safety application FMVSSs, more research to 
determine costs more precisely would be beneficial to this assessment.
     Public acceptance: Based on the research we have so far 
from the Safety Pilot, driver enthusiasm for individual V2V safety 
applications varies. Given that DVI requirements remain under 
development, and given the need for continued research to avoid a high 
false positive rate, more work needs to be done before we can be 
confident that eventual FMVSSs for V2V safety applications will not 
have public acceptance risks.
    Commenters generally agreed with the agency's authority to issue 
FMVSSs for V2V-based safety applications (both in terms of mandating 
their installation and regulating their performance), and also agreed 
that more work was likely needed before such FMVSSs would be consistent 
with Safety Act requirements. The Alliance, for example, agreed that 
NHTSA could specify levels of performance for safety applications that 
``indirectly eliminate[d] some forms of delivering the safety 
application within the motor vehicle,'' but stated that much work was 
needed before it would be clear that an FMVSS for any safety 
application met Safety Act criteria.\300\ Global commented that DSRC 
should be widespread in the fleet and manufacturers should already have 
experience with applications before the agency should mandate them; 
\301\ Honda provided similar comments.\302\ Ford commented that NHTSA 
should not mandate applications.\303\ Toyota, in contrast, stated that 
NHTSA should require IMA and LTA at the same time as it mandates DSRC 
capability, in order to speed introduction of safety benefits,\304\ 
although it also stated that any FMVSS for a safety application must 
meet Safety Act criteria.\305\ Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 
provided similar comments.\306\ Hyundai, TIA, and Delphi commented that 
if the agency decided to mandate safety applications like IMA and LTA, 
it should ensure that standards were entirely performance-based and 
technology-neutral.\307\ A number of commenters raised concerns about 
the need for additional research with regard to DVIs and false positive 
alerts.\308\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \300\ Alliance at 17.
    \301\ Global at 3.
    \302\ Honda at 6.
    \303\ Ford at 3-4.
    \304\ Toyota at 1.
    \305\ Toyota at 4.
    \306\ Advocates at 1-2.
    \307\ Hyundai at 2; TIA at 4; Delphi at 1.
    \308\ Bendix at 10-11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NHTSA agrees with some commenters that earlier introduction of 
safety applications would guarantee earlier achievement of safety 
benefits associated with V2V capability, and we also agree with other 
commenters that additional work would likely be necessary in order for 
the agency to ensure that potential FMVSSs for safety

[[Page 3965]]

applications were objective and practicable. Developing minimum 
standards for safety application performance requires a determination 
of what tasks the safety applications need to perform, which varies 
based on the types of safety risks/crash scenarios that the application 
is intended to address. The agency is examining the currently-available 
(research-stage) performance and test metrics associated with a variety 
of safety applications, including IMA and LTA, and analyzing these 
metrics against the available safety data to determine whether these 
metrics cover the applicable safety problem(s). Although this research 
is currently underway, we request comment now on whether and, if so, 
how the agency could design requirements to mandate certain safety 
applications.
    In response to comments that FMVSSs should be performance-oriented 
and technologically neutral, we envision that each FMVSS for one of 
these safety applications would set performance requirements that could 
be met by any technology. However, if V2V communication performance 
requirements made it reasonable to require more robust performance, we 
could require that performance when V2V communication is mandated.
    We continue to believe that any FMVSSs for the V2V safety 
applications would meet the need for safety, insofar as we would issue 
them to address safety problems that continue to cause crashes in the 
absence of regulation or market forces driving the adoption of these 
technologies. The safety applications are clearly intended to relate to 
safety--they warn drivers of dangerous conditions and are intended to 
promote safety by triggering a response to avoid the danger.
    There are several things that the agency could do to help solidify 
the nexus of safety application warning and driver response. For 
example, and as raised by commenters, research continues at this point 
to develop driver-vehicle interfaces for each of the safety 
applications. We will want to be able to demonstrate how effective the 
DVIs we may eventually mandate are at warning the drivers and inducing 
them to avoid the dangerous situation. We currently have reason to 
believe that the V2V safety applications will meet the need for safety, 
but additional information and analysis will make that case stronger 
and we request comment on this.
    FMVSSs for V2V safety applications also need to be objective, 
meaning that they specify test procedures that are ``capable of 
producing identical results when test conditions are exactly 
duplicated'' (meaning that the agency and the manufacturer must be able 
to obtain the same result from identical tests) and performance 
requirements whose satisfaction is ``based upon the readings obtained 
from measuring instruments as opposed to subjective opinions.'' As 
discussed above, test procedures and performance requirements for the 
V2V safety applications are still being developed, but NHTSA would 
ensure that any test procedures it may require would meet the criteria 
of being objective, and also technologically practicable. NHTSA would 
provide appropriate lead time for any FMVSSs to ensure these criteria 
are met, as well.\309\ More research and additional public comment will 
be helpful in informing future assessments of technological 
practicability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \309\ See discussion above regarding the Sixth Circuit's finding 
in Chrysler, 472 F.2d at 659, 666, and 671-75.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In terms of economic practicability, NHTSA currently assumes using 
preliminary cost estimates that the cost of standards for the V2V-based 
safety applications would primarily include costs for software that 
would be used by the vehicle to interpret V2V communications signals 
and make decisions about whether to warn the driver, as well as costs 
for any hardware that would be necessary to make those warnings happen 
via the DVI. As discussed above, it seems unlikely that economic 
practicability would be an issue for potential safety application 
FMVSSs, but more research to determine costs more precisely would be 
beneficial to this assessment.
    While the Safety Pilot Model Deployment provided participating 
manufacturers with useful real-world experience in tuning prototype 
applications to maximize effectiveness and minimize false positives, 
DVI requirements remain under development, and more work needs to be 
done before we can be confident that eventual FMVSSs for V2V safety 
applications will not have public acceptance risks.

D. What else needs to happen in order for a V2V system to be 
successful?

1. SCMS
    Under both the Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act, NHTSA 
has other ways of affecting the parts of the V2V system that cannot be 
regulated directly. For example, 49 U.S.C. 30182 provides NHTSA 
authority to enter into contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements 
with a wide range of outside entities to conduct motor vehicle safety 
research and development activities, including activities related to 
new and emerging technologies. Separately, the Highway Safety Act (23 
U.S.C. 401 et seq.) authorizes NHTSA to enter into contracts, grants, 
cooperative agreements, and other transactions for research and 
development activities with a similarly wide range of outside entities 
in ``all aspects of highway and traffic safety systems . . . relating 
to [ ] vehicle, highway, [and] driver . . . characteristics'' (sec. 
403(b)), as well as collaborative research and development, on a cost-
shared basis, to ``encourage innovative solutions to highway safety 
problems'' and ``stimulate the marketing of new highway safety related 
technology by private industry'' (sec. 403(c)). Because issues related 
to V2V are cross-cutting, spanning both the Vehicle Safety Act and the 
Highway Safety Act, these separate authorities provide the agency with 
sufficient flexibility to enter into a variety of agreements related to 
the development of a V2V security system (although the agency currently 
lacks sufficient appropriations to incur any significant Federal 
expenditures for these purposes).
    A principle of appropriations law known as the ``necessary expense 
doctrine'' allows NHTSA to take the next step of entering into 
contracts or agreements to ensure the existence of sufficient 
communications and security systems to support deployment of V2V 
technologies, if V2V communications are mandated or otherwise regulated 
by a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard or other NHTSA regulation. 
According to that principle, when an appropriation is made for a 
particular purpose, it confers on the receiving agency the authority to 
incur expenses necessary to carry out the purpose of the 
appropriation.\310\ Under the necessary expense doctrine, the spending 
agency has reasonable discretion to determine what actions are 
necessary to carry out the authorized agency function. Here, the agency 
assumes that the deployment and operation of the SCMS is necessary in 
order for V2V technology and on-

[[Page 3966]]

board equipment to function in a safe, secure and privacy-protective 
manner.\311\ As designed, V2V technology cannot operate without a 
sufficient security system, and absent such a security system, 
misbehavior by hackers or others could compromise V2V functionality and 
participant privacy. If the problem of ``misbehavior'' were 
sufficiently widespread, it might even cause widespread disregard of or 
delayed response to V2V warnings. Hence, a robust SCMS is imperative in 
the V2V regulatory environment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \310\ Under the necessary expense doctrine, an expenditure is 
justified if it meets a three-part test: (1) The expenditure must 
bear a logical relationship to the appropriation sought to be 
charged (i.e., it must make a direct contribution to carrying out 
either a specific appropriation or an authorized agency function for 
which more general appropriations are available); (2) the 
expenditure must not be prohibited by law; and (3) the expenditure 
must not be otherwise provided for (i.e., it must not be an item 
that falls within the scope of some other appropriation or statutory 
funding scheme. See U.S. Gen. Accounting Office, Principles of 
Federal Appropriations Law 4-22 (3d ed.2004) (the ``GAO Redbook''), 
available at http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/3rdeditionvol1.pdf 
(last accessed Dec. 6, 2016).
    \311\ Potentially, under some alternatives of this proposal, the 
agency would not assume the future presence of an SCMS, and would 
leave security requirements more open. In this instance, presumably 
the agency would not need to ensure the existience of communications 
and security systems to support V2V, so the invocation of the 
necessary expense doctrine would not be necessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For these reasons, in addition to NHTSA's research, development, 
and collaboration authority under the Vehicle Safety Act and the 
Highway Safety Act, the necessary expense doctrine provides sufficient 
authority under the Vehicle Safety Act to take the next step of 
entering into agreements or contracts, either for cost or no-cost, with 
the goal of ensuring the existence (i.e., the development and 
operation) of sufficient communications and security systems to support 
the reliability and trustworthiness of V2V communications. As is the 
case under the agency's research and development authority, discussed 
above, the current limiting factor is the absence of sufficient 
appropriations to incur any significant expenses in this regard.
    NHTSA received comments to the ANPRM and Readiness Report from some 
stakeholders suggesting that NHTSA itself must obtain funding for and 
develop at least parts of the SCMS as a Federal project.\312\ While 
NHTSA agrees that we would have authority, as discussed directly above, 
to facilitate the development of an SCMS if we had the appropriations 
to do so, conditions have not changed since our issuance of the ANPRM 
and Readiness Report that would allow us to do so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \312\ GM, at 4; Alliance, at 19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Liability
    The Readiness Report discussed the issue of legal liability in the 
context of V2V,\313\ and the ANPRM sought comment on that 
discussion.\314\ For purposes of that discussion, the agency separated 
potential liability issues for V2V into two categories: (1) Liability 
associated with equipment on the vehicle, particularly warning systems 
that rely on V2V systems, and (2) liability associated with the SCMS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \313\ See Section X of the Readiness Report.
    \314\ 79 FR at 49273 (Aug. 20, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For the first category, NHTSA stated that from a products liability 
standpoint, V2V safety warning technologies, analytically, are quite 
similar to on-board safety warnings systems found in today's motor 
vehicles, and that therefore, V2V warning technologies do not create 
new or unbounded liability exposure for industry, because the driver 
remains responsible for failing to avoid a crash when the technology 
only warns and does not intervene. Consequently, NHTSA stated that it 
is not necessary, nor would it be appropriate to advocate the liability 
limiting agenda sought by industry in connection with potential 
deployment of V2V safety warning technologies via government 
regulation--and that, in any event, only Congress has the authority to 
provide the V2V-based liability relief sought by industry.
    For the second category, NHTSA indicated that it was premature to 
take a position on the need for liability limiting mechanisms 
applicable to operators and owners of the SCMS, and that the 
appropriateness of such liability limiting/risk sharing measures will 
turn on: (1) The constitution and governance of the SCMS; and (2) the 
extent to which the primary and secondary insurance markets make 
insurance coverage available to SCMS entities and other owners and 
operators of V2V infrastructure.
    NHTSA received a number of comments in response. Generally, 
commenters felt that NHTSA should conduct additional research on 
liability before proceeding with a V2V mandate, including with respect 
to the liability of automobile manufactures, owners and operators of 
the SCMS and V2V communications and security infrastructure, and 
vehicle owners. While NHTSA will continue to research and analyze 
potential liability issues stemming from a mandated V2V System, the 
Agency does not believe that additional research or work with 
stakeholder and consultants on this issue should delay the rulemaking 
process or the deployment of this important new safety technology.
    Bendix and Cohda agreed with the agency's assessment of liability 
issues,\315\ while other commenters expressed less certainty on the 
topic and requested that the agency consider liability issues further.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \315\ Bendix at 3, Cohda at 12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Several commenters stated that additional mechanisms to limit 
liability are necessary before V2V can be deployed. The National 
Motorists Association stated that Congress needed to define liability 
for individual motorists and expressly distribute liability among OEMs, 
operators, drivers, and other public and private stakeholders.\316\ 
Infineon and Harley-Davidson similarly commented that Federal and/or 
state liability limitations were necessary prior to V2V rollout.\317\ 
Automotive Safety Council stated that liability should be based on 
``well-defined performance standards, and should align with other 
global standards for vehicle safety systems,'' \318\ while Texas DOT 
commented more specifically that laws will have to be enacted allowing 
OEMs to `mandate' specific operational standards of the cars they 
sell.\319\ Meritor WABCO argued that in order to reduce liability, all 
involved parties needed to understand that ``the V2V system is not a 
failsafe method to prevent crashes, the V2V system will never be in 100 
percent of the motor vehicle population, and that there is a big 
difference between active safety systems and V2V safety applications.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \316\ National Motorists Association at 1.
    \317\ Infineon at 5, Harley-Davidson at 2-3.
    \318\ ASC at 7.
    \319\ TX DOT at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A number of commenters disagreed with the agency's assessment that 
V2V-based safety warnings created no additional liability than what 
already exists for current on-board safety warnings systems.\320\ The 
Alliance argued that V2V-based warnings are different from existing on-
board-sensor-based warnings, because their operation depends on input 
from another manufacturer's vehicle, because V2V is a cooperative 
technology, and that this changes the nature of ``failure to warn'' 
claims.\321\ Mr. Dennis provided similar comments.\322\ Mercedes-Benz 
stated more specifically that because V2V systems depend on the 
``functionality, quality, and timing of signals from surrounding 
vehicles,'' failure to warn is no longer solely traceable to onboard 
sensors of the manufacturer, which will significantly increase the 
complexity of liability claims.\323\ The National Motorists Association 
offered several specific research topics previously cited also by the 
VIIC, including (1) whether, and if so, how V2V warning applications 
increase the risk of liability for OEMs, operators, and drivers; (2) 
whether owners may be legally

[[Page 3967]]

accountable for shutting off or failing properly to maintain V2V 
warning systems; and (3) whether the DVI required for V2V warnings 
systems will increase driver distraction in a way that could affect 
liability.\324\ The Alliance argued, in summary, that ``the traditional 
paradigm of automotive product liability, in which driver error is 
presumed to be at fault most of the time, will not apply after V2V and 
other autonomous technologies become more prevalent.'' \325\ The 
Alliance also took the position that NHTSA's reliance on a Risk 
Assessment Report prepared by the Dykema law firm was misplaced because 
that report assumed that a public or quasi-public entity would run V2V 
infrastructure when NHTSA itself had assumed that the SCMS would be 
private.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \320\ Alliance at 13, 18-20; CEI at 5; Mr. Dennis at 16; Global 
at 23; Harley-Davidson at 2; Mercedes-Benz at 9-10.
    \321\ Alliance at 18
    \322\ Mr. Dennis at 16.
    \323\ Mercedes-Benz at 10.
    \324\ National Motorists Association at 1.
    \325\ Alliance at 21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With regard to the agency's assessment of liability mitigation 
through insurance, the Alliance argued that it did not believe 
insurance would necessarily be available to cover entities involved in 
the SCMS since no data existed yet on which to base underwriting 
estimates, citing cybersecurity insurance as an example of another area 
where the insurance industry is unwilling or hesitant to provide 
insurance.\326\ The Alliance and FCA both commented that costs 
associated with defending against SCMS-related lawsuits could be 
significant.\327\ On whether terms of use could limit liability for 
V2V, the Alliance further argued that the agency had overlooked ``the 
strong disapproval of liability-limiting clauses in contracts with 
consumers,'' and that while such clauses might help in ``allocating 
risk among businesses,'' the would not work for ``limiting liability 
for negligence that allegedly causes personal injury to a consumer.'' 
\328\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \326\ Alliance at 20-21.
    \327\ Alliance at 31; FCA at 2.
    \328\ Alliance at 20.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other liability issues raised by commenters included concerns about 
liability associated with infrastructure. Michigan DOT requested more 
discussion of liability issues for owners/operators of public RSE 
infrastructure.\329\ Additional potential liability sources cited by 
commenters included false or inaccurate sensing data,\330\ in-vehicle 
network hacking,\331\ and certificate revocation.\332\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \329\ Alliance at 19; MI DOT at 3.
    \330\ Rene Struik at 2.
    \331\ Systems Research Associates at 9.
    \332\ Alliance at 56.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is clear that potential liability stemming from V2V 
communications is a policy issue of great concern to the automotive 
industry and certain other stakeholders. It also is true that V2V 
safety warnings rely on cooperative technology that is different than 
the technologies deployed in existing on-board safety warnings systems, 
which do not rely on data received from devices and infrastructure 
outside of a motor vehicle. The primary policy issues in the OEM 
context are whether liability related to the V2V System can be 
addressed by the existing product liability paradigm (i.e., statutory 
or common law tort principles)--and, if not, whether Congress is 
willing to change the existing statutory scheme for V2V-related claims 
in order to support deployment of V2V technology.
    The agency has researched, analyzed and continues to grapple with 
this difficult and potentially quite broad question. We do not, as 
suggested by some commenters, dismiss the critical importance of 
potential legal liability to V2V stakeholders. We recognize fully that 
liability is a potential impediment to deployment of V2V technology. 
Nevertheless, from a policy perspective, the agency continues to 
believe that V2V safety warnings should not create liability risks for 
automobile manufacturers that differ in any meaningful way from risks 
posed by existing vehicle-based safety warnings systems--and that it is 
premature to propose or advocate the liability-limiting agendas sought 
by some stakeholders.
    We first address some primary V2V liability risks to automotive 
manufacturers raised by commenters. We then discuss potential liability 
risks to owners and operators of SCMS entities, and the extent to which 
it is appropriate for NHTSA to develop or advocate liability-limiting 
mechanisms applicable to such providers.
(a) Potential Liability Risks to Automobile Manufacturers
    Product liability law, which varies from State-to-State, generally 
concerns the liability of designers, manufacturers and distributors for 
harm caused to consumers and bystanders by ``defective'' or 
``unreasonably dangerous'' products.\333\ The purpose of these laws is:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \333\ Dykema at 9-10.

. . . to ensure that the costs of injuries resulting from defective 
products are borne by those who placed the defective products in the 
market, rather than the injured person. Thus, in an effort to encourage 
the development of safer products, the responsibility for the injuries 
caused by defective products is placed on those who are in the best 
position to guard against defects and warn of their potential 
dangers.\334\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \334\ Dykema at 9-10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is a broad range of product liability theories and defenses 
that could be applicable to liability litigation involving the V2V 
System. For purposes of this discussion, we focus on the product 
liability theory of ``failure to warn,'' which the Alliance, Mr. 
Dennis, and Mercedes Benz raised in their respective comments. A 
``failure to warn'' claim is based on the theory that even a properly 
designed and manufactured product may be defective as a result of its 
manufacturer's failure to warn consumers of any dangerous 
characteristics in its product about which it knows or should know and 
which the user of the product would not ordinarily discover.\335\ There 
are four basic elements of a ``failure to warn'' claim:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \335\ Dykema at 13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. The manufacturer knew or should have known of the risks inherent 
in the product;
    2. There was no warning, or the warning provided was inadequate;
    3. The absence of a warning made the product unreasonably 
dangerous; and
    4. The failure to warn was the cause-in-fact or proximate cause of 
the plaintiff's injury.\336\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \336\ Dykema at 13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To avoid liability for failure to warn, a product's instructions or 
warnings must sufficiently alert the user to the possibility of 
danger.\337\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \337\ Dykema at 13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Alliance, Mr. Dennis, and Mercedes-Benz all took the position 
that the cooperative nature of V2V safety warnings and the external 
data sources on which V2V warnings are based change the fundamental 
nature of ``failure to warn'' claims and make them more complex.\338\ 
It is possible--perhaps even likely--that the factual inquiry 
underlying a failure to warn claim will be more complex in the context 
of a V2V System than it would be in the context of a vehicle-based 
warning system. Additionally, not just message quality and timing (as 
noted by Mercedes-Benz), but a vehicle's operating environment 
(roadway, topographic and environmental factors) may adversely affect 
the performance of a consumer's V2V System. For these reasons, 
manufacturers' consumer warnings and instructions will be particularly 
critical to the successful defense of V2V failure claims. As they have 
done in the context of new safety technologies such as lane-departure

[[Page 3968]]

warning, backover-detection warnings and forward vehicle detection 
systems, manufacturers will need to carefully describe the operation 
and limitations of V2V and V2I Systems in the safety context and in the 
foreseeable operating environment.\339\ NHTSA expects that, by 
appropriately warning consumers of the uses and limitations of their 
V2V System, automobile manufacturers can sufficiently limit their 
liability for failure to warn claims, despite operational differences 
between on-board and V2V safety warning technologies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \338\ Alliance at 18.
    \339\ Dykema at 35.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the context of V2V OBE failure claims, it also may be quite 
difficult for consumers to prove that a vehicle's V2V equipment caused 
or contributed to an accident. However, to the extent that the V2V 
communications proposed in this rule are used as a warning system, not 
a control system, then, as with existing vehicle-based warning systems, 
the V2V System is an aid to help drivers safely operate their vehicles. 
As discussed in varying places in this NPRM and the accompanying PRIA, 
at this time, NHTSA does not assume that V2V communications will be 
used as the sole basis for any safety system that exercises actual 
control of the vehicle. Thus, we assume that any liability concerns 
related to safety systems that do take control of the vehicle will not 
be affected by the presence of V2V.
    In its comment, the Alliance stated that ``conclusions about the 
applicability of the state of the law with respect to traditional 
failure to warn claims involving on-board warning technologies grossly 
oversimplifies the way such claims are likely to evolve in the V2X 
litigation.'' \340\ We agree that it is difficult for NHTSA (or anyone) 
to know exactly how products liability litigation will evolve in the 
context of V2V, V2I and V2X communications. However, NHTSA's assessment 
of potential V2V liability to date has been based, in part, on risk 
analyses conducted by Dykema PLLC. Dykema is a Detroit-based law firm 
that specializes in automotive-related legal issues and provides legal 
services to many major automobile manufacturers. It is also the firm 
that the VIIC selected as its subcontractor to analyze and report on, 
among other legal policy topics, potential V2V-related liability risks 
to automobile manufacturers and public sector entities under a 
cooperative agreement with DOT. That said, the agency welcomes and will 
carefully consider the content of submissions of other legally 
substantive risk analyses in response to its proposal. NHTSA received 
no such analyses in response to the Readiness Report and ANPRM, 
including from the Alliance or any foreign or domestic automobile 
manufacturers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \340\ Alliance at 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On a related note, the Alliance commented that NHTSA's reliance on 
Dykema's OEM Risk Assessment Report is misplaced, as that report 
assumes that a public or quasi-public entity will run V2V 
infrastructure when NHTSA assumes that the SCMS will be private. NHTSA 
respectfully disagrees with the Alliance on this point. Dykema's OEM 
Report contains no assumptions, explicit or implied, that would limit 
the utility or applicability of its analysis of OEM risk for V2V-
related product liability claims. Additionally, with respect to 
infrastructure-based liability claims, the report specifically notes, 
without limitation and without referencing public ownership of such 
infrastructure, that ``[a]lthough the structure of VII described herein 
focuses on a hypothetical DSRC-enabled system, the analysis and 
conclusions in this deliverable generally will apply to any VII network 
that communicates information V2V or V2I.'' \341\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \341\ Dykema at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dykema's OEM Report also notes that a lawsuit might allege that a 
crash was caused, in whole or in part, by a failure in the 
communications infrastructure supporting V2V (e.g., an RSE). However, 
as evidenced by the numerous lawsuits claiming that failure of a 
traffic light contributed to an accident, such cases typically are 
brought against public or quasi-public entities and not against vehicle 
manufacturers.\342\ For this reason, Dykema concluded (and NHTSA 
agrees) that ``we would not expect alleged failures in V2V 
infrastructure to impact OEM liability in a significant way.'' \343\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \342\ Dykema at 33.
    \343\ Dykema at 33.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Potential Liability Risks to SCMS Owners and Operators
    From NHTSA's perspective, the critical policy issues in the SCMS 
context are whether concerns about liability will be a stumbling block 
to creation and operation of a private SCMS--and, if so, whether a need 
exists for DOT to work with stakeholders to develop Federal liability-
limiting options that would incentivize private participation in a 
National SCMS.
    In the Readiness Report (as in Proposal A in this document), NHTSA 
focused on a private model of SCMS governance that did not involve 
Federal funds or liability protections --but instead functioned through 
industry self-governance by an SCMS Manager that would work with SCMS 
entities to determine the appropriate distribution of liability for 
harm and establish minimum insurance requirements. In response, 
commenters such as the Alliance took the position that private 
insurance would not necessarily be available to cover entities involved 
in the SCMS since no claims data existed yet on which to base 
underwriting estimates, citing cybersecurity insurance as an example of 
another area where the insurance industry has been unwilling or 
hesitant to provide insurance.
    The agency acknowledges that SCMS entities may not be able to 
obtain adequate liability insurance without Federal intervention of 
some sort--but it is simply too early to tell. As we noted in the 
Readiness Report, the extent to which the primary and secondary 
insurance markets will make insurance coverage available to SCMS 
entities will be a factor in whether DOT supports development of 
liability-limiting mechanism to incentivize private SCMS participants. 
To this end, the agency expects that the issue of liability as a 
potential impediment to the establishment of a National SCMS will be 
among the issues that NHTSA and V2V stakeholders continue to grapple 
with going forward--and one that DOT's planned PKI and organizational 
policy research will explore fully (including through consultations 
with the insurance and reinsurance industries). However, due to the 
lack of substantive evidence that the private insurance market is 
unwilling to underwrite SCMS risks, NHTSA continues to believe that it 
is premature to take a position on the need to develop and advocate for 
Federal liability-limiting mechanisms for a National SCMS.
    The agency also is of the view that potential liability based on 
failures in the SCMS may be limited substantially by lack of causation 
due to drivers' roles in failing to avoid crashes. However, NHTSA 
wishes to clarify a comment in the Readiness Report relating to 
limitations on consumer liability--specifically, the statement that:

    It also is not clear to the agency why an SCMS Manager could not 
require that individuals and entities participating in an SCMS to 
agree to terms of use that would limit the liability of the SCMS and 
its component entities, either explicitly or via the same type of 
instructions and explanations of system limitations that the OEMs 
would use to limit liability.\344\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \344\ Readiness Report at 214.

    In its comment, the Alliance noted that NHTSA appeared to be 
promoting

[[Page 3969]]

the use of liability limitations in terms of use agreements with 
consumers, which can be legally problematic and, generally, are 
disfavored by courts.\345\ To clarify, NHTSA does not sanction the use 
coercive liability limitation provisions in agreements between SCMS 
entities and consumers. As the Alliance noted ``such clauses can be 
effective in allocating risk among businesses'' and the application of 
such clauses should be limited to entities doing business with SCMS 
components, not consumers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \345\ Alliance, Attachment B at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. Estimated Costs and Benefits

A. General Approach to Costs and Benefits Estimates

    In this NPRM, the agency proposes that all light vehicles be 
equipped with technology that allows for V2V communications. The agency 
believes that this technology will facilitate the ``free-market'' 
development of various applications; both safety and non-safety related 
that would not be possible without a network of devices ``talking'' to 
each other.
    However, at this time, the agency has decided to mandate V2V 
technology, but not mandate any specific applications. The agency 
believes this is the appropriate course for several reasons. First and 
foremost being that the agency believes V2V communication's cooperative 
nature needs a government mandate as the ``spark'' to establish a 
shared ``open'' platform that can be utilized to move this technology 
into the mainstream while not stifling potential, unforeseen 
innovations. In addition, the agency does not currently possess 
sufficient information to mandate particular safety applications, 
although, throughout this NPRM, we request additional information that 
could inform a potential decision to mandate certain applications.
    This free-market approach to app development and deployment, 
though, makes estimating the potential benefits of V2V quite difficult. 
In a traditional NHTSA analysis of a safety technology, the agency 
would determine benefits by looking to the target population for the 
type of crash it is trying to avoid or mitigate and the effectiveness 
of the mandated performance requirement or safety technology in 
addressing those crashes. However, here, the technology being mandated 
by the agency, V2V communication, would only indirectly create safety 
benefits. Widespread adoption of V2V would facilitate the development 
of new safety applications that would not be possible otherwise, as 
well as help improve the performance of safety applications that 
already exist based on cameras or sensors. Further, V2V technology is 
expected to speed-up the deployment of various V2I technologies, which 
could have significant safety and congestion-relief applications.
    The agency is confident that these technologies will be developed 
and deployed once V2V communications are mandated. The difficulty, 
though, is that the agency does not currently have sufficient 
information to definitively predict how or when this will occur. Thus, 
the agency has projected an adoption period based upon research 
conducted on the deployment of other advanced technologies as well as 
other information obtained during the development of this proposed 
rule. In addition, the agency demonstrates the potential safety 
benefits by analyzing two safety applications, IMA and LTA, both of 
which the agency believes are likely to lead to significant safety 
benefits that are likely only possible using V2V technology. The agency 
has therefore not quantified any benefits attributable to the range of 
other potential uses of V2V, although we acknowledge that such uses are 
likely to exist. The agency believes that, by focusing on only two of 
the many potential uses of V2V technology and given our experience with 
other technologies, we have taken a reasonable approach in estimating 
the potential benefits of the proposed rule and have likely understated 
the. The agency, though, requests comments on these assumptions to 
better inform the analysis that would support a final rule. Is there 
more detailed information concerning manufacturer's plans to reduce 
safety impacts associated with widespread adoption of V2V technology 
applications? If so, what applications and on what timeline?

B. Quantified Costs

    The agency was able to use information obtained from the V2V 
Readiness Report in developing the cost estimates in this proposal. 
Where appropriate, the V2V Readiness Report cost estimates were 
adjusted to align with any new information obtained by the agency such 
as: That provided through comments to the V2V ANPRM, experience from 
the SCMS RFI activity, and by developing the proposed performance 
requirements.
    The costs and benefits are presented in two measures: Annual and by 
model year (MY) vehicles (MY costs). The annual costs represent the 
yearly financial commitment while the MY costs represent the total 
investment born by the indicated MY vehicle, plus the lifetime fuel 
economy impact from those vehicles. In either accounting measure, the 
vehicle equipment, communication, and SCMS costs are assumed to be paid 
by new vehicle owners when their vehicles were purchased. The only 
difference between the two cost measures is the calculation of any 
potential fuel economy impact. The annual fuel economy impact measures 
the collective fuel impact from all V2V-equipped vehicles for a 
specific calendar year. In contrast, the lifetime fuel economy impact 
measures the fuel impact specifically for a MY vehicle through its 
operational life. All cost estimates are adjusted for 2014 dollars.
    For this analysis, the agency is considering two potential 
technology implementation approaches that could meet the safety, 
security, and privacy specifications of the proposed rule. These two 
approaches are (1) utilizing one DSRC radio dedicated to V2V safety 
communications paired with secondary cellular, Wi-Fi, or Satellite 
communications (``one-radio'' approach) and (2) utilizing two DSRC 
radios, one dedicated to V2V safety communications and one used for 
secondary communications such as SCMS or other ``back office'' type 
communications (two-radio approach). As a result, both the annual and 
MY costs are presented as a range which covers the costs from these two 
approaches.
    The following sections describe the four parts of quantified costs, 
followed by the summary of the total quantified costs and non-
quantified costs, and estimated cost per vehicle. This normalized per 
vehicle cost allows a straightforward comparison between various 
technology approaches and regulatory alternatives. All costs were 
estimated under the DSRC and app sales scenario specified in the 
Estimated Benefits portion of this chapter--Section VII.D.
1. Component Costs
(a) Unit Costs to OEMS
    As shown in Table VII-1, the total direct component costs to OEMs 
were estimated to be $162.77 for one DSRC radio and $229.91 for two 
radios. The total weight of one DSRC radio is approximately 2.91 lbs. 
whereas the weight of two radios is slightly heavier, about 3.23 lbs. 
For the two-radio approach, as previously discussed, two DSRC antennas 
are necessary: The first DSRC radio sends and receives the BSM, and the 
second radio handles security aspects of receiving certificates,

[[Page 3970]]

the certificate revocation list, etc. We estimated that the second 
radio will be $10.33 \346\ cheaper than the first radio since these two 
radios would most likely be packaged together, thereby resulting in 
lower labor costs in assembling the combined package at the supplier, 
as well as lower hardware costs in packaging them together rather than 
individually. Therefore, the cost for two radios would be $134.29 (= 
$72.31 * 2 - $10.33) instead of $144.64 (= $72.32 * 2), as shown in 
Table VII-1. No such assumption was made for the antenna, since the 
antennas have to remain physically separate in order to avoid 
interfering with each other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \346\ Adjusted from the $10 in 2011 dollars that was estimated 
in the ANPRM.

                         Table VII-1--Estimated Component Unit Weight and Costs to OEMs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Costs                 One radio                      Two radios
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Component                                                                              Costs  (2014
                                     (2012 $)      Weight  (lbs)  Costs (2014 $)   Weight  (lbs)        $)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSRC Transmitter/Receiver.......              70            0.55           72.31            0.65          134.29
DSRC Antenna....................               5            0.22            5.17            0.44           10.33
Electronic Control Unit.........              45            0.55           46.49            0.55           46.49
GPS.............................              14  ..............           14.46  ..............           14.46
GPS Antenna.....................               4            0.22            4.13            0.22            4.13
Wiring..........................               9            1.20            9.30            1.20            9.30
Displays........................            4.79            0.17            4.95            0.17            4.95
HSM.............................  ..............            0.00            4.65            0.00            4.65
For 2 Apps......................  ..............            0.00            1.32            0.00            1.32
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................          151.79            2.91          162.77            3.23          229.91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Overall, for this analysis the vehicle equipment costs are based on 
an OEM integrated device built into vehicles during their manufacture. 
This example device includes the costs of DSRC radios, DSRC antenna, 
GPS, HSM, and installation of relevant equipment (DSRC radios in short) 
and loaded with two safety applications. With specific regard to the 
safety applications, the app costs include software engineering and 
development costs since the agency is not assuming any additional 
interface beyond the DVI or equipment costs for the apps. The software 
engineering and development costs will be shared by millions vehicles, 
and thus is expected to be minimal across the fleet. The OEM integrated 
device is used as a basis for cost estimation as this device type 
provides a more accurate cost expectation associated with finalizing 
this proposal.
    The agency also estimated potential costs for aftermarket devices 
that could enter the marketplace as a result of finalizing this 
proposal and enabling more consumers to benefit from V2V technology. As 
described elsewhere, aftermarket devices could be available in three 
distinct varieties: Retrofit, standalone, and a simple awareness 
device. The agency estimates that the three aftermarket device types 
would cost $400.28 for a retrofit device; $278.33 for a standalone 
device, and $101.74 for a simple awareness device.
(b) Consumer Costs
    The costs in Table VII-2 reflect the costs that OEMs pay to a 
component (Tier 1) supplier to purchase these components for the 
vehicles they manufacture, not the projected cost of these systems to 
consumers. To obtain the consumer costs, each variable cost is 
multiplied by 1.51 (i.e., 51 percent makeup) to estimate a retail price 
equivalent (RPE; i.e., consumer cost). The 51 percent markup represents 
fixed costs (research and development, selling and administrative 
costs, etc.), as well as OEM profits, transportation costs, and dealer 
costs and profits. Table VII-2 presents the component consumer costs. 
As shown, the total component costs to consumers were estimated to be 
$245.79 for one radio and $347.18 for two radios.

          Table VII-2--Estimated Component Consumer Unit Costs
                                [2014 $]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         One       Two
                      Component                         radio    radios
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSRC Transmitter/Receiver...........................   $109.19   $202.78
DSRC Antenna........................................      7.80     15.60
Electronic Control Unit.............................     70.19     70.19
GPS.................................................     21.84     21.84
GPS Antenna.........................................      6.24      6.24
Wiring..............................................     14.04     14.04
Displays............................................      7.47      7.47
HSM.................................................      7.02      7.02
Two Safety Applications.............................      2.00      2.00
                                                     -------------------
  Total.............................................    245.79    347.18
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) Installation Costs
    Component installation costs are primarily attributable to the 
labor needed to perform the installation, but the agency also accounts 
for potential, additional costs associated with materials used in the 
installation such as minor attachments brackets, or plastic tie downs 
to secure wires, etc. In Table VII-3, the installation costs are 
separated into ``Material Costs'' (for the minor attachments), ``Labor 
Costs,'' and ``Variable Burden'' (i.e., other costs that are not direct 
labor or direct material used in the part, but are costs that vary with 
the level of production, such as set-up costs, in-bound freight, 
perishable production tools, and electricity). Overall, the agency 
estimates the variable cost to OEMs to install the V2V equipment is 
$11.79 per vehicle and the cost to consumers will be $17.80 using a 
1.51 retail price equivalent factor (e.g. markup).

[[Page 3971]]

                                Table VII-3--Consumer Installation Cost Estimates
                                                 [2014 dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Part                   Material          Labor         Variable          Total      Total consumer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSRC Transmitter/Receiver.......            0.04            1.61            1.04            2.69            4.06
DSRC Antenna....................            0.04            0.10            0.07            0.21            0.31
Electronic Control Unit.........            0.02            1.84            1.19            3.05            4.60
GPS.............................            0.04            0.10            0.07            0.21            0.31
GPS Antenna.....................            0.04            0.10            0.07            0.21            0.31
Wiring..........................            0.19            0.93            0.60            1.72            2.59
LEDs (5) Displays + Malfunction             0.00            0.63            0.40            1.03            1.56
 Disp...........................
Light Bar.......................            0.04            1.61            1.04            2.69            4.06
HSM.............................            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................            0.38            6.92            4.48           11.79           17.80
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(d) Adjustment for GPS Installation
    When researching installation costs, the agency identified the need 
to make adjustments for GPS installation. Today, many vehicles are 
already equipped with GPS receivers and the percentage equipped as 
standard installation is likely to increase going forward. The agency 
estimates approximately 43 percent of MY 2013 light vehicles were 
equipped with GPS receivers.\347\ This percentage increases to 
approximately 50 percent when combined with the number of vehicles 
equipped with automatic collision notification (ACN). Current 
information available to the agency indicates that navigation-grade GPS 
units are sufficient for the V2V safety applications. In these cases, 
the GPS component is not a cost that is directly attributable to V2V. 
Overall, 50 percent of applicable vehicles would not incur costs to add 
GPS for V2V technology. Thus, the total cost associated with vehicles 
equipped with GPS (i.e., 50%) was subtracted from the total costs of 
equipping all applicable vehicles with V2V safety applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \347\ Ward's Automotive Yearbook 2014, based on vehicles with 
factory-installed navigation systems or concierge systems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(e) Summary of Component Costs
    Table VII-4 summarizes consumer costs for original equipment 
manufacturers (OEMs) for the first year of equipping a vehicle with V2V 
components. The consumer unit cost is estimated to be $249.19 for one 
radio and $350.57 for two radios in 2014 dollars.

                    Table VII-4--Summary of V2V Component Consumer Costs per Affected Vehicle
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Cost                                   One radio                      Two-radios
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Items                        Weight  (lb.)  Consumer costs   Weight  (lb.)  Consumer costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parts *.........................................            2.91         $245.79            3.23         $347.18
Installation....................................            0.26           17.74            0.26           17.74
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal....................................            3.17          263.53            3.49          364.92
Minus Current GPS Installation**................            0.11           14.35            0.11           14.35
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................            3.06          249.18            3.38          350.57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* including app software costs.
** taking into account the 50 percent GPS installation rate.

(f) Learning Curve Effect
    As manufacturers gain experience through production of the same 
product, they refine production techniques, better manage raw material 
and component sources, and assembly methods to maximize efficiency and 
thus reduce production unit costs. Learning curves reflect the impact 
of experience and volume on the cost of production and are especially 
evident when a completely new product is introduced to the marketplace. 
V2V systems are expected to be installed on a growing portion of the 
vehicle fleet as manufacturers ramp up to the meet the proposed rule 
which would require 100% new vehicle installation by 2023, which is 
projected to be over 16 million units annually. This large scale 
production provides manufacturers with opportunities to reduce system 
costs through the learning process. Additional information on the 
agency's learning curve development and the derivation for learning 
curves related to V2V are detailed in Chapter 7 of the PRIA that 
accompanies this proposed rule.
    NHTSA routinely performs evaluations of the costs and benefits of 
safety standards that were previously issued in an effort to estimate 
learning curve impacts, among other economic impacts, and provide the 
most accurate possible information at the time a rule is proposed and 
finalized. To estimate costs, the agency conducts a teardown study of 
the technologies used to meet the standards. In some cases, the agency 
has performed multiple evaluations over a span of years. For example, a 
teardown study may be performed to support the agency's initial 
estimates of costs that will result from the regulation, and again five 
years later to evaluate the impacts of the regulation after it has been 
in effect. These data, together with actual production data,

[[Page 3972]]

supply the necessary information required to develop a learning curve 
for the technology.
    For V2V, the agency estimates that learning would reduce the unit 
cost for two radio implementations, including two safety applications, 
from approximately $350.57 in 2021 to $218.85 in 2060, which is about 
62.5 percent. Applying the same learning pattern, the unit cost for a 
one radio system would decrease it from $249.18 in 2021 to $155.47 in 
2060. Details of how learning would affect unit costs for both one to 
two radio implementations can be found in Table VII-5.

                                       Table VII-5--Annual Progress Rates and Component Unit Costs After Learning
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Progress rates                     Unit costs                   Total unit costs
                      Year                          Calendar  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      year        Radio         Apps       1 Radio      2 Radio        Apps       1 Radio      2 Radios
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................         2021        1.000        1.000      $247.18      $348.57        $2.00      $249.18      $350.57
2...............................................         2022        0.908        1.000       224.44       316.50         2.00       226.44       318.50
3...............................................         2023        0.853        0.872       210.95       297.47         1.74       212.69       299.22
4...............................................         2024        0.821        0.782       202.91       286.14         1.56       204.47       287.70
5...............................................         2025        0.798        0.726       197.21       278.10         1.45       198.66       279.56
6...............................................         2026        0.780        0.681       192.83       271.93         1.36       194.19       273.29
7...............................................         2027        0.766        0.647       189.27       266.91         1.29       190.57       268.21
8...............................................         2028        0.754        0.623       186.28       262.69         1.25       187.53       263.94
9...............................................         2029        0.743        0.606       183.71       259.07         1.21       184.92       260.28
10..............................................         2030        0.734        0.593       181.45       255.88         1.19       182.63       257.06
11..............................................         2031        0.726        0.582       179.44       253.04         1.16       180.60       254.20
12..............................................         2032        0.719        0.573       177.62       250.48         1.15       178.77       251.63
13..............................................         2033        0.712        0.565       175.98       248.16         1.13       177.11       249.29
14..............................................         2034        0.706        0.558       174.47       246.03         1.12       175.58       247.15
15..............................................         2035        0.700        0.552       173.07       244.06         1.10       174.17       245.17
16..............................................         2036        0.695        0.546       171.77       242.23         1.09       172.87       243.32
17..............................................         2037        0.690        0.541       170.56       240.52         1.08       171.64       241.60
18..............................................         2038        0.685        0.537       169.42       238.92         1.07       170.49       239.99
19..............................................         2039        0.681        0.532       168.35       237.40         1.06       169.41       238.47
20..............................................         2040        0.677        0.528       167.33       235.97         1.06       168.39       237.03
21..............................................         2041        0.673        0.525       166.37       234.61         1.05       167.42       235.66
22..............................................         2042        0.669        0.521       165.48       233.36         1.04       166.52       234.40
23..............................................         2043        0.666        0.518       164.64       232.17         1.04       165.68       233.21
24..............................................         2044        0.663        0.515       163.84       231.04         1.03       164.87       232.07
25..............................................         2045        0.660        0.512       163.07       229.96         1.02       164.09       230.98
26..............................................         2046        0.657        0.509       162.33       228.92         1.02       163.35       229.94
27..............................................         2047        0.654        0.507       161.63       227.93         1.01       162.64       228.94
28..............................................         2048        0.651        0.504       160.95       226.97         1.01       161.96       227.98
29..............................................         2049        0.649        0.502       160.30       226.05         1.00       161.30       227.05
30..............................................         2050        0.646        0.500       159.67       225.16         1.00       160.67       226.16
31..............................................         2051        0.644        0.498       159.07       224.31         1.00       160.06       225.31
32..............................................         2052        0.641        0.496       158.48       223.49         0.99       159.48       224.48
33..............................................         2053        0.639        0.494       157.93       222.70         0.99       158.91       223.69
34..............................................         2054        0.637        0.492       157.39       221.94         0.98       158.37       222.93
35..............................................         2055        0.635        0.490       156.87       221.21         0.98       157.85       222.19
36..............................................         2056        0.633        0.488       156.36       220.50         0.98       157.34       221.48
37..............................................         2057        0.631        0.486       155.88       219.82         0.97       156.85       220.79
38..............................................         2058        0.629        0.485       155.41       219.15         0.97       156.38       220.12
39..............................................         2059        0.627        0.483       154.95       218.51         0.97       155.92       219.48
40..............................................         2060        0.625        0.482       154.51       217.89         0.96       155.47       218.85
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table VII-6 summarizes the total annual vehicle component costs. As 
shown, total annual vehicle component costs would range from $2.0 
billion to $4.9 billion. The cost per vehicle would range from $123.59 
to $297.65. The lower bound is for one radio at year 2021 and the 
higher bound is the cost for two radios in 2023. In 2023, 100 percent 
of vehicles would be required to be equipped with the DSRC radios and 
more vehicles would be expected to have apps. Although the projected 
number of new vehicles that would have DSRC radios and safety 
applications continues to increase after 2023, the additional costs are 
offset by the falling component costs.
(g) Annual Component Costs
    Table VII-6 presented below the cost per vehicle is the average 
cost spread across all new vehicles, not just affected vehicles. Due to 
the proposed phase-in schedule, the cost per vehicle in 2021 and 2022 
is significantly lower than the unit cost shown in Table VII-5. 
Furthermore, the agency predicts complete safety application deployment 
would not be achieved until 2028, resulting in a slightly lower cost 
per vehicle for 2023 to 2027 than that shown in Table VII-2.

[[Page 3973]]

                                                    Table VII-6--Total Annual Vehicle Component Costs
                                                            [2014 $ and vehicles in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Vehicles with            Total costs (Radios + Apps)          Cost per vehicle
                  Year                     Calendar year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Radios           Apps           1 Radio        2 Radios         1 Radio        2 Radios
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            8.10            0.00       $2,000.92       $2,821.67         $123.59         $174.29
2.......................................            2022           12.26            0.61        2,751.72        3,879.94          168.40          237.45
3.......................................            2023           16.44            1.64        3,470.84        4,893.35          211.12          297.65
4.......................................            2024           16.53            4.13        3,360.54        4,736.34          203.30          286.53
5.......................................            2025           16.67            6.67        3,297.19        4,645.68          197.79          278.68
6.......................................            2026           16.75           10.89        3,244.74        4,569.60          193.72          272.81
7.......................................            2027           16.88           15.19        3,214.60        4,525.12          190.44          268.08
8.......................................            2028           17.03           17.03        3,193.60        4,494.87          187.53          263.94
9.......................................            2029           17.13           17.13        3,167.72        4,458.56          184.92          260.28
10......................................            2030           17.30           17.30        3,159.58        4,447.19          182.63          257.06
11......................................            2031           17.44           17.44        3,149.66        4,433.29          180.60          254.20
12......................................            2032           17.56           17.56        3,139.20        4,418.61          178.77          251.63
13......................................            2033           17.67           17.67        3,129.51        4,405.01          177.11          249.29
14......................................            2034           17.84           17.84        3,132.41        4,409.12          175.58          247.15
15......................................            2035           18.00           18.00        3,135.14        4,412.99          174.17          245.17
16......................................            2036           18.16           18.16        3,139.24        4,418.78          172.87          243.32
17......................................            2037           18.34           18.34        3,147.91        4,431.00          171.64          241.60
18......................................            2038           18.49           18.49        3,152.45        4,437.40          170.49          239.99
19......................................            2039           18.66           18.66        3,161.27        4,449.84          169.41          238.47
20......................................            2040           18.87           18.87        3,177.54        4,472.75          168.39          237.03
21......................................            2041           19.14           19.14        3,204.34        4,510.49          167.42          235.66
22......................................            2042           18.56           18.56        3,090.70        4,350.52          166.52          234.40
23......................................            2043           18.66           18.66        3,091.52        4,351.69          165.68          233.21
24......................................            2044           18.76           18.76        3,092.91        4,353.66          164.87          232.07
25......................................            2045           18.87           18.87        3,096.45        4,358.65          164.09          230.98
26......................................            2046           18.97           18.97        3,098.81        4,361.98          163.35          229.94
27......................................            2047           19.08           19.08        3,103.22        4,368.19          162.64          228.94
28......................................            2048           19.18           19.18        3,106.39        4,372.65          161.96          227.98
29......................................            2049           19.28           19.28        3,109.91        4,377.61          161.30          227.05
30......................................            2050           19.39           19.39        3,115.37        4,385.30          160.67          226.16
31......................................            2051           19.39           19.39        3,103.57        4,368.70          160.06          225.31
32......................................            2052           19.39           19.39        3,092.23        4,352.74          159.48          224.48
33......................................            2053           19.39           19.39        3,081.32        4,337.38          158.91          223.69
34......................................            2054           19.39           19.39        3,070.79        4,322.57          158.37          222.93
35......................................            2055           19.39           19.39        3,060.63        4,308.27          157.85          222.19
36......................................            2056           19.39           19.39        3,050.82        4,294.46          157.34          221.48
37......................................            2057           19.39           19.39        3,041.33        4,281.11          156.85          220.79
38......................................            2058           19.39           19.39        3,032.14        4,268.17          156.38          220.12
39......................................            2059           19.39           19.39        3,023.24        4,255.64          155.92          219.48
40......................................            2060           19.39           19.39        3,014.60        4,243.49          155.47          218.85
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Communication Costs
(a) Methodology
    The communication cost estimates are based on the same model 
created by Booz Allen Hamilton under the contract with the DOT's 
Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program and used for the V2V 
Readiness Report. The model, Cost Model for Communications Data 
Delivery System (CDDS), is a Microsoft Excel-based model.\348\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \348\ Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The communication cost estimates include the cost of in-vehicle 
communication components and any service fee that would be required 
with a specific communication network. For system design, four 
communication network technologies were evaluated for the CDDS: 
cellular, Wi-Fi, Satellite, and DSRC. The four technologies can be 
combined in various ways to form the communication system to support 
the vehicle to SCMS communication activities. The CDDS report and 
various cost estimates were published in the V2V Readiness Report and 
referenced specifically in the ANPRM in an effort to gather feedback on 
the estimated costs.
    In response to the V2V ANPRM, and the Request for Interest (RFI) 
regarding the SCMS, the agency received information and feedback on 
cellular and satellite and how these technologies can support national 
V2V deployment.\349\ These new findings led the agency to conclude that 
two systems can meet the proposed security requirements:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \349\ Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Hybrid--This system would use cellular, Wi-Fi, and 
satellite for vehicles to SCMS communication.
     DSRC--This protocol would use DSRC exclusively for V2V 
communications and for vehicles to SCMS communications through Roadside 
Equipment (RSE).
    The hybrid system allows for the potential use of the three 
communication mediums cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite. Each serves as a 
complement system to the other. In an effort to address potential 
security concerns, the agency added the cost of an in-vehicle hardware 
security module (HSM). The HSM, based on agency conversations with 
security experts, can potentially address the over-the -air 
communication security issues. Furthermore, the agency also recognized 
that satellite communication will not be

[[Page 3974]]

as expensive as detailed in the BAH estimates since 70 percent of light 
vehicles are currently equipped satellite radio receivers. Since only 
30 percent of vehicles will need satellite radio receivers reduces the 
overall component cost for satellite communication in reduced 
increasing its viability.
    A DSRC-exclusive system would communicate with SCMS through RSUs, 
small ``base stations'' that allow vehicles to ``phone home'' using 
DSRC. A separate DSRC antenna will be used exclusively for 
communicating updates ensuring continual ``listening'' for safety 
component update related communications,. This dedicated DSRC 
communication channel would exist in addition to the dedicated V2V 
safety communications channel used for V2V safety communications, and, 
therefore, two DSRC radios would be required for this DSRC-exclusive 
communication system.
    BAH estimated the potential number of RSUs needed to support a 
national deployment. First, RSU deployment was considered on three 
different road types: secondary roads, interstate highways, and 
National Highway System roads (NHS). Each type is defined by BAH as the 
following: \350\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \350\ BAH CDDS Final Report, at 27. See Docket No. NHTSA-2014-
0022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Secondary roads refer to collector roads, State highways, 
and county highways that connect smaller towns, subdivisions, and 
neighborhoods.
     Interstate highways are the network of freeways that make 
up Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense 
Highways.
     The NHS roads are the collection of interstate highways, 
principal arteries, strategic highways, major network connectors, and 
intermodal connectors.
    BAH then used spatial optimization and information from the 2009 
National Household Transportation Survey (NHTS) to estimate the 
required number of RSE to achieve the desired amount of coverage. The 
usage of NHS roads (with 19,749 sites) was deemed the most logical 
because it achieves greater coverage than the interstate option (with 
8,880 sites) while also requiring fewer RSE than secondary roads (with 
149,434 sites) to achieve the same coverage, as shown below in Figure 
VII-1. As shown, NHS roads are the most realistic scenario, though 
secondary roads could achieve more coverage given more resources. 
Ultimately, the NHS road deployment method was deemed to be the most 
realistic.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.017

(b) Assumptions
    The agency applied the assumptions used in the CDDS model to 
estimate communication costs. These comprehensive assumptions included 
the length of initial new certificate deployment period, the 
certificate download size and frequency at the full system deployment, 
the potential device misbehavior rate, and the potential size of a 
certificate revocation list. The cost model also considered the costs 
that relate to the three communication technologies used in the Hybrid 
approach: Cellular data rate, cellular component cost in the vehicles, 
Wi-Fi component costs, satellite data rate, and satellite radio cost. 
It is also necessary to consider the cost of road side units for the 
DSRC-exclusive approach system. The agency notes that while not 
included in these estimates, there is potential for road side unit 
costs to not be borne solely by a V2V system. Road side units may also 
be deployed in accordance with guidance from the Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) as signaling and related traffic control 
equipment undergoes normal upgrades. Overall, unless otherwise

[[Page 3975]]

stated, all cost calculations have been made with the assumptions found 
in Table VII-7 and are estimated for over a 40-year timeframe. 
Additional details on the communication cost assumptions can be found 
the Chapter VII of the PRIA. The agency requests comment on these 
assumptions.

                             Table VII-7--Cost Assumptions by Communication Options
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Cost factors                     Component                  Hybrid                    DSRC
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Certificate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Certificate Option       3,000 per bundle.......  3,000 per bundle.
                                       Certificate Phase-In     3 years................  3 years.
                                        Period
                                       Certificate Download     Every 3 years..........  Every 3 years.
                                        Frequency at Full
                                        Deployment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Misbehavior
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Misbehavior Rate         0.10%..................  0.10%.
                                       CRL Type                 Satellite/Incremental..  Incremental.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Communication Technology
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cellular.............................  Cellular Data Price....  $4.00/GB...............  NA.
                                       Cellular Component Cost  $10.00.................  NA.
                                        Per Vehicle
                                       Fraction of Data         67%....................  NA.
                                        Shifted from Cellular
Wi-Fi................................  Wi-Fi Component Cost     $2.00..................  NA.
                                        per Vehicle.
Satellite............................  Satellite Data Price...  $1.60/GB...............  NA.
                                       Satellite Component      $6.00..................  NA.
                                        Cost per Vehicle
Three Above Combined.................  Annual Technology        2%.....................  NA.
                                        Component Replacement
                                        Rate.
RSE..................................  RSE Component per        NA.....................  Included in the DSRC
                                        Vehicle.                                          radios.
                                       # Nationwide RSEs        NA.....................  19,750.
                                       RSE Structure            NA.....................  $8,839.
                                        Supporting Cost
                                       RSE Replacement Cost     NA.....................  $22,719.
                                       RSE Installation Phase-  16 years...............  NA.
                                        in
                                       RSE Life                 NA.....................  15 years.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) Hybrid Option Costs
    The agency estimates the annual overall costs for the Hybrid 
communication option would range from approximately $148 million in 
Year 1 to approximately $490 million at Year 40. On a per vehicle 
basis, this equates to $9.18 in Year 1 to $25.47 after 40 years. The 
detailed estimated annual communication costs are shown in Table VII-8. 
The cost increase over time represents the increases in certificate 
distributions and SCMS communications as fleet penetration increases.
    It is important to note the table reflects zero satellite and 
cellular data costs for the first three years. This zero cost results 
from the assumption that vehicles will be pre-loaded with three years 
of security certificates, reflecting that communication between 
vehicles and SCMS will be very limited during this time period. In 
addition, the acknowledged certificate revocations lists would be 
transmitted to vehicles during this time but, overall, the estimated 
misbehavior rate of 0.1 percent, combined with an anticipated, small 
revocation list size, would not have a substantive impact on 
communication costs.

                                     Table VII-8--Estimated Annual Communication Costs and per Vehicle Costs--Hybrid
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Data cost
                  Year                     Calendar year        RSE             OBE      --------------------------------      Total         Cost per
                                                                                             Satellite       Cellular                         vehicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021              $0    $148,624,200              $0              $0    $148,624,200           $9.18
2.......................................            2022               0     213,159,926               0               0     213,159,926           13.05
3.......................................            2023               0     309,000,919               0               0     309,000,919           18.80
4.......................................            2024               0     316,361,705          14,502       5,964,604     322,340,811           19.50
5.......................................            2025               0     324,585,446          20,225       7,771,778     332,377,450           19.94
6.......................................            2026               0     331,663,749          26,516       9,558,220     341,248,485           20.37
7.......................................            2027               0     339,583,781          33,316      11,326,199     350,943,297           20.79
8.......................................            2028               0     347,798,557          41,044      13,073,502     360,913,103           21.19
9.......................................            2029               0     355,008,739          49,204      14,787,665     369,845,609           21.59
10......................................            2030               0     363,357,905          57,691      16,463,486     379,879,082           21.96
11......................................            2031               0     370,982,194          66,319      18,080,731     389,129,243           22.31
12......................................            2032               0     378,019,671          74,932      19,626,112     397,720,714           22.65
13......................................            2033               0     384,620,645          83,389      21,090,223     405,794,257           22.97
14......................................            2034               0     392,045,404          91,615      22,473,154     414,610,174           23.24
15......................................            2035               0     399,021,900          99,529      23,771,089     422,892,517           23.49
16......................................            2036               0     405,714,525         107,044      24,979,082     430,800,651           23.72
17......................................            2037               0     412,479,551         114,107      26,095,952     438,689,610           23.92
18......................................            2038               0     418,390,535         120,627      27,113,321     445,624,483           24.10
19......................................            2039               0     424,344,445         126,553      28,030,229     452,501,226           24.25
20......................................            2040               0     430,726,546         131,916      28,854,679     459,713,141           24.36

[[Page 3976]]

 
21......................................            2041               0     437,935,982         136,760      29,599,075     467,671,817           24.43
22......................................            2042               0     429,324,211         140,688      30,178,332     459,643,231           24.77
23......................................            2043               0     432,732,888         144,189      30,688,025     463,565,102           24.84
24......................................            2044               0     435,960,956         147,346      31,140,495     467,248,797           24.91
25......................................            2045               0     439,237,664         150,263      31,551,344     470,939,271           24.96
26......................................            2046               0     442,230,479         153,002      31,929,276     474,312,757           25.00
27......................................            2047               0     445,334,157         155,668      32,285,302     477,775,127           25.04
28......................................            2048               0     448,190,015         158,253      32,619,841     480,968,109           25.08
29......................................            2049               0     450,983,531         160,763      32,934,626     484,078,920           25.11
30......................................            2050               0     453,904,155         163,206      33,232,654     487,300,015           25.13
31......................................            2051               0     454,730,556         165,503      33,494,491     488,390,550           25.19
32......................................            2052               0     455,469,747         167,722      33,728,697     489,366,166           25.24
33......................................            2053               0     456,124,543         169,851      33,936,162     490,230,556           25.28
34......................................            2054               0     456,712,926         171,880      34,122,586     491,007,391           25.32
35......................................            2055               0     457,234,600         173,792      34,287,873     491,696,266           25.36
36......................................            2056               0     457,690,833         175,587      34,432,426     492,298,846           25.39
37......................................            2057               0     458,084,204         177,260      34,557,062     492,818,527           25.42
38......................................            2058               0     458,395,516         178,752      34,655,698     493,229,966           25.44
39......................................            2059               0     458,655,327         180,143      34,738,017     493,573,487           25.46
40......................................            2060               0     458,874,218         181,461      34,807,370     493,863,049           25.47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(d) DSRC Option Costs
    Table VII-9 summarizes the estimated annual communication costs for 
the DSRC exclusive approach. Estimates for this option show a range of 
$0 at Year 1 increasing to an approximate $177 million annual average 
by Year 40. When viewed from a per vehicle basis, the costs range from 
$0 in the first year to approximately $9 annual average in the out 
years. An important note with this communication option is the need to 
include road side unit replacement based on the assumed 15-year life of 
span of this equipment, Years 19 and 34 reflect the annual cost of 
replacing this equipment.

                                      Table VII-9--Estimated Annual Communication Costs and per Vehicle Costs--DSRC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Data cost
                  Year                     Calendar year        RSE             OBE      --------------------------------      Total         Cost per
                                                                                             Satellite       Cellular                         vehicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021              $0              $0              $0              $0              $0           $0.00
2.......................................            2022               0               0               0               0               0            0.00
3.......................................            2023               0               0               0               0               0            0.00
4.......................................            2024     186,090,367               0               0               0     186,090,367           11.26
5.......................................            2025      85,882,056               0               0               0      85,882,056            5.15
6.......................................            2026      95,733,225               0               0               0      95,733,225            5.72
7.......................................            2027     105,584,395               0               0               0     105,584,395            6.25
8.......................................            2028     115,435,565               0               0               0     115,435,565            6.78
9.......................................            2029     125,286,734               0               0               0     125,286,734            7.31
10......................................            2030     135,137,904               0               0               0     135,137,904            7.81
11......................................            2031     144,989,074               0               0               0     144,989,074            8.31
12......................................            2032     154,840,243               0               0               0     154,840,243            8.82
13......................................            2033     164,691,413               0               0               0     164,691,413            9.32
14......................................            2034     174,542,583               0               0               0     174,542,583            9.78
15......................................            2035     184,393,752               0               0               0     184,393,752           10.24
16......................................            2036     168,543,441               0               0               0     168,543,441            9.28
17......................................            2037     147,767,545               0               0               0     147,767,545            8.06
18......................................            2038     147,767,545               0               0               0     147,767,545            7.99
19......................................            2039     252,465,284               0               0               0     252,465,284           13.53
20......................................            2040     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.42
21......................................            2041     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.28
22......................................            2042     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.57
23......................................            2043     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.52
24......................................            2044     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.47
25......................................            2045     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.42
26......................................            2046     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.37
27......................................            2047     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.31
28......................................            2048     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.26
29......................................            2049     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.22
30......................................            2050     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
31......................................            2051     162,724,365               0               0               0     162,724,365            8.39
32......................................            2052     147,767,545               0               0               0     147,767,545            7.62
33......................................            2053     147,767,545               0               0               0     147,767,545            7.62
34......................................            2054     252,465,284               0               0               0     252,465,284           13.02

[[Page 3977]]

 
35......................................            2055     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
36......................................            2056     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
37......................................            2057     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
38......................................            2058     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
39......................................            2059     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
40......................................            2060     177,681,184               0               0               0     177,681,184            9.16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(e) Communication Cost Summary
    Comparing the two communication options evaluated in this proposal 
yields a sharp cost difference between the Hybrid and DSRC option, a 
difference of approximately $325 million annually at full deployment. 
Exploiting the ``free'' usage of the allocated DSRC spectrum appears to 
provide clear advantages to consumers and the overall system 
sustainability. Challenges deploying the approach, however, are in the 
physical placement of the road side units across the nation in a timely 
manner. Leveraging the existing cellular and satellite network poses a 
clear advantage to accelerating deployment in the fleet.
(f) Included SCMS Costs
    The agency developed cost estimates for a potential SCMS based on 
additional research and modeling conducted by BAH, like the CDDS model 
used for communication cost estimation. The agency determined that it 
was appropriate to make some minor adjustments to the cost model based 
on updated information obtained between development of the original 
model and in preparation for this proposal. More specifically, the 
agency updated the model with changes to project salaries, compensation 
costs, and by including costs needed for establishing the SCMS (Year 
0).
    Salaries were revised using the most current data from Occupational 
Employment Statistics (OES) \351\ published by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) May 2014. In addition, the agency mapped new/revised 
BLS job categories to those originally used by BAH. Compensation costs 
in the BAH model were revised to align with newer information 
indicating that the average hourly wages for all workers in private 
industry is $21.94 and the average total benefit is $9.71, where the 
total benefits are 44.3 percent of the wages.\352\ The 44.3 percentage 
is significantly higher than the 25 percent used in the SCMS cost model 
and the agency believed it was appropriate to revised these values to 
accurate reflect compensation values. Finally, including Year 0 costs 
for the SCMS added $20.8 million as a one-time cost. The Year 0 costs 
include the design of the SCMS facilities, land preparation, power 
source redundancy, power line installation, and other facility 
characteristics that are necessary, and in some cases unique, for a 
successful SCMS operation. This new, added cost was amortized over 20 
years which the agency believes is reasonable considering the long term 
commitment associated with SCMS development and operation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \351\ MSA_M2014 File as May 2014, www.bls.gov/oes.
    \352\ Based on the News Release on, EMPLOYER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE 
COMPENSATION, March 2015 (2015 USDL-15-1132) Table 5 (page 10), 
released June 10, 2015, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To estimate the annual total costs for the entire SCMS, the agency 
first examined the costs for each of the 10 component functions of the 
SCMS. For each function, the costs comprised five expenditure 
categories: Hardware Purchase, Software Purchase, Software Operation 
and Maintenance (Q&M), Initial Facility Costs, Annual Facility Costs, 
and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Costs. The SCMS model identified several 
locations that could be used to establish an SCMS as a way to develop 
facility cost averages. The averages are based on six geographically 
and demographically varying areas: Metro DC, Richland, WA, Denver, CO, 
Chicago, IL, San Antonio, TX, and Gastonia, NC. The key cost components 
evaluated are labor costs, energy costs, land cost, and monthly rent.
    Table VII-10 and Table VII-11 show the estimated SCMS costs by 
specific SCMS function, the total costs, and the per vehicle cost. Any 
equipment related costs are adjusted for learning. As shown, the total 
estimated SCMS costs range from $39.1 million in the first year to 
$160.1 million in year 40 with per vehicle cost ranging from $2.42 to 
$8.29. The agency requests comment on its assumptions concerning 
potential SCMS costs. In particular, how would different approaches to 
the design of the SCMS affect the costs of operating the system? In 
addition, how would the costs of the SCMS be passed along to consumers?

                                                          Table VII-10--SCMS Costs by Function
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Year                     Calendar year        PCA             RA              LA              MA              LOP             ECA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021      $4,708,025     $10,358,634        $987,277      $3,679,694      $2,332,410      $4,381,260
2.......................................            2022       4,672,050      10,270,907         988,020       3,658,706       2,311,587       4,343,622
3.......................................            2023       4,677,281      10,274,580         990,346       3,658,847       2,312,044       4,343,622
4.......................................            2024       4,687,633      10,281,935         995,076       3,659,125       2,312,536       4,343,622
5.......................................            2025       6,728,645      13,103,893       1,740,502       3,889,204       2,771,798       4,781,464
6.......................................            2026       4,724,254      10,308,046       1,011,781       3,660,108       2,313,639       4,343,622
7.......................................            2027       4,744,931      10,322,789       1,021,213       3,660,663       2,314,203       4,343,622
8.......................................            2028       4,765,448      10,337,418       1,030,571       3,661,213       2,314,761       4,343,622
9.......................................            2029       4,785,584      10,351,775       1,039,756       3,661,753       2,315,308       4,343,622
10......................................            2030      10,510,180      16,401,748       4,799,128       4,179,494       3,682,299       4,781,464
11......................................            2031       9,308,218      14,856,461       9,073,569       5,441,652       4,543,859       4,343,622

[[Page 3978]]

 
12......................................            2032       9,327,079      14,869,909       9,082,173       5,442,159       4,544,359       4,343,622
13......................................            2033       9,345,391      14,882,966       9,090,526       5,442,650       4,544,835       4,343,622
14......................................            2034       9,363,032      14,895,544       9,098,573       5,443,123       4,545,288       4,343,622
15......................................            2035      14,419,003      20,996,845      12,930,027       5,772,704       5,912,422       4,781,464
16......................................            2036       9,395,586      14,918,755       9,113,422       5,443,997       4,546,114       4,343,622
17......................................            2037       9,410,421      14,929,333       9,120,189       5,444,395       4,546,484       4,343,622
18......................................            2038       9,424,185      14,939,146       9,126,467       5,444,764       4,546,824       4,343,622
19......................................            2039       9,436,904      14,948,215       9,132,269       5,445,106       4,547,132       4,343,622
20......................................            2040      18,633,720      24,737,954      15,746,265       6,126,542       7,214,409       4,781,464
21......................................            2041      13,918,676      19,420,803      13,587,376       7,223,691       6,773,241       4,343,622
22......................................            2042      13,927,310      19,426,959      13,591,314       7,223,922       6,773,441       4,343,622
23......................................            2043      13,935,979      19,433,140      13,595,268       7,224,155       6,773,625       4,343,622
24......................................            2044      13,943,871      19,438,767      13,598,868       7,224,367       6,773,790       4,343,622
25......................................            2045      22,174,444      29,152,824      20,355,009       7,633,697       9,489,116       4,781,464
26......................................            2046      13,955,521      19,447,074      13,604,182       7,224,679       6,774,061       4,343,622
27......................................            2047      13,960,466      19,450,599      13,606,438       7,224,812       6,774,181       4,343,622
28......................................            2048      13,964,937      19,453,788      13,608,477       7,224,932       6,774,292       4,343,622
29......................................            2049      13,969,051      19,456,721      13,610,354       7,225,042       6,774,396       4,343,622
30......................................            2050      26,815,885      33,350,158      23,655,970       8,045,813      11,171,981       4,781,464
31......................................            2051      18,425,034      23,909,622      18,057,646       9,002,835       8,999,434       4,343,622
32......................................            2052      18,428,332      23,911,973      18,059,151       9,002,923       8,999,513       4,343,622
33......................................            2053      18,431,447      23,914,194      18,060,572       9,003,007       8,999,585       4,343,622
34......................................            2054      18,434,213      23,916,166      18,061,833       9,003,081       8,999,649       4,343,622
35......................................            2055      28,781,702      35,756,214      26,844,673       9,423,600      12,687,495       4,781,464
36......................................            2056      18,438,804      23,919,440      18,063,928       9,003,204       8,999,755       4,343,622
37......................................            2057      18,440,716      23,920,803      18,064,800       9,003,256       8,999,799       4,343,622
38......................................            2058      18,442,316      23,921,944      18,065,529       9,003,299       8,999,834       4,343,622
39......................................            2059      18,443,789      23,922,994      18,066,201       9,003,338       8,999,864       4,343,622
40......................................            2060      31,518,164      38,029,601      28,307,710       9,825,764      13,480,752       4,781,464
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                      Table VII-11 Continued SCMS Costs by Function
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Intermediate                                                                      Total per
                  Year                     Calendar year        CA            Root CA           DCM           Manager       Total costs       vehicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021      $4,317,570      $1,723,817      $4,378,553      $2,233,628     $39,100,867           $2.42
2.......................................            2022       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      38,814,652            2.38
3.......................................            2023       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      38,826,479            2.36
4.......................................            2024       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      38,849,687            2.35
5.......................................            2025       4,718,684       1,808,090       4,760,710       2,292,279      46,595,268            2.80
6.......................................            2026       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      38,931,210            2.32
7.......................................            2027       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      38,977,180            2.31
8.......................................            2028       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      39,022,793            2.29
9.......................................            2029       4,279,932       1,717,795       4,340,915       2,231,119      39,067,558            2.28
10......................................            2030       5,968,049       1,808,090       4,760,710       2,557,780      59,448,941            3.44
11......................................            2031       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,464,444            3.75
12......................................            2032       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,506,362            3.73
13......................................            2033       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,547,052            3.71
14......................................            2034       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,586,244            3.68
15......................................            2035      10,890,222       1,808,090       4,760,710       3,511,964      85,783,450            4.77
16......................................            2036       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,658,556            3.62
17......................................            2037       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,691,506            3.58
18......................................            2038       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,722,070            3.55
19......................................            2039       8,455,524       1,717,795       4,340,915       3,382,829      65,750,310            3.52
20......................................            2040      12,177,224       1,808,090       4,760,710       3,774,067      99,760,445            5.29
21......................................            2041      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,474,574            4.62
22......................................            2042      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,493,733            4.77
23......................................            2043      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,512,955            4.74
24......................................            2044      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,530,450            4.72
25......................................            2045      17,513,413       1,808,090       4,760,710       4,691,868     122,360,635            6.48
26......................................            2046      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,556,305            4.67
27......................................            2047      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,567,283            4.64
28......................................            2048      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,577,214            4.62
29......................................            2049      12,631,117       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339      88,586,351            4.59
30......................................            2050      19,214,431       1,808,090       4,760,710       4,691,868     138,296,371            7.13
31......................................            2051      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,120,950            5.68
32......................................            2052      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,128,271            5.68
33......................................            2053      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,135,185            5.68
34......................................            2054      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,141,322            5.68
35......................................            2055      23,459,123       1,808,090       4,760,710       4,692,002     152,995,074            7.89

[[Page 3979]]

 
36......................................            2056      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,151,511            5.68
37......................................            2057      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,155,754            5.68
38......................................            2058      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,159,302            5.68
39......................................            2059      16,806,710       1,717,795       4,340,915       4,517,339     110,162,566            5.68
40......................................            2060      23,459,123       1,808,090       4,760,710       4,692,026     160,663,404            8.29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Fuel Economy Impact
    In addition to the cost of V2V equipment itself, other potential 
costs include the potential for new equipment on vehicles to increase 
vehicle weight. The agency expects increased weight of V2V equipment 
will have a small impact on the fuel economy of the individual 
vehicles. Over the lifetime of these vehicles, this impact on fuel 
economy will create a cost for society.
    Potential fuel economy impacts can be evaluated in terms of annual 
impacts and the lifetime fuel economy impacts for a specified MY 
vehicle (MY fuel impact). The annual fuel impact represents the 
additional fuel costs from all V2V-equipped vehicles for that year. The 
MY fuel impact represents the additional fuel costs for a life of a MY 
vehicle and should be discounted.
    As described in previous sections, V2V components include DSRC 
radios and relevant parts/materials (e.g., antenna, installation 
material, HSM etc.) and OBE for cellular, Wi-Fi and satellite. A 
variance depending on the potential implementation is related to the 
one or two DSRC radio communication approach. Therefore, for the Hybrid 
option, the total additional total weight would be 3.21 pounds which 
came from one-radio and relevant parts/materials (3.06 pounds) and 
satellite radios (0.15 pounds). Weight from cellular and Wi-Fi are 
negligible. For the DSRC option, the total additional weight would be 
3.38 pounds based the used of two DSRC radios and relevant parts/
materials.
    The impact of added weight on both annual and MY fuel economic is a 
function of vehicle volumes, vehicle miles traveled, survival 
probability (i.e., the percentage of the vehicle fleet that will not be 
scrapped due to an accident), the price of gasoline, and the change in 
vehicle fuel economy (i.e., change in miles per gallon) due to the 
added weight. Details on the estimating vehicle volumes, miles 
traveled, and survivability can be found in Chapter VII of the PRIA.
(a) Annual Fuel Economy Impact
    Table VII-12 shows the annual fuel economy impact for both one-
radio with the Hybrid option and two radios with the DSRC option. Note 
that the weight difference between the two-radio system and the one-
radio system is 0.17 pound. This small weight difference resulted in no 
discernable difference between these two technology approaches. To be 
consistent with the measure used for other cost items, the ``per 
vehicle'' cost was estimated to be the cost per a new vehicle. As 
shown, the proposed rule would increase the current total annual fuel 
consumption by 1.10 million gallons in 2021 to 30.51 million gallons in 
2060. The corresponding annual cost for these additional fuels was 
estimated to be $3.08 to $135.16 million, annually. These amounts were 
translated into $0.19 to $6.97 per new vehicle sold.

                                   Table VII-12--Annual Fuel Economy Impact *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Additional      Total fuel
              Year                 Calendar year    Fuel price        gallons         economy       Per vehicle
                                                                     (million)      (million $)      cost ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021           $2.80            1.10           $3.08           $0.19
2...............................            2022            2.86            2.69            7.69            0.47
3...............................            2023            2.91            4.70           13.68            0.83
4...............................            2024            2.95            6.58           19.41            1.17
5...............................            2025            2.99            8.34           24.94            1.50
6...............................            2026            3.02           10.02           30.26            1.81
7...............................            2027            3.06           11.66           35.68            2.11
8...............................            2028            3.08           13.19           40.63            2.39
9...............................            2029            3.11           14.62           45.47            2.65
10..............................            2030            3.14           16.01           50.27            2.91
11..............................            2031            3.18           17.32           55.08            3.16
12..............................            2032            3.22           18.52           59.63            3.40
13..............................            2033            3.26           19.69           64.19            3.63
14..............................            2034            3.35           20.73           69.45            3.89
15..............................            2035            3.38           21.76           73.55            4.09
16..............................            2036            3.43           22.68           77.79            4.28
17..............................            2037            3.47           23.50           81.55            4.45
18..............................            2038            3.51           24.28           85.22            4.61
19..............................            2039            3.58           24.99           89.46            4.79
20..............................            2040            3.66           25.64           93.84            4.97
21..............................            2041            3.64           26.27           95.62            5.00
22..............................            2042            3.68           26.70           98.26            5.29
23..............................            2043            3.72           27.11          100.85            5.40
24..............................            2044            3.76           27.46          103.25            5.50
25..............................            2045            3.80           27.83          105.75            5.60
26..............................            2046            3.84           28.11          107.94            5.69
27..............................            2047            3.88           28.44          110.35            5.78
28..............................            2048            3.93           28.71          112.83            5.88

[[Page 3980]]

 
29..............................            2049            3.97           28.91          114.77            5.95
30..............................            2050            4.01           29.21          117.13            6.04
31..............................            2051            4.06           29.43          119.49            6.16
32..............................            2052            4.10           29.65          121.57            6.27
33..............................            2053            4.14           29.82          123.45            6.37
34..............................            2054            4.18           29.97          125.27            6.46
35..............................            2055            4.22           30.10          127.02            6.55
36..............................            2056            4.27           30.20          128.95            6.65
37..............................            2057            4.31           30.33          130.72            6.74
38..............................            2058            4.35           30.41          132.28            6.82
39..............................            2059            4.39           30.47          133.76            6.90
40..............................            2060            4.43           30.51          135.16            6.97
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For both one-radio and two-radios approaches.

(b) MY Fuel Economy Impact
    MY fuel cost (i.e., lifetime fuel economy cost) is the cost of 
additional gasoline used over the vehicle's life and is estimated on a 
per vehicle basis. The fuel economy cost for a specific MY vehicle is 
derived by applying the specific MY fuel economy cost per vehicle to 
every vehicle. The cost is accrued throughout the vehicle's life and is 
discounted to reflect its present value (in 2014 dollars) using 3% and 
7% discount rates. The MY fuel economy impact also is a function of 
mileage, survival probability (i.e., the percentage of the vehicle 
fleet that will not be scrapped due to an accident), the price of 
gasoline, the change in vehicle fuel economy due to the added weight, 
and the discount rate chosen to express lifetime impacts in their 
present value. Additional details on the deriving the MY fuel economy 
impact can be found in Chapter 7 of the PRIA.
    Table VII-13 shows the MY fuel economy impacts at both 3 and 7 
percent discount rates. As shown, at a 3 percent discount rate, the MY 
fuel economy impact of V2V related equipment is estimated to be $32.75 
million at MY 2021 and gradually increasing to $104.73 million for MY 
2050 vehicles. The cost per vehicle is estimated to be $2.02 for MY 
2021 and $5.40 for MY 2050 vehicles. The increase in fuel cost in the 
future, especially after the third year when the full adoption of DSRC 
radios starts, is primarily due to projected higher fuel prices and 
vehicle sales, both of which can vary. The cost per vehicle for a 
particular MY vehicle is calculated by dividing the total fuel cost for 
that MY by the total vehicle sales of that MY vehicle. For the first 
two years, due to the proposed phased in implementation, the cost per 
vehicle is smaller than the cost per affected vehicle since cost per 
vehicle as defined is the average cost over all new vehicles.
    At a 7 percent discount rate, the MY fuel economy impact is 
estimated to be $25.03 for million MY 2021 and $80.52 million for MY 
2050 vehicles. The cost per vehicle for these two MY vehicles would be 
$1.55 and $4.15 for MY 202 and MY 2050 vehicles, respectively.

                                                 Table VII-13--MY Fuel Economy Impact * by Discount Rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                              MY fuel economy impact             Per vehicle  cost
                                                            Gallons per    Total gallons            (million $)          -------------------------------
                  Year                      Model year        vehicle        (million)   --------------------------------
                                                                                                @3%             @7%             @3%             @7%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            0.83           13.38          $32.75          $25.03           $2.02           $1.55
2.......................................            2022            1.22           19.88           49.33           37.71            3.02            2.31
3.......................................            2023            1.58           26.01           65.34           49.96            3.97            3.04
4.......................................            2024            1.54           25.52           64.90           49.62            3.93            3.00
5.......................................            2025            1.49           24.80           63.85           48.81            3.83            2.93
6.......................................            2026            1.50           25.07           65.31           49.92            3.90            2.98
7.......................................            2027            1.50           25.39           66.95           51.17            3.97            3.03
8.......................................            2028            1.51           25.74           68.69           52.50            4.03            3.08
9.......................................            2029            1.52           26.03           70.32           53.74            4.11            3.14
10......................................            2030            1.53           26.42           72.30           55.27            4.18            3.19
11......................................            2031            1.53           26.77           74.21           56.74            4.26            3.25
12......................................            2032            1.54           27.06           76.00           58.14            4.33            3.31
13......................................            2033            1.55           27.34           77.77           59.52            4.40            3.37
14......................................            2034            1.55           27.71           79.86           61.15            4.48            3.43
15......................................            2035            1.56           28.07           81.82           62.67            4.55            3.48
16......................................            2036            1.56           28.40           83.76           64.18            4.61            3.53
17......................................            2037            1.57           28.77           85.80           65.76            4.68            3.59
18......................................            2038            1.57           29.09           87.73           67.25            4.74            3.64
19......................................            2039            1.58           29.45           89.80           68.86            4.81            3.69
20......................................            2040            1.58           29.87           92.00           70.56            4.88            3.74
21......................................            2041            1.58           30.30           94.14           72.18            4.92            3.77
22......................................            2042            1.59           29.53           92.69           71.07            4.99            3.83
23......................................            2043            1.59           29.69           94.15           72.20            5.05            3.87
24......................................            2044            1.59           29.85           95.63           73.36            5.10            3.91
25......................................            2045            1.59           30.03           97.17           74.56            5.15            3.95

[[Page 3981]]

 
26......................................            2046            1.59           30.19           98.66           75.72            5.20            3.99
27......................................            2047            1.59           30.37          100.21           76.94            5.25            4.03
28......................................            2048            1.59           30.53          101.73           78.14            5.30            4.07
29......................................            2049            1.59           30.69          103.20           79.30            5.35            4.11
30......................................            2050            1.59           30.87          104.73           80.52            5.40            4.15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Overall Annual Costs
(a) Total Annual Costs
    The annual costs represent the total annual capital investment and 
fuel economy impact from all V2V-equipped vehicles per year. The costs 
comprise four major categories: (1) Vehicle technology (i.e., DSRC 
radios and app), (2) SCMS, (3) equipment and communication network in 
support of vehicles-to-SCMS communication (i.e., Communication), and 
(4) fuel economy impact due to the increased weight from the in-vehicle 
equipment in (1) and (3).
    Table VII-14 presents the total annual costs and cost per vehicle. 
The total annual costs would range from $2.2 (the lower bound for 2021) 
to $5.0 billion (not shown, upper bound for 2024). The cost per new 
vehicle would range from $135 to $301 (lower bound for 2021 and upper 
bound for 2024). The lower and upper bounds represent the two 
technology implementation approaches (one-radio and two-radios) that 
the agency believes can meet the proposed rule and the security and 
privacy specifications.

                              Table VII-14--Total Annual Costs and Cost per Vehicle
                                                    [2014 $]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Annual cost  (million $)         Annual cost per vehicle
              Year                 Calendar year ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Low            High             Low            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021          $2,192          $2,864         $135.38         $176.89
5...............................            2025           3,701           4,803          222.02          288.13
10..............................            2030           3,649           4,692          210.94          271.22
15..............................            2035           3,717           4,757          206.52          264.26
20..............................            2040           3,831           4,844          203.01          256.71
25..............................            2045           3,796           4,764          201.14          252.49
30..............................            2050           3,858           4,818          198.97          248.50
35..............................            2055           3,832           4,766          197.65          245.80
40..............................            2060           3,804           4,717          196.20          243.27
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Total Annual Costs by Cost Category
    Table VII-15 to Table VII-18 lists the total annual costs 
separately for the four cost categories. As shown, the majority of 
costs came from vehicle technology costs. The annual vehicle technology 
costs ranged from $2.0 to $4.9 billion (in 2023, not shown) and the per 
vehicle cost ranged from $124 to $298.
    The SCMS costs included the costs for the establishment, operation, 
and maintenance of the system that covered the expenditure on human 
resources, equipment, facilities, energy, etc. The total annual SCMS 
costs would range from $39 to $161 million. This is equivalent to $2 to 
$8 per vehicle.
    The communication costs included the costs for equipment and 
communication network that are needed in support of the vehicle-to-SCMS 
communication. The annual communication costs would range up to $494 
million. The communication cost per vehicle would be up to $26 per 
vehicle.
    The fuel economy impact was based on the added weight of 3.38 
pounds for the two-radio technology approach and 3.21 pounds for the 
one-radio approach. Due to the insignificant weight difference between 
these two approaches, the estimated fuel economy impacts are identical 
for these approaches when factoring rounding errors. Therefore, the 
fuel economy impact as shown applies to both approaches. The annual 
fuel economy impact would range from $3 to 135 million. This equates to 
up to $7 per vehicle.

                               Table VII-15--Total Annual Vehicle Technology Costs
                                        [2014 $ and vehicles in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Total costs  (million $)            Cost per vehicle
              Year                 Calendar year ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Low            High             Low            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021          $2,001          $2,822         $123.59         $174.29
5...............................            2025           3,297           4,646          197.79          278.68
10..............................            2030           3,160           4,447          182.63          257.06
15..............................            2035           3,135           4,413          174.17          245.17
20..............................            2040           3,178           4,473          168.39          237.03

[[Page 3982]]

 
25..............................            2045           3,096           4,359          164.09          230.98
30..............................            2050           3,115           4,385          160.67          226.16
35..............................            2055           3,061           4,308          157.85          222.19
40..............................            2060           3,015           4,243          155.47          218.85
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                     Table VII-16--Total Annual SCMS Costs *
                                        [2014 $ and vehicles in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Total costs      Cost per
                              Year                                 Calendar year    (million $)       vehicle
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................................            2021             $39           $2.42
5...............................................................            2025              47            2.80
10..............................................................            2030              59            3.44
15..............................................................            2035              86            4.77
20..............................................................            2040             100            5.29
25..............................................................            2045             122            6.48
30..............................................................            2050             138            7.13
35..............................................................            2055             153            7.89
40..............................................................            2060             161            8.29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Not impacted by technology approach.

                                 Table VII-17--Total Annual Communication Costs
                                        [2014 $ and vehicles in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Total costs  (million $)            Cost per vehicle
              Year                 Calendar year ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Low            High             Low            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021              $0          $1,486           $0.00           $9.18
5...............................            2025              85           3,324            5.15           19.94
10..............................            2030             135           3,799            7.81           21.96
15..............................            2035             185           4,229           10.24           23.49
20..............................            2040             178           4,597            9.42           24.36
25..............................            2045             178           4,709            9.42           24.96
30..............................            2050             178           4,873            9.16           25.13
35..............................            2055             178           4,917            9.16           25.36
40..............................            2060             178           4,939            9.16           25.47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                             Table VII-18--Total Annual Fuel Economy Impact * Costs
                                        [2014 $ and vehicles in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Fuel
                                                                    consumption     Fuel costs       Cost per
                      Year                         Calendar year     (million       (million $)       vehicle
                                                                     gallons)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................            2021            1.10           $3.08           $0.19
5...............................................            2025            8.34           24.94            1.50
10..............................................            2030           16.01           50.27            2.91
15..............................................            2035           21.76           73.55            4.09
20..............................................            2040           25.64           93.84            4.97
25..............................................            2045           27.83          105.75            5.60
30..............................................            2050           29.21          117.13            6.04
35..............................................            2055           30.10          127.02            6.55
40..............................................            2060           30.51          135.16            6.97
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Cost equal for both two technology implementation approaches due to insignificant weight difference.

5. Overall Model Year (MY) Costs
    The primary difference between the annual and MY costs is the fuel 
economy impact. The PRIA assumes that vehicle technology, SCMS, and 
communication costs would be paid by vehicle owners when their vehicles 
were purchased. Thus, these three costs are identical between the 
annual and

[[Page 3983]]

MY costs. In annual costs, the fuel economy impact measures the 
additional fuel costs for all V2V-equipped MY vehicles in a specific 
calendar year. For estimating the MY costs, the fuel economy impact 
measures the incremental lifetime fuel impact for a specific MY 
vehicles and were discounted at a 3 and 7 percent rate to reflect their 
present value.
    Table VII-19 and Table VII-20 shows the MY costs at a 3 percent and 
7 percent discount rate, respectively. At a 3 percent discount rate, 
the MY costs would range from $2.22 (lower bound at Year 1) to $5.03 
billion (upper bound at Year 4, not shown). The cost per vehicle would 
range from $137.21 to $304.06. The lower bound of the costs represents 
the MY costs for the one-radio approach and the higher bound represents 
the cost for the two-radio approach.
    At a 7 percent discount rate, the MY costs would range from $2.21 
(lower bound at Year 1) to $5.01 billion (upper bound at Year 4, not 
shown). The MY cost per vehicle would range from $136.73 to $303.14.

                         Table VII-19--Total MY Costs and Cost per Vehicle at 3 Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Total MY costs  (million $)         MY cost per vehicle
              Year                  Model year   ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Low            High             Low            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021          $2,221          $2,894         $137.21         $178.72
5...............................            2025           3,740           4,842          224.36          290.46
10..............................            2030           3,671           4,714          212.21          272.49
15..............................            2035           3,726           4,765          206.98          264.72
20..............................            2040           3,829           4,842          202.92          256.61
25..............................            2045           3,787           4,756          200.68          252.03
30..............................            2050           3,846           4,806          198.33          247.86
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Table VII-20--Total MY Costs and Cost per Vehicle at 7 Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Total MY costs  (million $)        MY cost per  vehicle
              Year                 Calendar year ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Low            High             Low            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021          $2,214          $2,886         $136.73         $178.25
5...............................            2025           3,725           4,827          223.45          289.56
10..............................            2030           3,654           4,697          211.22          271.51
15..............................            2035           3,706           4,746          205.92          263.66
20..............................            2040           3,808           4,821          201.78          255.47
25..............................            2045           3,764           4,733          199.49          250.83
30..............................            2050           3,821           4,782          197.09          246.61
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency seeks comment on all aspects of the cost estimates 
developed for this proposal. This includes all cost assumptions, 
estimated component costs, communication costs including other 
potential options the agency did not evaluate, and views on potential 
SCMS costs. Please provide any supporting data for the comments. If 
necessary, the agency has processes and procedures for submitting 
confidential business information.

C. Non-Quantified Costs

    The agency identified four major non-quantified costs that could be 
related to the deployment of V2V devices. These include the potential 
health costs due to a potential increase in electromagnetic 
hypersensitivity (EHS, i.e., human radiation exposure to wireless 
communications discussed in Section IV.E) potential loss of perceived 
privacy, the opportunity costs of alternative uses for the spectrum, 
and possibly increased litigation costs. The agency requests comment on 
these costs, particularly whether there exist ways to quantify any of 
these costs.
1. Health Insurance Costs Relating to EHS
    Many commenters (mostly individual citizens) commented on the 
potential relationship of DSRC radio technology and electromagnetic 
field exposure hypersensitivity, raising concerns regarding the 
potential for a V2V mandate to increase electromagnetic beyond today's 
levels. The agency takes these concerns very seriously. The agency 
since has conducted a literature review and other research (on-going) 
to better understand electromagnetic radiation and its relationship to 
the symptoms of EHS. As we understand that the expertise of our sister 
agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others, have been involved 
with electromagnetic fields, in parallel with the pervasiveness of 
cellular phone deployment in the United States and globally.
    The FDA found that most studies conducted to date show no 
connection between certain health problems and exposure to 
radiofrequency fields via cell phone use and that attempts to replicate 
and confirm the few studies that did show a connection have 
failed.\353\ Furthermore, V2V devices would operate at distances 
significantly further than the distance between a portable cellular 
phone to its operator, where the device is generally carried on a 
person or pressed directly to the ear. Therefore, the EHS effects are 
expected to be lower for V2V than cell phones; the agency does not 
quantify the health costs relating to EHS. Nevertheless, the agency 
acknowledges that research is still ongoing and, as technology evolves; 
wireless communications will most likely continue to increase. We will 
continue to monitor the progress of this issue and closely follow the 
efforts of the Radiofrequency Interagency Work Group (RFIAWG) which may 
yield any

[[Page 3984]]

potential future guidance for wireless device deployment and usage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \353\ Radiation-Emitting Products, ``Current Research Results,'' 
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainment/CellPhones/ucm116335.htm, last accessed: June 3, 2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Perceived Privacy Loss
    One intangible outcome of the proposed rule is a perceived 
potential for loss of privacy. Individuals may perceive the V2V system 
as eroding their personal privacy and view this as a considerable 
negative consequence. Also, several surveys showed that individual 
attitudes towards information security seems inconsistent with their 
behavior on protection of their information.354 355 
Acquisti, et al. stated that identifying the consequence of a privacy 
incident is difficult enough, and quantifying these consequences is 
remarkably complex.\356\ Furthermore, there are few studies on the 
economic costs for privacy and even less for quantifying the economic 
costs for perceived privacy loss. Given the great uncertainties for 
valuing the perceived loss of privacy, this analysis does not quantify 
this cost.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \354\ Acquisti, Alessandro (2004), Privacy Attitudes and Privacy 
Behavior, Losses, Gains, and Hyperbolic Discounting (Preliminary 
draft).
    \355\ Acquisti, Alessandro (2002). Protecting privacy with 
economics: Economic incentives for preventing technologies in 
ubiquitous computing environments. In workshop on Socially-informed 
Design of Privacy-enhancing Solutions, 4th International Conference 
on Ubiquitous Computing--UBICOMP'02.
    \356\ Acquisti, A., Friedman, A., Telang, R., ``Is there a Cost 
to Privacy Breaches? An Event Study'', Twenty Seventh International 
Conference on Information System, Milwaukee 2006 (pre-proceeding 
draft version).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To ease the privacy concerns and mitigate possible privacy loss, 
the agency is committed to regulating V2V communications in a manner 
that both protects individuals and promotes this important safety 
technology. NHTSA has worked closely with experts and our industry 
research partners (CAMP and the VIIC) to build privacy protections into 
the design and deployment of V2V communications that help guard against 
risks to individual privacy.
    The agency has conducted a thorough privacy impact assessment as 
required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 108-
447. This Act requires that Federal agencies conduct privacy impact 
assessments (PIAs) of proposed regulatory activities involving 
collections or systems of information in electronic form with the 
potential to impact individual privacy. A PIA documents the flow of 
information and information requirements within a system by detailing 
how and why information is transmitted, collected, stored and shared 
to: (1) Ensure compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, and policy 
requirements regarding privacy; (ii) determine the risks and effects of 
the proposed data transactions; and (iii) examine and evaluate 
protections and alternative processes for handling data to mitigate 
potential privacy risks.
3. Opportunity Costs of Spectrum for Other Uses
(a) Overview
    Our analysis shows that this rule will generate significant net 
benefits due to improved safety, decreased loss of life, reduced 
property damage, and other impacts. While requiring this technology has 
costs, the analysis here shows that the benefits of this rule well 
justify those costs.
    As discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this notice, the FCC 
designated the 5.9 GHz band (i.e., 5850-5925 MHz) for ITS radio 
services and adopted open license to both public safety and non-public 
safety use of this band with the priority for public safety 
communications in 2003. Within the 5.9 GHz band, the FCC has designated 
Channel 172 (i.e., 5.855-5.865 GHz, a 10 MHz band) exclusively for 
``vehicle-to-vehicle communication for crash avoidance and mitigation, 
and safety of life and property applications.''
    Given the FCC's decision about how to allocate Channel 172, this 
rule results in the use of that particular radio spectrum for vehicle-
to-vehicle communication even though that resource could potentially 
have alternative uses for society, including alternative safety 
applications. The FCC, not NHTSA or DOT, has the authority to determine 
the commercial use of spectrum. However, NHTSA understands the scarcity 
of spectrum and in the interests of providing a complete analysis of 
the costs and benefits of this rule seeks comment on the potential 
costs associated with the lost opportunity to exploit the spectrum at 
issue for other uses.
    The FCC, as part of its own ongoing rulemaking proceeding, is 
considering whether to allow ``Unlicensed National Information 
Infrastructure'' (UNII) devices (that provide short-range, high-speed, 
unlicensed wireless connections for, among other applications, Wi-Fi-
enabled radio local area networks, cordless telephones, and fixed 
outdoor broadband transceivers used by wireless Internet service 
providers) to operate in the same frequencies of the spectrum as V2V.
    Opening any spectrum band to sharing could result in many more 
devices transmitting and receiving information on the same or similar 
frequencies. Depending on the technology, band, and uses at issue, such 
sharing can work well or can lead to harmful interference among those 
devices. Recognizing the scarcity of spectrum, in December 2015 and 
January 2016, the DOT, FCC, and the Department of Commerce sent joint 
letters to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation, stating a shared ``commitment to finding the best 
method to develop, successfully test, and deploy advanced automotive 
safety systems while working to meet existing and future spectrum 
demands,'' and announcing an interagency, multi-phased testing regime 
that will be used to ``provide reliable, real-world data on the 
performance of unlicensed devices that are designed to avoid 
interfering with DSRC operation in the 5.9 GHz band.'' \357\ The 
results of this test will inform FCC on potential sharing solutions, if 
any, between proposed Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure 
(U-NII) devices and DSRC operations in the 5.850-5.925 GHz (U-NII-4) 
band.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \357\ See letter in NHTSA Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The results of the interagency tests will also be utilized to 
inform NHTSA's proceeding as it progresses towards aproceeding prior to 
any final rulemaking on V2V. As noted in the joint DOT-FCC-Commerce 
letter that responds to a Congressional letter dated September 9, 2015, 
it is ``imperative--to ensure the future automotive safety and 
efficiency of the traveling public--that all three phases of the FCC 
test plan be completed before reaching any conclusions as to whether 
[non-DSRC] unlicensed devices can safely operate in the 5.9 GHz band.'' 
without interfering with DSRC operation.
    DOT believes that any estimate of the opportunity cost of this NPRM 
should be made in the context of the FCC's existing policies and 
authorities. Put another way, in identifying and valuing other 
opportunities that might be precluded or degraded by this NPRM, DOT is 
considering those opportunities consistent with the FCC's designation 
of spectrum. However, in assessing the benefits in the context of the 
current FCC designation on which this rule focuses, we invite and will 
consider comments on opportunity costs associated with broader uses of 
spectrum beyond the current FCC designation.
    In addition, we provide a further discussion of other potential 
benefits of DSRC beyond the two safety applications quantified in the 
economic analysis for this NPRM. Those

[[Page 3985]]

additional benefits include potential safety, congestion, 
environmental, UAS and Smart City benefits.
(b) Benefits of DSRC
    We first provide a further explanation of the potential additional 
safety benefits of DSRC beyond the two intersection safety applications 
quantified in the economic analysis for this NPRM.
    The primary benefit of the proposed rule is improved automobile 
safety. Section VII.D discusses this benefit at length. DOT also wishes 
to present a broader discussion of the benefits not measured in the 
Primary Regulatory Impact Analysis and seek comment on the resulting 
estimate. To arrive at this estimate, we have taken existing research 
that quantified motor vehicle crashes as costing society over $242 
billion in economic impacts in 2010 and caused societal harm of over 
$836 billion through fatalities, injuries and property damage. 
Adjusting the societal harm estimate to reflect the increase in traffic 
fatalities and CPI in 2015, we arrive at a value of $966 billion. 
Recognizing previous research has indicated that V2V could potentially 
avoid or mitigate 80% of unimpaired crashes, we have conservatively 
calculated scenarios where V2V is phased in linearly, reaching maximum 
crash reduction benefits of 5, 10, and 15% by 2035.

         Table VII-21--Summary of Estimated Present Value of Benefits of V2V Communication for This NPRM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Percentage of    2018 PV at 3%     2018 PV at 7%
                     Societal Harm  ($M)                          crashes       discount rate     discount rate
                                                                 prevented          ($M)              ($M)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$966,000....................................................             5.0          $603,620          $288,480
$966,000....................................................            10.0         1,207,230           576,950
$966,000....................................................            15.0         1,810,850           865,430
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A more conservative approach to calculating total benefit of the 
rule could be considering a function of the number of lives that would 
be saved by V2V communication, multiplied by the economic value of a 
life. A number of values have been used for the economic value of a 
life; we compute our sensitivity analysis using values of $5-$13.4M. 
Table VII-22 below presents different estimates for the 2018 value of 
the benefit of the rule through 2050.

         Table VII--22 Summary of Estimated Present Value of Benefits of V2V Communication for This NPRM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Percentage of                    2018 PV at 3%     2018 PV at 7%
            Value of a life  ($M)               fatalities      Fatalities      discount rate     discount rate
                                                 prevented       prevented          ($M)              ($M)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$5.4........................................             1.0          350.92           $38,636           $23,965
$13.4.......................................             1.0          350.92            95,874            59,468
$5.4........................................             5.0          1754.6           193,181           119,824
$13.4.......................................             5.0          1754.6           479,373           297,341
$5.4........................................            10.0          3509.2           386,360           239,648
$13.4.......................................            10.0          3509.2           958,747           594,683
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) Other Benefits of DSRC Communication
    The benefits shown above offset the costs, including opportunity 
costs, of this proposed rule. Moreover, the beneficial uses of spectrum 
for vehicle-to-vehicle communications could well increase in the 
future. Over the last five years, the USDOT has sponsored the Connected 
Vehicle Program under Intelligent Transportation Systems Research. This 
program has identified more than fifty potential connected vehicle 
applications concepts, many of which have already been prototyped and 
demonstrated. As a part of this process, the component application 
development programs have also conducted assessments to measure safety, 
mobility, and environmental impacts. Field demonstrations have been 
supplemented by estimation of difficult-to-observe impacts and 
potential future impacts from broader application deployment using a 
range of analytical methods. The USDOT has published documentation from 
the more advanced application development efforts, including concepts 
of operations, system requirements, design documents, algorithms, 
functional descriptions, characterization test results, field test 
evaluation results and estimation of benefits associated with these 
prototypes. In total, the USDOT has identified fifty-three connected 
vehicle applications that will depend on effective vehicle 
communication. These fifty-three applications include thirteen safety 
applications that address vehicle occupant and pedestrian safety 
through communication with other vehicles as well as roadside 
infrastructure. They also include fifteen applications that address 
environmental quality and resource consumption, and many more that 
address congestion, mobility, and data gathering.
(d) Opportunity Costs of Precluding Alternative Uses
    Decisions regarding whether to allow additional uses of spectrum 
than those currently authorized by the FCC for the ITS band are not 
within the scope of DOT's or NHTSA's authority. Comments on the value 
of these uses will, however, be accepted. Such comments should consider 
that the interagency spectrum sharing tests are not yet complete, and 
it will be impossible to fully measure such benefits until the 
feasibility of sharing is determined. If such sharing is possible, 
those benefits will likely decrease opportunity costs associated with 
mandating V2V communications. Nothing in this rulemaking would preclude 
the FCC, in conjunction with DOT and NTIA, from authorizing appropriate 
sharing at some future date.
    The chart below is a generic calculation of the spectrum 
opportunity cost, based on preclusion of alternative uses for the 
spectrum. This estimate might overstate the value of opportunity cost 
if sharing is determined to be possible. We use estimated Wi-Fi values 
from 2013 and earlier reports to estimate the economic value of one MHz 
of

[[Page 3986]]

spectrum. To do this, we begin by extracting data from the largest and 
most recent study of spectrum values from TAS, making several 
adjustments based on our analysis.\358\ To calculate a net present 
value as of 2016, we treat the annual economic value of the spectrum 
beginning in 2018 and until 2050, meaning that it will generate the 
same value for each year in the future. There are two assumptions 
implicit in this approach: (1) The spectrum continues to generate value 
into the future and (2) the value of the spectrum does not change from 
year to year (i.e., the growth rate is zero).\359\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \358\ Assessment of the Economic Value of Unlicensed Spectrum in 
the United States, Final Report, February 2014, Telecom Advisory 
Services, LLC http://www.wififorward.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Value-of-Unlicensed-Spectrum-to-the-US-Economy-Full-Report.pdf (last 
accessed Dec 8, 2016). We first remove RFID retail because it is a 
very different technology from Wi-Fi and it operates at very low 
frequency bands (13.56, 4.33, and 902-928 MHz (i.e., all operate at 
less than 1 GHz). Second, Table C includes $34.885B of producer 
surplus associated with Wi-Fi only tablets estimated as the 
difference between the retail price and manufacturing costs for a 
weighted average of tablet suppliers. In practice, consumers pay 
above manufacturing costs for marketing, brand, and other amenities, 
making this an overestimate. As a rough adjustment, we cut this 
number in half to $17.44B. Adding all spectrum values from Table C 
of the TAS report except for RFID retail yields a total value for 
unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum of $110 billion. Based on the CEA report, 
there are a total of 638 MHz of spectrum available for unlicensed 
Wi-Fi use. This includes 83 MHz in the 2.4 GHz band and 555 MHz in 
the 5.1-5.8 GHz band. Dividing the TAS estimate of Wi-Fi value by 
the total bandwidth gives an estimate of $172.4 million per each MHz 
of spectrum.
    \359\ Other researchers including Bazelon and McHenry (2015) use 
a similar approach. Bazelon and McHentry (2015) paper is available 
here: http://www.brattle.com/system/publications/pdfs/000/005/168/original/Mobile_Broadband_Spectrum_-_A_Valuable_Resource_for_the_American_Economy_Bazelon_McHenry_051115.pdf (last accessed Dec 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The estimated present value of each additional MHz up to 2050 
ranges between $1.9B and $3.4B based on whether a 7 or a 3 percent 
discount rate is used, respectively.\360\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \360\ We use 3 and 7 percent discount rates to be consistent 
with OMB guidelines, available here (Step 7, p. 11): https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/regpol/circular-a-4_regulatory-impact-analysis-a-primer.pdf (last accessed Dec 8, 
2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We seek comment on whether these per-MHz figures are reasonable, 
including comment on the detailed analysis in footnote 3, as well as 
any alternative methodologies.

                                              Table VII-23--Summary of Estimated Present Value of Spectrum
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                   PV to 2050, 2018    PV to 2050, 2018
                                                                       Value                                      implementation, 3%  implementation, 7%
                            Approach                               (billions of         MHz       Billions of $/     discount rate       discount rate
                                                                        $)                              MHz         (billions of $/     (billions of $/
                                                                                                                         MHz)                MHz)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Value of Wi-Fi........................................             110             638             0.2                 3.4                 1.9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other ways to estimate the opportunity cost of spectrum may be 
feasible, including using auction values for spectrum licenses. A 
method like this would require estimates of the ratio between auction 
value and annual consumer surplus. A method like that would generate 
far higher values than the table above because it uses licensed rather 
than unlicensed spectrum as a benchmark--making it yield an estimate 
that cannot be directly used to assess the value of unlicensed 
spectrum. Other considerations when using the estimates above to value 
the spectrum in question include:
    The value of spectrum is highly situational and the historic 
spectrum value might not be a valid indication of the spectrum of the 
future. Spectrum value differs with respect to variables including, but 
not limited to, frequencies, size of the block or segment, 
international harmonization, geographic location, the timing of the 
release of new batches of spectrum, and the extent to which use is 
shared or exclusive. Frequencies might be the most significant factor 
to determine the value since different frequencies have different 
characteristics that make useful for different applications. The most 
useful bands of frequencies may be auctioned out and developed early. 
The spectrum values for these frequencies may have very different 
characteristics from the 5.9 GHz band and their value may exceed the 
value of the 5.9 GHz.
    The cost of delivering information over spectrum varies and is a 
function of the range in which it operates. Higher frequency spectrums 
like 5.9 GHz broadcast over much shorter distances than lower frequency 
spectrums and thus require the interaction of interoperable devices 
over these short distances to transmit and receive messages in order 
for applications to activate.
    Existing market values do not reflect the progressive increase of 
the economic value of spectrum over time (i.e., time-dependent value).
    The above estimates yield per-MHz figures for the gross opportunity 
cost that would result if spectrum in these bands were monopolized. 
However, the actual opportunity cost associated with spectrum that 
would result from mandating V2V in the way prescribed in this NPRM is 
represented by foregone alternative uses of that spectrum, which would 
be more limited.
    It is possible that all spectrum within the relevant 75 MHz will 
ultimately be used for vehicle-to-vehicle communications given the 
substantial safety benefits of that technology. It is, however, likely 
that not all spectrum within the relevant 75 MHz will be de facto or de 
jure used exclusively for the specific safety applications envisioned 
by this rule, i.e., those based on transmission of the Basic Safety 
Message. In particular, we propose to require BSM transmissions on a 
single 10 MHz channel. Multiplying this 10 MHz by the per-MHz values 
derived above yields an opportunity cost of $19-$34 billion. We seek 
comment on the best framework to appropriately consider the opportunity 
costs of this proposed rule across the band, taking into account 
varying assumptions about spectrum usage. DOT expects to include an 
estimate of the opportunity cost of spectrum as part of its RIA in a 
final rule.
4. Increased Litigation Costs
    The agency recognizes the possibility of higher litigation costs 
due to the cooperative nature of the V2V environment. However, the 
agency reiterates that driving tasks are drivers' responsibilities. The 
at-fault driver in a crash will bear the economic burden and this will 
not be altered in the V2V environment. Furthermore, V2V technology is 
expected to help avoid crashes and thus reduce the overall burden 
imposed on legal systems and traffic courts.

[[Page 3987]]

D. Estimated Benefits

1. Assumptions and Overview
    In order to estimate the benefits of this rule, the agency made 
several key assumptions. The agency applied the same assumptions for 
adoption and vehicle fleet penetration rates as for estimating both the 
costs and benefits of this proposed rule, as shown in Table VII-24 and 
Table VII-25.

                                                 Table VII-24--V2V Technology Adoption Rates in Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Model year
                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      2021         2022         2023         2024         2025         2026         2027         2028
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSRC %..........................................           50           75          100          100          100          100          100          100
Applications % *................................            0            5           10           25           40           65           90          100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* As percent of DSRC-equipped vehicles.

                                 Table VII-25--V2V Technology Fleet Penetration
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         With DSRC radios                    With apps
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
              Year                 Calendar year     Number of                       Number of
                                                     vehicles         Percent        vehicles         Percent
                                                     (million)                       (million)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................            2021             8.1             3.3             0.0             0.0
5...............................            2025           68.13            27.4             6.3             5.2
10..............................            2030           144.3            55.8            87.2            33.7
15..............................            2035           208.4            77.6           163.7            61.0
20..............................            2040           253.0            90.8           226.1            81.2
25..............................            2045           276.6            96.2           265.3            92.3
30..............................            2050           291.3            98.6           286.9            96.8
35..............................            2055           300.6            99.7           298.1            98.9
40..............................            2060           305.2           100.0           304.6            99.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency estimated the potential benefits of the proposed rule 
based upon a scenario where two safety applications, IMA and LTA, are 
voluntarily adopted by industry following a DSRC-mandate. The agency 
focused on these potential safety applications because we have 
sufficient data and because they can be effectively enabled only by 
V2V. IMA warns drivers of vehicles approaching from a lateral direction 
at an intersection, while LTA warns drivers of vehicles approaching 
from the opposite direction when attempting a left turn at an 
intersection. The agency notes that this may not be the scenario that 
actually occurs following a DSRC-mandate; manufacturers may choose to 
offer other safety applications that use V2V technology beyond these 
two and may offer those technologies or IMA and LTA in a time frame 
different from what is considered for purposes of analysis. In 
addition, manufacturers may also offer various other technologies that 
use DSRC, such as V2I or V2P technologies. These other technologies may 
offer benefits of a different amount than those calculated for IMA and 
LTA and they may accrue over a different timeframe. The agency requests 
comment on these assumptions.
    Overall, three major factors influence the potential benefits of a 
V2V implementation: The size of the crash population, the safety 
application effectiveness, and vehicle communication rates. The 
undiscounted annual benefits thus are the product of these three 
factors and can be expressed mathematically by the following generic 
formula:

Bi = P * E * Ci

Where,

Bi = Annual benefits (or MY benefits) of the proposed 
rule at year i,
P = Target population (crashes, fatalities, injuries, or PDOVs),
E = Effectiveness of apps (i.e., IMA or LTA), and
Ci = communication rate at year i.
(a) Target Population (P)
    The target population (P) includes crashes, fatalities, injuries, 
and PDOVs. As described in Section II.A, the Safety Need, this proposed 
rule is estimated to affect potentially 3.4 million light-vehicle-to-
light-vehicle crashes. This potential population excludes other crashes 
scenarios. More specifically, single-vehicle crashes were excluded 
based on the V2V's inherent cooperative operation, with two vehicles 
communicating with each to potentially issue a warning before a crash. 
Crashes with four or more vehicles were not included because the agency 
does not have data to estimate how effective the safety warning 
applications would be as these crashes might involve complex 
interactions among vehicles. Crashes involving pedestrians and pedal-
cyclists were also excluded since these crashes might need the 
communication between vehicles and persons. Crashes involving 
motorcycles were excluded because the agency has not conducted any V2V 
research on motorcycles. Finally, crashes involving at least one heavy 
vehicle \361\ are excluded since the agency is only evaluating light 
vehicle crashes at this time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \361\ Heavy vehicles include trucks and buses with a GVWR 
greater than 10,000 pounds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Figure VII-2 depicts how the agency determined the potential target 
population for both the IMA and LTA safety warning applications. In 
addition, the figure also includes the corresponding monetized values 
at each ``stage'' of filtering for the potential target population. As 
indicated, the end result is an estimated 1.06 million crashes that 
could be addressed by the IMA and LTA safety warning applications, 
making up approximately 19 percent of the total police-reported 
crashes. These crashes resulted in 2,372 fatalities and 0.69 million 
MAIS 1-5 injuries and damaged 1.29 million vehicles. Together, these 
crashes cost society $121 billion, annually. Separately, IMA crashes 
resulted in 1,824 fatalities and 0.47 million MAIS

[[Page 3988]]

1-5 injuries and damaged 0.97 million vehicles. The IMA crashes cost 
society $84 billion, annually. When compared to IMA, LTA has a smaller 
number of target crashes. LTA crashes resulted in 548 fatalities and 
0.22 million injuries (MAIS 1-5) and damaged 0.32 million vehicles. The 
IMA crashes cost society $36 billion, annually.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.018

    The target populations used for this analysis were retrieved from 
the 2010-2013 FARS and GES. FARS is a census of fatalities that 
occurred in fatal crashes on public roadways. FARS was used to derive 
the incidence of fatal target crashes and associated fatalities. GES is 
a sampling system of all police-reported crashes. GES was used to 
derive the MAIS 1+ injuries in non-fatal target crashes and PDOVs. The 
agency utilized multiple years of crash data to limit variations of 
crashes and provide the best possible estimate for projecting potential 
benefits.
    The variables used to define the target crashes include vehicle 
forms submitted, vehicle body type, crash type, the first harmful 
event, relation to roadway, roadway alignment, roadway condition, 
rollover type, jackknife status, driver contributing factor, and 
vehicle contributing factor. Of these variables, the driver 
contributing and vehicle contributing factors were used to refine the 
target population. The driver contribution factor specifies whether 
driver's alertness contributed to the crashes. The vehicle contributing 
factor identifies whether vehicle's component failure or defect 
contributed to the crashes. Crashes where incapacitated or drowsy 
drivers were involved and where vehicle mechanical failures such as 
brake systems, tires, steering, and transmissions were cited as 
contributing factors were excluded.
(b) Effectiveness (E)
    The agency applied effectiveness rates for IMA and LTA. The 
effectiveness rate estimates are derived using the Safety Impact 
Methodology (SIM) tool developed by the Department of Transportation's 
Volpe Center, specifically for estimating the effectiveness of V2V 
technology. In order to obtain a crash warning using V2V technology, 
two V2V-equipped vehicles need to interact during a potential crash 
situation--if a V2V-equipped vehicle interacts with a non-V2V-equipped 
vehicle in a potential crash situation, no warning is to be expected, 
because the non-equipped vehicle would produce no BSM for the equipped 
vehicle to recognize and respond to. To be able to estimate the 
effectiveness of advanced crash avoidance technology such as V2V, NHTSA 
developed a methodology that uses available data and computer 
simulation,\362\ extending current estimation capabilities and enabling 
V2V technology to be ``exposed'' to more conflict situations to make up 
for and potential lack of crashes in the real-world crash databases. 
The methodology and simulation tool allows the agency to better 
comprehend the crash avoidance potential and the performance criteria 
of the V2V technology prior to the technology's actual deployment. 
Extensive details on how the agency estimates effectiveness of 
potential V2V safety applications can be found in Chapter 4 of the PRIA 
and Chapter XII.B.1 of the V2V Readiness Report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \362\ For an overview of this methodology, see ``Implementation 
of the Safety Impact Methodology Tool'' DRAFT located in Docket 
NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table VII-26 shows the effectiveness of IMA and LTA used for the 
benefit

[[Page 3989]]

estimates in this proposal. As shown, IMA is estimated to prevent 43-56 
percent of intersection related crashes and LTA would prevent 37-63 
percent of crashes where a left turn is being attempted across oncoming 
traffic.

     Table VII-26--Effectiveness of IMA and LTA Safety Applications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Apps                       Low  (%)        High  (%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMA.....................................              43              56
LTA.....................................              37              63
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These estimates are adjusted slightly from the effectiveness 
estimates used in the V2V Readiness Report to reflect the latest crash 
data available to the agency. There are no changes in methodology for 
developing the effectiveness estimate from that used in the V2V 
Readiness Report. In the Readiness Report, the agency estimated values 
of 41-55 percent for IMA and 36-62 percent for LTA, differences of only 
one to two percent at either end of the ranges. The differences 
originate in the minor adjustment in the injury probability curves for 
IMA and overall the newer crash data yielded a different crash scenario 
distribution. In order to account for potential uncertainty in these 
effectiveness rates, the agency included lower effectiveness rates in 
the uncertainty analysis for this rule. The agency requests additional 
information concerning the potential effectiveness of these two 
applications.
(c) Communication Rate (Ci)
    The communication rate (Ci) used the generic benefit 
formula above, represents the potential probability of a crash in which 
the vehicles involved are both DSRC-equipped light vehicles utilizing 
the safety applications IMA and LTA. To derive this probability, the 
agency first developed a projection of the number of vehicles that 
would be equipped by leveraging the technology adoption rates used for 
estimating the proposed rule costs. As discussed in the estimated cost 
section, the proposed rule would require that all applicable vehicles 
are equipped allowing for a market-driven adoption for safety 
applications. The proposed requirement for DSRC radio adoption schedule 
is a three year phase-in: 50 percent of the first MY vehicles, 75 
percent of the second MY vehicles and 100 percent of the third MY 
vehicles. For benefits estimation, the agency applied these proposed, 
required adoption rates to estimated, future vehicle sales yielding the 
potential vehicles that could be equipped with DSRC devices in the 
overall vehicle fleet.
    The agency believes a similar, market-driven approach could take 
hold for V2V technology once the equipment becomes widely available and 
consumers recognize the potential benefits.
    The agency believes that IMA and LTA could be adopted as standard 
equipment on a schedule similar to the ``combined'' schedules for the 
FCW and LDW displayed in the NCAP data. Based on broad collection of 
implementation information such as, the ITS study, NCAP data, agency 
meetings with manufacturers, announcements on V2V implementation from 
vehicle industry, and the cost consideration; the agency established 
the a safety application adoption trend of 0% for the first MY vehicles 
that have DSRC radios, 5%, 10%, 25%, 40%, 65%, 90%, and 100% for each 
following MY vehicles, respectively.
    The agency believes that this adoption rate is reasonable. We note 
that the pattern is similar to those shown in the NCAP data; with slow 
initial rate spanning approximately two years and then increasing year 
over year at a rate that would reach full adoption in the eighth year 
of the implementation of the DSRC technology. Under this adoption 
scenario, the benefits estimates assume IMA and LTA would not be 
deployed in the first year. In the second year, with the required 75 
percent DSRC installation rate and the five percent safety application 
adoption among the DSRC-equipped vehicles, five percent of the total 
new vehicles (= 0.05 * 0.75) are expected to have the two safety 
applications. In the third year, 10 percent of the new vehicles (= 0.1 
* 1.00) would have the apps, and so on so forth. Overall, the benefits 
(and costs) of the proposed rule were estimated based on this specific 
technology adoption scenario, as shown in Table VII-27.

                                      Table VII-27--V2V Technology Adoption Scenario for Cost and Benefit Estimates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1 (2021)     2 (2022)     3 (2023)     4 (2024)     5 (2025)     6 (2026)     7 (2027)     8 (2028)
                    Year (MY)                         (%)          (%)          (%)          (%)          (%)          (%)          (%)          (%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSRC............................................           50           75          100          100          100          100          100          100
Apps*...........................................            0            5           10           25           40           65           90          100
Apps Actual **..................................            0            4           10           25           40           65           90          100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* IMA and LTA of DSRC-equipped new vehicles.
** of all new vehicles.

    Table VII-28 shows the communication rates from 2021 to 2060 by 
vehicle type (i.e., PCs, LTVs, and PCs and LTVs combined) separately 
for IMA and LTA. As expected, the communication rates would be 
relatively small in the first few years and accelerate faster when time 
progresses.
    The overall communication with vehicles that had the apps would be 
rare in the first three years as measured by those rates for IMA. The 
rate would reach over 50 percent (51.41%) in 2034, the 14th year of the 
implementation of the proposed rule. In 2039, 5 years later, the rate 
would reach 75 percent. In 2044, the communication rate would reach 
over 90 percent.
    For LTA, the communication rates would be smaller than the general 
communication rates. In 2022, for example, the contributable rate for 
LTA with vehicles equipped with the apps is about 0.02 percent, 50 
percent of the overall communication rate. However, the ratio would 
increase over time and narrow the difference between these two rates. 
In 2034, the rate for LTA would be 41.36 percent, 80.5 percent of the 
overall communicating rate.

[[Page 3990]]

                                                  Table VII-28--Light Vehicle Fleet Communication Rates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                IMA                                             LTA
                  Year                     Calendar year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              PCs (%)        LTVs (%)      Combined (%)       PCs (%)        LTVs (%)      Combined (%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00            0.00
2.......................................            2022            0.02            0.02            0.04            0.01            0.01            0.02
3.......................................            2023            0.13            0.13            0.26            0.07            0.07            0.14
4.......................................            2024            0.52            0.50            1.02            0.28            0.27            0.55
5.......................................            2025            1.32            1.26            2.58            0.73            0.70            1.43
6.......................................            2026            2.77            2.64            5.41            1.61            1.54            3.15
7.......................................            2027            4.94            4.71            9.65            3.06            2.92            5.98
8.......................................            2028            7.55            7.19           14.74            4.96            4.72            9.68
9.......................................            2029           10.40            9.88           20.28            7.17            6.81           13.98
10......................................            2030           13.45           12.76           26.21            9.63            9.14           18.77
11......................................            2031           16.63           15.77           32.40           12.33           11.69           24.02
12......................................            2032           19.90           18.84           38.74           15.20           14.39           29.59
13......................................            2033           23.19           21.92           45.11           18.20           17.20           35.40
14......................................            2034           26.46           24.95           51.41           21.29           20.07           41.36
15......................................            2035           29.65           27.87           57.52           24.41           22.95           47.36
16......................................            2036           32.69           30.62           63.31           27.50           25.75           53.25
17......................................            2037           35.53           33.16           68.69           30.48           28.45           58.93
18......................................            2038           38.12           35.46           73.58           33.31           30.98           64.29
19......................................            2039           40.40           37.47           77.87           35.92           33.32           69.24
20......................................            2040           42.36           39.21           81.57           38.29           35.45           73.74
21......................................            2041           43.99           40.69           84.68           40.38           37.36           77.74
22......................................            2042           45.18           42.03           87.21           42.06           39.12           81.18
23......................................            2043           46.11           43.17           89.28           43.46           40.69           84.15
24......................................            2044           46.81           44.17           90.98           44.59           42.07           86.66
25......................................            2045           47.33           45.04           92.37           45.47           43.27           88.74
26......................................            2046           47.72           45.83           93.55           46.16           44.33           90.49
27......................................            2047           48.04           46.56           94.60           46.71           45.28           91.99
28......................................            2048           48.29           47.25           95.54           47.14           46.13           93.27
29......................................            2049           48.49           47.90           96.39           47.49           46.91           94.40
30......................................            2050           48.65           48.50           97.15           47.77           47.61           95.38
31......................................            2051           48.75           49.02           97.77           47.97           48.24           96.21
32......................................            2052           48.81           49.50           98.31           48.14           48.82           96.96
33......................................            2053           48.82           49.93           98.75           48.25           49.34           97.59
34......................................            2054           48.81           50.31           99.12           48.33           49.81           98.14
35......................................            2055           48.78           50.65           99.43           48.37           50.23           98.60
36......................................            2056           48.73           50.96           99.69           48.39           50.60           98.99
37......................................            2057           48.65           51.22           99.87           48.37           50.93           99.30
38......................................            2058           48.54           51.41           99.95           48.33           51.19           99.52
39......................................            2059           48.43           51.56           99.99           48.29           51.41           99.70
40......................................            2060           48.33           51.67          100.00           48.25           51.57           99.82
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(d) Adoption Rate of IMA and LTA
    Since the agency is not mandating any applications, we next made an 
assumption concerning at what rate IMA and LTA could be adopted 
voluntarily by industry. We contracted with the Intelligent 
Transportation Society of America (ITS America, or ITS) to conduct a 
study to better understand the utilization of DSRC among stakeholders 
and to investigate potential safety application deployment and product 
development.\363\ As part of the effort, ITS identified an array of V2V 
and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) apps and interviewed 42 
stakeholders specifically about these apps' development and deployment. 
The stakeholders interviewed included chipset manufacturers, mobile 
device manufacturers, infrastructure industrial equipment makers, 
vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and academia. Based on 
the interview results, ITS America concluded that about 91 apps 
(including both V2V and V2I) would likely to be deployed within 5 years 
of a DSRC mandate. IMA and LTA were rated among the highest priority 
apps among all the interviewees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \363\ Impact of Light Vehicle Rule on Consumer/Aftermarket 
Adoption--Dedicated Short Range Communications Market Study, 
Intelligent Transportation Society of America, FHWA-JPO-17-487, 
available at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60500/60535/FHWA-JPO-17-487_Final_.pdf (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ITS study confirmed many aspects of the agency's proposed 
requirements and assumptions regarding potential V2V deployment 
including the proposed implementation timing. However, the study was 
not able to predict clearly a safety application adoption trend after 
an initial deployment. To fill this gap and establish a potential 
trend, the agency examined the adoption patterns of the three crash 
avoiding warning systems reported as part of regular data submissions 
associated with the agency's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). The 
crash avoiding warning systems are blind spot detection (BSD), forward 
collision warning (FCW), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW). We note that 
only FCW and LDW are currently reported on NHTSA's Safer Car 
technologies as being ``Recommended Technologies,'' while BSD is 
reported to NHTSA for research purposes but not, at this time, 
presented to the public.
    Table VII-29 lists the adoption rates for these systems that were 
offered as standard equipment and the combined adoption rates for the 
technologies offered as standard or optional. As

[[Page 3991]]

shown, the rate of the standard equipment is relatively low, although 
it increases gradually. In contrast, the rate for the optional 
equipment (based on the combined rates) was much higher and the pace of 
the offering these features increased faster. These warning 
technologies are projected to reach the full combined deployment around 
2021 based on a curve linear regression model resulting in an estimated 
full deployment spanning ten years. This projected rate is absent any 
sort of formal regulation beyond the inclusion in the agency's NCAP 
ratings program.

                                             Table VII-29--Reported Adoption Rates by Vehicle Manufacturers
                                                                        [Percent]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        BSD                             FCW                             LDW
                          Year                           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Standard       Combined *       Standard       Combined *       Standard       Combined *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011....................................................             0.3            11.9             0.0            11.4             0.0             2.5
2012....................................................             1.0            30.0             0.0            11.4             0.0             5.9
2013....................................................             1.3            30.4             0.8            21.0             0.0            17.4
2014....................................................             0.1            27.0             2.6            22.1             0.2            15.8
2015....................................................             0.6            45.7             5.6            57.3             2.5            52.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* standard equipment and optional equipment combined.

    The agency believes a similar, market-driven approach could take 
hold for V2V technology once the equipment becomes widely available and 
consumers recognize the potential benefits. The agency believes that 
IMA and LTA could be adopted as standard equipment on a schedule 
similar to the ``combined'' schedules for the FCW and LDW displayed in 
the NCAP data.
    Based on broad collection of implementation information such as, 
the ITS study, NCAP data, agency meetings with manufacturers, 
announcements on V2V implementation from vehicle industry, and the cost 
consideration; the agency established the a safety application adoption 
trend of 0% for the first MY vehicles that have DSRC radios, 5%, 10%, 
25%, 40%, 65%, 90%, and 100% for each following MY vehicles, 
respectively. The agency notes that the pattern is similar to those 
shown in the NCAP data; with slow initial rate spanning approximately 
two years and then increasing year over year at a rate that would reach 
full adoption in the eighth year of the implementation of the DSRC 
technology. Under this adoption scenario, IMA and LTA would not be 
deployed in the first year. In the second year, with the required 75 
percent DSRC installation rate and the five percent safety application 
adoption among the DSRC-equipped vehicles, five percent of the total 
new vehicles (= 0.05 * 0.75) are expected to have the two safety 
applications. In the third year, 10 percent of the new vehicles (= 0.1 
* 1.00) would have the apps, and so on so forth. Overall, the benefits 
(and costs) of the proposed rule were estimated based on this specific 
technology adoption scenario, as shown in Table VII-27. However, in 
order to test the significant uncertainty in this assumption, we 
included adoption rate as one of the variables in our uncertainty 
analysis.
    The agency, though, requests comment on these assumption. Do 
commenters have more concrete data concerning the potential or likely 
adoption rate of these applications? Are there any other technologies 
that have been voluntarily introduced into the fleet that the agency 
should consider when projecting the potential adoption rate of IMA and 
LTA?
2. Injury and Property Damage Benefits
(a) Annual Injury and Property Damage Benefits
(1) Maximum Annual Benefits
    The maximum annual benefits represent the crashes, fatalities, 
injuries, and property damage vehicles (PDOVs) that can be reduced 
annually after the full adoption of DSRC and safety related 
applications.\364\ Once fully deployed, the agency estimates the 
proposed rule would:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \364\ Would occur 43 years after the first implementation.

 Prevent 439,000 to 615,000 crashes annually
 equivalent to 13 to 18 percent of multiple light-vehicle 
crashes
 Save 987 to 1,366 lives
 Reduce 305,000 to 418,000 MAIS 1-5 injuries,\365\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \365\ MAIS (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale) represents the 
maximum injury severity of an occupant at an Abbreviated Injury 
Scale (AIS) level. AIS ranks individual injuries by body region on a 
scale of 1 to 6: 1=minor, 2=moderate, 3=serious, 4=severe, 
5=critical, and 6=maximum (untreatable).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Eliminate 537,000 to 746,000 property damage only vehicles 
(PDOVs)
(2) Annual Benefits
    The annual benefits are summarized every five years from 2021 to 
2060 in Table VII-30. As shown, the proposed rule would not yield 
benefits in Year 1 due to the zero percent safety application adoption 
rates for new vehicles in that year. However, the agency estimates that 
five years after a final rule is issued, Year 5 (2025), 10,094 to 
13,763 annual vehicle crashes would potentially be prevented, saving 23 
to 31 lives and preventing 6,946 to 9,197 MAIS 1-5 injuries. Moreover, 
the agency estimates this proposed rule has the potential to prevent 
12,496 to 16,949 damaged vehicles.
    As the fleet penetration increases, the proposed rule could prevent 
107,120 to 147,615 crashes, save 244 to 332 lives, and reduce 73,983 to 
99,254 MAIS 1-5 injuries by Year 10, a more than ten-fold increase from 
Year 5.
    After 20 years, the agency estimates about 80 percent of the 
maximum benefits will be achievable. The yields an estimated to 349,914 
to 487,561 crashes prevented, 789 to 1,089 lives save, and the 
reduction of 242,589 to 329,909 MAIS 1-5 injuries.

[[Page 3992]]

                                              Table VII-30--Summary of Annual Benefits of the Proposed Rule
                                                                     [Undiscounted]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Crashes               Fatalities           MAIS 1-5 injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                       Calendar  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 year         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
5...........................................        2025      10,094      13,763          23          31       6,946       9,197      12,496      16,949
10..........................................        2030     107,120     147,615         244         332      73,983      99,254     131,946     180,693
15..........................................        2035     241,740     335,287         547         751     167,329     226,278     296,835     408,920
20..........................................        2040     349,914     487,561         789       1,087     242,589     329,909     428,697     593,093
25..........................................        2045     401,894     561,737         904       1,249     278,926     380,771     491,628     682,127
30..........................................        2050     424,901     594,569         955       1,321     295,009     403,284     519,483     721,535
35..........................................        2055     435,932     610,326         980       1,355     302,723     414,094     532,831     740,437
40..........................................        2060     439,138     615,028         987       1,365     304,986     417,366     536,657     745,996
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Lifetime Injury and Property Damage Benefits by Vehicle Model Year
    The lifetime benefits for a MY vehicle (also MY Benefits), as 
described earlier, represent the total benefits that would be accrued 
through the life of a vehicle. The MY benefits represent the total 
benefits that would be accrued though the life of a vehicle. The 
lifetime benefits can occur at any time during the in-use life of a 
vehicle and are required to be discounted to reflect their present 
values (2014 dollars). The discounting procedures for future benefits 
and costs in regulatory analyses are based on the guidelines published 
in OMB Circular A-4 and OMB Circular A-94 Revised.
    The agency's analysis for determining lifetime benefits uses two 
approaches. One approach is a so-called ``free rider'' approach and the 
other is the ``no free-rider'' approach, where the primary difference 
is the treatment on the distribution of benefits from crashes involving 
different MY vehicles.
    The ``free-rider approach'' is based on the notion that the 
lifetime benefits of a specific MY vehicle should correspond to the 
investment up to that specific MY of vehicles and that benefits should 
be credited to the later MY vehicles. For example, if benefits are from 
a crash that involved a MY 2021 vehicle and a MY 2030 vehicle, under 
this approach, all benefits would be credited to the MY 2030 vehicle. 
The MY 2021 vehicle would not receive any benefits because the benefits 
would not be realized until the investment on the MY 2030 vehicles is 
made. In contrast, the ``no free-rider'' approach is based on the 
notion that benefits should be shared among all vehicles since the 
future investment will continue because of the proposed rule. With the 
same case above, the no free-rider approach allows both MY 2021 and MY 
2030 vehicles to share a portion of the benefits. Additional details on 
the methodology and derivation of benefits of these two approaches can 
be found in Chapter V of the PRIA prepared in support of this proposal.
(1) Injury and Property Damage Benefits by Model Year and Approach
    Table VII-31 and Table VII-32 show the MY specific injury and 
property damage benefits (i.e., the lifetime benefits for a specific MY 
vehicle) for the ``free rider approach'' for the 3 and 7 percent 
discount, respectively. In parallel, Table VII-33 and Table VII-34 show 
the benefits for the ``no free-rider'' approach also at a 3 and 7 
percent discount rate, respectively.
    The analysis estimates the lifetime benefits only for MYs 2021 to 
2050 vehicles. For 2050 MY vehicles, its lifetime benefits would be 
realized from year 2040 to year 2086. As described in the annual 
benefit section, the annual benefits would be stabilized at the maximum 
level around year 2062. Furthermore, after MY 2050, vehicle sales were 
assumed to at the MY 2050 level. Therefore, the lifetime benefits for 
vehicles newer than MY 2050 would be stabilized at the MY 2050 level.

                                 Table VII-31--MY Benefits for Light Vehicles Free-Rider Approach at 3 Percent Discount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Crash prevented      Fatalities eliminated     MAIS 1-5 injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
2...........................................        2022         271         369           1           1         187         246         336         455
3...........................................        2023       1,821       2,484           4           6       1,254       1,660       2,255       3,059
4...........................................        2024       8,138      11,116          19          25       5,604       7,436      10,066      13,675
5...........................................        2025      20,094      27,510          46          62      13,847      18,427      24,828      33,799
6...........................................        2026      45,766      62,828         104         142      31,567      42,151      56,477      77,072
7...........................................        2027      86,774     119,428         198         269      59,905      80,243     106,948     146,292
8...........................................        2028     125,283     172,790         285         389      86,552     116,237     154,257     211,408
9...........................................        2029     151,801     209,713         345         471     104,932     141,211     186,755     256,340
10..........................................        2030     175,685     243,053         398         545     121,501     163,794     215,991     296,855
11..........................................        2031     196,823     272,641         446         611     136,178     183,866     241,830     332,755
12..........................................        2032     215,458     298,792         488         669     149,129     201,633     264,580     364,439
13..........................................        2033     231,828     321,830         524         720     160,518     217,309     284,539     392,308
14..........................................        2034     247,041     343,282         558         767     171,108     231,922     303,068     418,229
15..........................................        2035     260,349     362,101         588         809     180,382     244,762     319,252     440,931
16..........................................        2036     271,907     378,496         614         845     188,445     255,966     333,289     460,676
17..........................................        2037     282,112     393,009         636         877     195,570     265,900     345,664     478,129
18..........................................        2038     290,458     404,930         655         903     201,406     274,078     355,763     492,430
19..........................................        2039     297,903     415,591         671         926     206,617     281,402     364,761     505,202

[[Page 3993]]

 
20..........................................        2040     305,087     425,875         687         948     211,645     288,466     373,446     517,525
21..........................................        2041     312,804     436,885         704         972     217,039     296,015     382,788     530,741
22..........................................        2042     305,604     427,030         688         950     212,077     289,414     373,891     518,632
23..........................................        2043     308,426     431,146         694         959     214,065     292,270     377,270     523,513
24..........................................        2044     310,949     434,815         699         967     215,841     294,812     380,294     527,871
25..........................................        2045     313,325     438,253         705         974     217,510     297,187     383,150     531,965
26..........................................        2046     315,443     441,309         709         981     218,996     299,295     385,700     535,611
27..........................................        2047     317,611     444,417         714         987     220,514     301,432     388,318     539,332
28..........................................        2048     319,665     447,353         719         994     221,951     303,447     390,802     542,853
29..........................................        2049     321,616     450,138         723       1,000     223,315     305,356     393,165     546,196
30..........................................        2050     323,726     453,138         728       1,006     224,788     307,409     395,724     549,803
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                 Table VII-32--MY Benefits for Light Vehicles Free-Rider Approach at 7 Percent Discount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Crash prevented      Fatalities eliminated     MAIS 1-5 injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
2...........................................        2022         256         348           1           1         176         232         317         429
3...........................................        2023       1,703       2,322           4           5       1,172       1,552       2,109       2,860
4...........................................        2024       7,517      10,264          17          23       5,175       6,865       9,300      12,630
5...........................................        2025      18,321      25,071          42          57      12,623      16,789      22,643      30,811
6...........................................        2026      41,157      56,470          94         128      28,383      37,874      50,801      69,294
7...........................................        2027      77,149     106,128         176         239      53,251      71,286      95,110     130,038
8...........................................        2028     110,525     152,362         251         343      76,343     102,466     136,116     186,464
9...........................................        2029     133,399     184,211         303         414      92,198     124,008     164,150     225,223
10..........................................        2030     154,035     213,015         349         478     106,513     143,518     189,411     260,228
11..........................................        2031     172,397     238,716         391         535     119,263     160,954     211,857     291,412
12..........................................        2032     188,544     261,378         427         585     130,486     176,350     231,570     318,868
13..........................................        2033     202,920     281,609         459         630     140,486     190,116     249,097     343,341
14..........................................        2034     216,257     300,416         489         672     149,771     202,927     265,341     366,065
15..........................................        2035     227,911     316,898         515         708     157,892     214,173     279,513     385,947
16..........................................        2036     238,068     331,308         537         740     164,978     224,022     291,846     403,300
17..........................................        2037     247,120     344,183         558         768     171,299     232,835     302,824     418,783
18..........................................        2038     254,424     354,622         574         791     176,407     239,999     311,659     431,301
19..........................................        2039     260,956     363,981         588         811     180,980     246,431     319,551     442,510
20..........................................        2040     267,247     372,995         602         831     185,384     252,625     327,152     453,305
21..........................................        2041     273,843     382,418         617         851     189,997     259,091     335,132     464,608
22..........................................        2042     267,553     373,820         602         832     185,665     253,336     327,356     454,035
23..........................................        2043     270,054     377,472         608         839     187,427     255,872     330,347     458,363
24..........................................        2044     272,178     380,572         612         846     188,924     258,023     332,888     462,038
25..........................................        2045     274,288     383,630         617         853     190,407     260,137     335,424     465,677
26..........................................        2046     276,078     386,219         621         858     191,664     261,926     337,576     468,762
27..........................................        2047     278,074     389,079         625         864     193,061     263,891     339,986     472,186
28..........................................        2048     279,772     391,511         629         870     194,250     265,562     342,038     475,099
29..........................................        2049     281,380     393,809         633         875     195,374     267,140     343,983     477,855
30..........................................        2050     283,192     396,388         637         880     196,640     268,906     346,180     480,956
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Table VII-33--MY Benefits for Light Vehicles No Free-Rider Approach at 3 Percent Discount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Crash prevented      Fatalities eliminated     MAIS 1-5 injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
2...........................................        2022       4,006       5,506           9          12       2,764       3,697       4,941       6,750
3...........................................        2023      12,297      16,917          28          38       8,488      11,363      15,159      20,727
4...........................................        2024      34,161      47,041          78         106      23,588      31,616      42,093      57,606
5...........................................        2025      59,813      82,461         136         186      41,316      55,459      73,659     100,913
6...........................................        2026     104,216     143,863         237         323      72,020      96,827     128,262     175,926
7...........................................        2027     153,676     212,415         349         477     106,247     143,074     189,014     259,566
8...........................................        2028     180,917     250,375         410         562     125,133     168,761     222,387     305,740
9...........................................        2029     190,032     263,281         430         590     131,488     177,573     233,465     321,299
10..........................................        2030     199,389     276,526         451         619     138,010     186,614     244,840     337,269
11..........................................        2031     207,808     288,476         470         645     143,885     194,784     255,061     351,656
12..........................................        2032     215,391     299,268         487         669     149,181     202,173     264,254     364,628
13..........................................        2033     222,098     308,843         502         690     153,870     208,741     272,371     376,118
14..........................................        2034     228,851     318,485         517         711     158,591     215,353     280,546     387,688

[[Page 3994]]

 
15..........................................        2035     234,712     326,883         530         729     162,695     221,125     287,627     397,746
16..........................................        2036     239,796     334,194         541         745     166,258     226,159     293,758     406,483
17..........................................        2037     244,444     340,890         551         760     169,518     230,774     299,356     414,478
18..........................................        2038     248,150     346,265         559         771     172,124     234,492     303,807     420,872
19..........................................        2039     251,493     351,122         566         782     174,475     237,855     307,817     426,644
20..........................................        2040     254,958     356,134         574         792     176,909     241,317     311,982     432,615
21..........................................        2041     258,973     361,900         583         805     179,722     245,284     316,828     439,511
22..........................................        2042     251,474     351,552         566         782     174,540     238,321     307,596     426,854
23..........................................        2043     252,797     353,515         569         786     175,478     239,695     309,167     429,160
24..........................................        2044     254,138     355,482         572         790     176,425     241,064     310,767     431,486
25..........................................        2045     255,409     357,336         574         794     177,320     242,350     312,289     433,684
26..........................................        2046     256,606     359,072         577         798     178,162     243,551     313,725     435,749
27..........................................        2047     257,844     360,856         580         802     179,030     244,781     315,217     437,879
28..........................................        2048     258,876     362,342         582         805     179,754     245,805     316,460     439,653
29..........................................        2049     259,929     363,853         584         808     180,492     246,844     317,732     441,462
30..........................................        2050     261,241     365,723         587         812     181,408     248,125     319,322     443,708
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Table VII-34--MY Benefits for Light Vehicles No Free-Rider Approach at 7 Percent Discount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Crash prevented      Fatalities eliminated     MAIS 1-5 injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
2...........................................        2022       3,026       4,154           7           9       2,087       2,787       3,735       5,096
3...........................................        2023       9,423      12,946          21          29       6,501       8,689      11,624      15,874
4...........................................        2024      26,555      36,520          60          82      18,328      24,527      32,742      44,755
5...........................................        2025      46,855      64,517         107         145      32,352      43,361      57,736      79,010
6...........................................        2026      82,119     113,231         187         255      56,727      76,161     101,122     138,557
7...........................................        2027     121,940     168,381         277         378      84,277     113,350     150,052     205,873
8...........................................        2028     144,104     199,249         327         447      99,640     134,231     177,213     243,433
9...........................................        2029     152,069     210,514         345         472     105,191     141,918     186,899     257,022
10..........................................        2030     160,196     222,006         363         497     110,854     149,758     196,784     270,886
11..........................................        2031     167,621     232,533         379         521     116,033     156,950     205,804     283,568
12..........................................        2032     174,185     241,865         394         541     120,615     163,337     213,764     294,792
13..........................................        2033     180,128     250,340         407         559     124,769     169,145     220,962     304,969
14..........................................        2034     186,049     258,785         420         578     128,907     174,934     228,133     315,108
15..........................................        2035     191,219     266,186         432         594     132,525     180,018     234,382     323,976
16..........................................        2036     195,680     272,596         441         608     135,651     184,430     239,763     331,640
17..........................................        2037     199,807     278,538         450         621     138,545     188,523     244,737     338,737
18..........................................        2038     202,975     283,135         457         631     140,773     191,705     248,540     344,204
19..........................................        2039     205,888     287,369         464         640     142,823     194,636     252,034     349,234
20..........................................        2040     208,845     291,652         470         649     144,901     197,597     255,587     354,333
21..........................................        2041     212,188     296,460         478         660     147,244     200,908     259,617     360,079
22..........................................        2042     205,999     287,930         464         640     142,969     195,173     251,993     349,638
23..........................................        2043     207,175     289,675         466         644     143,803     196,394     253,389     351,688
24..........................................        2044     208,251     291,263         468         647     144,564     197,502     254,669     353,558
25..........................................        2045     209,421     292,967         471         651     145,388     198,684     256,071     355,582
26..........................................        2046     210,280     294,224         473         654     145,994     199,557     257,098     357,069
27..........................................        2047     211,429     295,876         475         657     146,799     200,694     258,483     359,043
28..........................................        2048     212,258     297,073         477         660     147,381     201,521     259,481     360,471
29..........................................        2049     213,224     298,458         479         663     148,057     202,472     260,648     362,129
30..........................................        2050     214,216     299,875         481         666     148,751     203,445     261,848     363,829
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(2) Summary of Injury and Property Damage Benefits by Model Year
    Under both approaches, the MY benefits were derived by dividing the 
annual benefits among all involved MY vehicles according to their 
survived volume and vehicle miles traveled. Afterwards, the annual 
benefits for that specific MY vehicles were discounted by multiplying 
them with an appropriate discounting factor. Finally, we summed the 
annual discounted benefits of that MY vehicles over their operational 
lifespan to derive the MY benefits. These benefits were discounted at a 
3 percent and 7 percent discount rate to represent their present value. 
Table VII-35 and Table VII-36 presents the discounted MY benefits from 
MY 2021 to MY 2050 vehicles for every five MYs. As shown, the first MY 
vehicles (i.e., MY 2021) would not accrue benefits due to the adoption 
scenario used in the PRIA. At a three percent discount rate, the 5th 
applicable MY vehicles (MY 2025) would prevent 20,094 to 82,481 
crashes, save 46 to 186 lives, and reduce 13,847 to 55459 MAIS 1-5 
injuries. At this discount, the MY 2025 would also eliminate 24,828 to 
100,913 PDOVs. The 30th MY vehicles (MY 2050) would prevent 261,241 to 
453,138 crashes, save 587 to 1,006 lives, reduce 181,408 to 307,409 
injuries, and eliminate up to 549,803 PDOVs.

[[Page 3995]]

    At a seven percent discount rate, MY 2025 vehicles would prevent 
18,321 to 65,517 crashes, save 42 to 145 lives, reduce 12,623 to 43,361 
MAIS 1-5 injuries and eliminate 22,643 to 79,010 PDOVs. The MY 2050 
vehicles would prevent 214,216 to 396,388 crashes, save 481 to 880 
lives, reduce 148,741 to 268,906 MAIS 1-5 injuries, and eliminate up to 
480,956 PDOVs.

                                    Table VII-35--Summary of MY Injury and Property Damage Benefits (at 3% Discount)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Crashes               Fatalities           MAIS 1-5 Injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
5...........................................        2025      20,094      82,461          46         186      13,847      55,459      24,828     100,913
10..........................................        2030     175,685     276,526         398         619     121,501     186,614     215,991     337,269
15..........................................        2035     234,712     362,101         530         809     162,695     244,762     287,627     440,931
20..........................................        2040     254,958     425,875         574         948     176,909     288,466     311,982     517,525
25..........................................        2045     255,409     438,253         574         974     177,320     297,187     312,289     531,965
30..........................................        2050     261,241     453,138         587       1,006     181,408     307,409     319,322     549,803
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                    Table VII-36--Summary of MY Injury and Property Damage Benefits (at 7% Discount)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Crashes               Fatalities           MAIS 1-5 Injuries             PDOVs
                    Year                      Model year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Low        High         Low        High         Low        High         Low        High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........................................        2021           0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
5...........................................        2025      18,321      64,517          42         145      12,623      43,361      22,643      79,010
10..........................................        2030     154,035     222,006         349         497     106,513     149,758     189,411     270,886
15..........................................        2035     191,219     316,898         432         708     132,525     214,173     234,382     385,947
20..........................................        2040     208,845     372,995         470         831     144,901     252,625     255,587     453,305
25..........................................        2045     209,421     383,630         471         853     145,388     260,137     256,071     465,677
30..........................................        2050     214,216     396,388         481         880     148,751     268,906     261,848     480,956
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note that the range of benefits is due to the use of a range of 
effectiveness rates and the two MY benefit estimating approaches. The 
two benefit approaches, labeled as ``free-rider'' and ``no free-rider'' 
approaches, deployed a different treatment on the distribution of 
benefits from crashes involving different MY vehicles.
3. Monetized Benefits
    The agency developed the monetized benefits by applying the 
comprehensive cost for a fatality to the total equivalent lives saved 
(i.e., fatal equivalents) in accordance with Department of 
Transportation 2015 guidance.\366\. The guidance requires the 
identified nonfatal MAIS injuries and PDOVs to be expressed in terms of 
fatalities. This is done by comparing the comprehensive cost of 
preventing nonfatal injuries to that of preventing a fatality. 
Comprehensive costs include economic costs and the value of quality 
life (QALYs). Economic costs reflect the tangible costs of reducing 
fatalities and injuries which includes savings from medical care, 
emergency services, insurance administration, workplace costs, legal 
costs, congestion and property damage, as well as lost productivity. 
The QALY captures the intangible value of lost quality-of-life that 
results from potential fatalities and injuries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \366\ ``Guidance on the Treatment of the Economic Value of a 
Statistical Life (VSL) in U.S. Department of Transportation 
Analyses'' February 28, 2013, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/DOT%202013%20Signed%20VSL%20Memo.pdf (last 
accessed Dec 8, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table VII-37 shows the comprehensive values and the relative 
fatality ratios for MAIS injuries and PDOVs that were used to derived 
the fatal equivalents.\367\ As shown, the comprehensive cost of 
preventing a fatality is currently valued at $9.7 million. A MAIS 5 
injury, for example, is 0.6136 fatal equivalents. Thus, monetized 
benefits can be derived by multiplying $9.7 million by the derived 
fatal equivalents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \367\ Revise to 2014 $ from the unit costs published in this 
report, Blincoe, L. J., Miller, T. R., Zaloshnja, E., & Lawrence, B. 
A. (2015, May). The economic and societal impact of motor vehicle 
crashes, 2010. (Revised) (Report No. DOT HS 812 013). Washington, 
DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table VII-37 also shows the unit costs for congestion and property 
damage. These two costs are considered to be part of the comprehensive 
costs. The congestion and property damage costs are provided now for 
later use when calculating the net costs of the proposed rule. The net 
costs are defined as the total vehicle costs minus the savings from 
reducing property damage and crash related congestion.

                     Table VII-37--Unit Congestion, Property Damage, and Comprehensive Cost
                                                    [2014 $]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Property       Comprehensive      Relative
                Injury category                   Congestion        damage            cost        fatality ratio
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PDOVs.........................................          $2,280          $3,908            $6,591         $0.0007
MAIS 0........................................           1,535           2,923             4,753          0.0005
MAIS 1........................................           1,545           8,641            47,144          0.0049
MAIS 2........................................           1,572           9,239           449,239          0.0463
MAIS 3........................................           1,615          17,400         1,065,032          0.1097

[[Page 3996]]

 
MAIS 4........................................           1,638          17,727         2,612,382          0.2690
MAIS 5........................................           1,657          16,385         5,958,375          0.6136
Fatality......................................           6,200          12,172         9,710,659          1.0000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Monetized Annual Benefits
    Table VII-38 provides the undiscounted annual fatal equivalents, 
monetized benefits, and property damage and congestion savings of the 
proposed rule from the year 2021 to 2060. As shown, by Year 5 the 
proposed rule is estimated to save 129 to 169 fatal equivalents 
totaling approximately $1.3 to $1.6 billion annually. Approximately 12 
percent of the monetized savings, $176 to $237 million, are from the 
estimated reduction of property damage and congestion. By the year 
2060, with V2V fully deployed, the proposed rule is estimated to save 
approximately 5,631 to 7,613 fatal equivalents annually. Finally, the 
total associated monetized annual savings would range from $54.7 to 
$73.9 billion. Of these savings, $7.7 to $10.6 billion is estimated to 
be property damage and congestion savings.
(b) Maximum Monetized Annual Benefit
    The proposed rule would save a maximum of $54.7 to $74.0 billion 
annually after the full adoption of DSRC radios and the two safety 
apps. Of these amounts, $7.7 to $10.6 billion are the potential savings 
from reducing crash related congestion and vehicle property damage.

                                                         Table VII-38--Annual Monetized Benefits
                                                           [Undiscounted, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Fatal equivalents           Total monetized benefits     Property damage and congestion
                  Year                     Calendar year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            0.00            0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00
2.......................................            2022            1.98            2.57           19.18           24.99            2.69            3.60
3.......................................            2023           12.98           16.97          126.05          164.75           17.67           23.75
4.......................................            2024           50.94           66.58          494.62          646.51           69.35           93.20
5.......................................            2025          129.38          169.32        1,256.34        1,644.21          176.14          237.00
6.......................................            2026          273.40          358.63        2,654.86        3,482.52          372.24          501.88
7.......................................            2027          492.69          648.24        4,784.30        6,294.87          670.88          906.96
8.......................................            2028          760.14        1,003.08        7,381.47        9,740.54        1,035.15        1,403.08
9.......................................            2029        1,055.03        1,395.74       10,245.07       13,553.52        1,436.84        1,951.93
10......................................            2030        1,373.29        1,820.47       13,335.53       17,677.94        1,870.39        2,545.51
11......................................            2031        1,708.97        2,269.74       16,595.21       22,040.63        2,327.71        3,173.24
12......................................            2032        2,055.46        2,734.45       19,959.89       26,553.31        2,799.80        3,822.44
13......................................            2033        2,406.57        3,206.42       23,369.32       31,136.42        3,278.19        4,481.66
14......................................            2034        2,756.78        3,678.26       26,770.14       35,718.29        3,755.42        5,140.59
15......................................            2035        3,099.49        4,141.07       30,098.04       40,212.46        4,222.44        5,786.78
16......................................            2036        3,427.08        4,584.47       33,279.20       44,518.16        4,668.90        6,405.77
17......................................            2037        3,734.36        5,001.37       36,263.04       48,566.54        5,087.70        6,987.66
18......................................            2038        4,016.39        5,384.96       39,001.73       52,291.53        5,472.13        7,522.96
19......................................            2039        4,267.25        5,727.35       41,437.81       55,616.35        5,814.11        8,000.63
20......................................            2040        4,486.82        6,028.11       43,569.99       58,536.92        6,113.46        8,420.10
21......................................            2041        4,674.40        6,286.06       45,391.52       61,041.76        6,369.24        8,779.76
22......................................            2042        4,829.59        6,500.30       46,898.45       63,122.18        6,580.86        9,078.39
23......................................            2043        4,958.71        6,679.27       48,152.35       64,860.05        6,756.97        9,327.77
24......................................            2044        5,065.75        6,827.92       49,191.70       66,303.56        6,902.96        9,534.88
25......................................            2045        5,153.64        6,950.12       50,045.25       67,490.21        7,022.85        9,705.13
26......................................            2046        5,228.04        7,053.49       50,767.72       68,493.96        7,124.33        9,849.14
27......................................            2047        5,293.45        7,144.11       51,402.88       69,373.99        7,213.54        9,975.43
28......................................            2048        5,351.13        7,223.76       51,963.02       70,147.39        7,292.20       10,086.44
29......................................            2049        5,402.91        7,295.12       52,465.83       70,840.43        7,362.81       10,185.94
30......................................            2050        5,448.79        7,358.22       52,911.30       71,453.12        7,425.36       10,273.91
31......................................            2051        5,486.64        7,410.41       53,278.83       71,959.96        7,476.97       10,346.67
32......................................            2052        5,519.98        7,456.51       53,602.60       72,407.63        7,522.44       10,410.92
33......................................            2053        5,547.41        7,494.52       53,868.95       72,776.73        7,559.85       10,463.88
34......................................            2054        5,570.75        7,526.96       54,095.66       73,091.76        7,591.69       10,509.08
35......................................            2055        5,590.30        7,554.13       54,285.50       73,355.51        7,618.36       10,546.93
36......................................            2056        5,606.76        7,577.01       54,445.28       73,577.69        7,640.80       10,578.80
37......................................            2057        5,618.70        7,593.79       54,561.30       73,740.69        7,657.10       10,602.17
38......................................            2058        5,625.16        7,603.20       54,623.95       73,832.03        7,665.92       10,615.22
39......................................            2059        5,629.36        7,609.56       54,664.73       73,893.77        7,671.66       10,624.03
40......................................            2060        5,631.45        7,612.92       54,685.04       73,926.44        7,674.53       10,628.67
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3997]]

(c) Monetized Benefits by Vehicle Model Year
    The range of the monetized benefits by vehicle model year (i.e., 
the lifetime benefits of a MY vehicles) represents the estimates from 
both the ``free-rider'' and ``no free-rider'' approaches. The lower 
bound of the range represents the low estimate from the ``free-rider'' 
approach and upper bound represents the high estimate of ``no free-
rider'' approach. For each approach, the low and high estimates 
correspond to the low and high app effectiveness, respectively. Table 
VII-39 and Table VII-40 show the monetized MY benefits at a 3 percent 
and 7 percent discount rate, respectively.
    As shown, at a three percent discount rate, MY 2022 vehicles would 
save 3 to 68 fatal equivalent and $33.8 to $659.0 million over their 
lifespan. MY 2050 vehicles would save a total 3,350 to 5,608 fatal 
equivalents and $32.5 to $54.5 billion. The property damage and 
congestion savings would range from $4.7 to $94.9 million for MY 2022 
vehicles and $4.6 to $7.8 billion for 2050 MY vehicles.
    At a seven percent discount rate, the MY 2022 vehicles would save 3 
to 51 fatal equivalents and $31.8 to $497.0 million over their 
lifespan. MY 2050 vehicles would save a total 2,747 to 4,906 fatal 
equivalents and $26.7 to $47.6 billion. Of these monetized savings, the 
property damage and congestion savings are estimated to be $4.5 to 
$71.6 million for MY 2022 vehicles and $3.7 to $6.8 billion for 2050 MY 
vehicles.

                                                Table VII-39--Monetized MY Benefits at 3 Percent Discount
                                                                  [2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Fatal  equivalents           Total monetized  benefits          Property damage and
                                                         ----------------------------------------------------------------           congestion
                  Year                      Model year                                                                   -------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            0.00            0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00
2.......................................            2022            3.48           67.86           33.79          658.99            4.74           94.91
3.......................................            2023           23.35          208.55          226.72        2,025.12           31.79          291.65
4.......................................            2024          104.31          580.04        1,012.92        5,632.53          142.02          811.11
5.......................................            2025          257.57        1,017.05        2,501.20        9,876.22          350.72        1,422.05
6.......................................            2026          586.69        1,774.90        5,697.12       17,235.41          798.94        2,481.38
7.......................................            2027        1,112.42        2,621.45       10,802.30       25,455.98        1,515.02        3,664.44
8.......................................            2028        1,606.16        3,090.78       15,596.91       30,013.55        2,187.63        4,320.00
9.......................................            2029        1,946.18        3,250.93       18,898.69       31,568.66        2,650.90        4,543.36
10......................................            2030        2,252.45        3,415.26       21,872.79       33,164.45        3,068.24        4,772.57
11......................................            2031        2,523.52        3,563.63       24,505.02       34,605.22        3,437.64        4,979.46
12......................................            2032        2,761.74        3,697.69       26,818.31       35,906.98        3,762.58        5,166.34
13......................................            2033        2,847.78        3,975.69       27,653.77       38,606.57        3,879.91        5,555.21
14......................................            2034        2,934.41        4,241.63       28,495.06       41,189.00        3,998.06        5,926.26
15......................................            2035        3,009.61        4,475.08       29,225.26       43,456.01        4,100.63        6,251.90
16......................................            2036        3,074.84        4,678.59       29,858.67       45,432.21        4,189.61        6,535.69
17......................................            2037        3,134.46        4,858.86       30,437.71       47,182.69        4,270.96        6,787.01
18......................................            2038        3,182.03        5,007.07       30,899.56       48,621.96        4,335.86        6,993.56
19......................................            2039        3,224.93        5,139.68       31,316.16       49,909.68        4,394.41        7,178.33
20......................................            2040        3,269.38        5,267.60       31,747.87       51,151.88        4,455.07        7,356.56
21......................................            2041        3,320.90        5,404.46       32,248.10       52,480.81        4,525.34        7,547.30
22......................................            2042        3,224.76        5,283.11       31,314.49       51,302.48        4,394.39        7,377.52
23......................................            2043        3,241.75        5,334.51       31,479.52       51,801.61        4,417.60        7,449.02
24......................................            2044        3,258.96        5,380.31       31,646.62       52,246.36        4,441.10        7,512.74
25......................................            2045        3,275.27        5,423.17       31,805.05       52,662.57        4,463.36        7,572.40
26......................................            2046        3,290.63        5,461.25       31,954.16       53,032.36        4,484.32        7,625.42
27......................................            2047        3,306.52        5,499.93       32,108.44       53,407.94        4,505.99        7,679.31
28......................................            2048        3,319.75        5,536.44       32,236.99       53,762.45        4,524.05        7,730.18
29......................................            2049        3,333.27        5,571.05       32,368.22       54,098.58        4,542.49        7,778.42
30......................................            2050        3,350.10        5,608.31       32,531.65       54,460.39        4,565.44        7,830.37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                Table VII-40--Monetized MY Benefits at 7 Percent Discount
                                                                  [2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Fatal equivalents           Total monetized benefits           Property damage and
                                                         ----------------------------------------------------------------           congestion
                  Year                      Model year                                                                   -------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021            0.00            0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00           $0.00
2.......................................            2022            3.28           51.18           31.80          497.03            4.46           71.59
3.......................................            2023           21.83          159.55          212.00        1,549.29           29.72          223.15
4.......................................            2024           96.35          450.18          935.65        4,371.50          131.19          629.59
5.......................................            2025          234.85          795.52        2,280.53        7,725.00          319.78        1,112.43
6.......................................            2026          527.59        1,396.62        5,123.26       13,562.13          718.45        1,952.75
7.......................................            2027          989.03        2,077.54        9,604.09       20,174.30        1,346.94        2,904.40
8.......................................            2028        1,416.94        2,459.15       13,759.41       23,879.93        1,929.87        3,437.45
9.......................................            2029        1,710.25        2,598.90       16,607.61       25,236.98        2,329.50        3,632.38
10......................................            2030        1,974.86        2,741.45       19,177.23       26,621.24        2,690.07        3,831.23
11......................................            2031        2,149.18        2,947.24       20,869.91       28,619.59        2,927.85        4,119.15
12......................................            2032        2,233.37        3,227.88       21,687.48       31,344.84        3,042.66        4,510.89

[[Page 3998]]

 
13......................................            2033        2,309.61        3,478.57       22,427.83       33,779.21        3,146.63        4,860.73
14......................................            2034        2,385.57        3,711.72       23,165.40       36,043.23        3,250.21        5,186.03
15......................................            2035        2,451.89        3,916.19       23,809.50       38,028.75        3,340.68        5,471.24
16......................................            2036        2,509.12        4,095.07       24,365.23       39,765.77        3,418.75        5,720.68
17......................................            2037        2,562.08        4,254.99       24,879.46       41,318.79        3,490.99        5,943.64
18......................................            2038        2,602.73        4,384.79       25,274.25       42,579.22        3,546.47        6,124.52
19......................................            2039        2,640.12        4,501.23       25,637.28       43,709.92        3,597.49        6,286.75
20......................................            2040        2,678.06        4,613.37       26,005.75       44,798.85        3,649.27        6,442.98
21......................................            2041        2,720.95        4,730.53       26,422.20       45,936.55        3,707.77        6,606.25
22......................................            2042        2,641.60        4,624.69       25,651.68       44,908.74        3,599.70        6,458.14
23......................................            2043        2,656.70        4,670.32       25,798.30       45,351.86        3,620.32        6,521.61
24......................................            2044        2,670.51        4,709.04       25,932.43       45,727.85        3,639.18        6,575.46
25......................................            2045        2,685.53        4,747.17       26,078.29       46,098.16        3,659.68        6,628.54
26......................................            2046        2,696.56        4,779.45       26,185.33       46,411.61        3,674.73        6,673.47
27......................................            2047        2,711.29        4,815.03       26,328.44       46,757.14        3,694.84        6,723.04
28......................................            2048        2,721.94        4,845.29       26,431.78       47,050.95        3,709.36        6,765.20
29......................................            2049        2,734.33        4,873.87       26,552.13       47,328.48        3,726.26        6,805.02
30......................................            2050        2,747.06        4,905.91       26,675.71       47,639.58        3,743.62        6,849.69
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency seeks comment on all aspects of the monetized benefits 
developed for this proposal. More specifically, the assumptions used 
for the benefits calculations which are the basis the estimates. Please 
provide any supporting data for the comments. If necessary, the agency 
has processes and procedures for submitting confidential business 
information.
4. Non-Quantified Benefits
    As discussed above, the agency has only quantified potential 
benefits of this rule derived from the assumed adoption of IMA and LTA. 
Although this assumption allows the agency to provide a reasonable 
quantification of the potential benefits of this rulemaking, it does 
not account for many other potential benefits of V2V. The non-
quantified benefits of the proposed rule can come from several sources: 
(1) The effects of enhancing vehicle-resident safety systems, (2) the 
incremental benefits over the current vehicle-resident safety systems, 
(3) the potential impact of the next generation V2V apps that would 
actively assist drivers to avoid crashes rather than simply issuing 
warnings, (4) the impact of enabling wide range deployment of V2P and 
V2I apps, and (5) the effects of adding V2V sensor input to other 
sensors utilized for automation. The agency does not quantify the 
potential impacts of these sources primarily due to lack of data (e.g., 
effectiveness of the apps, incremental effective rate of the V2V apps 
over the vehicle-resident systems, etc.) that can be used to discern 
these benefits.
(a) The Effect for Enhancing Vehicle-Resident Safety Systems
    For vehicles equipped with current on-board sensors, V2V can offer 
a fundamentally different, but complementary, source of information 
that can significantly enhance the reliability and accuracy of the 
information available. Instead of relying on each vehicle to sense its 
surroundings on its own, V2V enables surrounding vehicles to help each 
other by reporting safety information to each other. V2V communication 
can also detect threat vehicles that are not in the sensors' field of 
view, and can use a V2V signal to validate a return from a vehicle-
based sensor. This added capability can potentially lead to improved 
warning timing and a reduction in the number of false warnings, thereby 
adding confidence to the overall safety system, and increasing consumer 
satisfaction and acceptance. The vehicle-resident FCW, LCM/BSW systems 
can be improved by BSMs. However, the agency could not quantify the 
benefit due to lack of the measurement of how BSM can improve the 
vehicle-resident systems.
(b) Incremental Benefits of the V2V Apps
    Due to the sensing advantage of the V2V apps, the agency believes 
that these apps also have some incremental benefits over the vehicle-
resident version of the systems. For example, V2V-based FCW and LCM 
might perform better than the vehicle-resident systems. However, 
benefits from these apps could accrue if they add a marginal 
effectiveness to the existing in-vehicle systems, or if they enable the 
installation of these apps in vehicles that do not voluntarily have 
these systems. This later effect would occur due to the significant 
marginal cost reduction for these apps that would result from V2V. 
However, we do not have sufficient data to determine the marginal 
effectiveness of V2V for these apps and the added installation rates. 
Therefore, we did not quantify this type of benefits.
(c) Potential Impact of Next Generation V2V Apps
    The agency believes that the V2V apps will be evolved as did the 
vehicle-resident systems. The next generation V2V apps, we envision, 
can also actively assist drivers to avoid crashes as did the vehicle-
resident crash avoidance systems (such as advance brake assist). 
Furthermore, the new apps might be applicable to motorcycle crashes. 
V2V could increase the adoption of these apps to lower incremental 
cost.
(d) The Impact of Enabling V2P and V2I Apps
    The V2V also is the foundation for the deployment V2P and V2I apps. 
For V2P, pedestrians can carry devices (such as mobile phones) with a 
V2V chip that can send out a safety signal to V2V devices in the 
vehicles and vice versa. Both the driver and the pedestrian could be 
warned if a possible conflict arises. Specifically, V2P can protect 
pedestrians in crosswalk and improve mobility. However, there are many 
issues to be resolved concerning V2P

[[Page 3999]]

apps. The agency is developing a research plan that will investigate 
issues relating to V2P communication, safety applications, and human 
factors, and among other things.
    The same communications technology that supports V2V apps could 
also enable a broader set of safety and mobility applications when 
combined with compatible roadway infrastructure. The potential V2I apps 
have been identified included: Red Light Violation Warning, Curve Speed 
Warning, Stop Sign Gap Assist, Reduced Speed Zone Warning, Spot Weather 
Information Warning, Stop Sign Violation Warning, Railroad Crossing 
Violation Warning, and Oversize Vehicle Warning.\368\ These V2I apps 
can mitigate congestion and facilitate green transportation choices, 
thus reducing the energy consumptions and environmental impacts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \368\ The Connected Vehicle Core System Architecture, See 
www.its.dot.gov/research/systems_engineering.htm (last accessed Jan. 
9, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(e) The Effects of Paving the Way for Automation
    We believe that V2X technology may be necessary to realize the full 
potential of vehicle automation (e.g., self-driving vehicles), as such 
communication would provide a vehicle with the highest level of 
awareness of its surroundings, which is likely necessary in situations 
where the driver cedes all control of safety-critical functions and 
relies on the vehicle to monitor roadway and driving conditions.

E. Breakeven Analysis

    The agency conducted a breakeven analysis of the proposed rule's 
estimated costs and benefits. The analysis is used to determine when 
the cumulative estimated benefits will recoup the investment made up to 
that year. In essence, this analysis determines the year that the total 
investment of the proposed rule will be paid back through the total 
realized benefits of the proposed rule. The total investment of the 
proposed rule for a year is the cumulative annual costs from the first 
year of implementation up to that year. Similarly, the total realized 
benefits would be the cumulative monetized annual benefits from the 
first year of implementation up to that year. All annual costs and 
monetized benefits used in this analysis are discounted back to 2021, 
the projected first year of implementation of the proposed rule. In 
determining the potential breakeven point, the agency needed to develop 
the undiscounted annual net benefits yielding the values shown in Table 
VII-41. As shown, undiscounted, the proposed rule would accrue a 
positive annual benefit around 2026 and 2027.

                                                            Table VII-41--Annual Net Benefits
                                                            [Undiscounted, 2014$ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Total monetized benefits              Annual costs                 Annual net benefits
                  Year                     Calendar year -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021              $0              $0          $2,192          $2,864         -$2,864         -$2,192
2.......................................            2022              19              25           3,011           3,926          -3,907          -2,986
3.......................................            2023             126             165           3,832           4,946          -4,820          -3,668
4.......................................            2024             495             647           3,741           4,981          -4,486          -3,095
5.......................................            2025           1,256           1,644           3,701           4,803          -3,547          -2,057
6.......................................            2026           2,655           3,483           3,655           4,735          -2,080            -173
7.......................................            2027           4,784           6,295           3,640           4,705              79           2,655
8.......................................            2028           7,381           9,741           3,634           4,690           2,692           6,106
9.......................................            2029          10,245          13,554           3,622           4,668           5,577           9,931
10......................................            2030          13,336          17,678           3,649           4,692           8,643          14,029
11......................................            2031          16,595          22,041           3,659           4,699          11,896          18,381
12......................................            2032          19,960          26,553           3,662           4,699          15,261          22,891
13......................................            2033          23,369          31,136           3,665           4,699          18,670          27,471
14......................................            2034          26,770          35,718           3,682           4,719          22,051          32,036
15......................................            2035          30,098          40,212           3,717           4,757          25,341          36,495
16......................................            2036          33,279          44,518           3,713           4,731          28,548          40,805
17......................................            2037          36,263          48,567           3,734           4,726          31,537          44,833
18......................................            2038          39,002          52,292           3,749           4,736          34,266          48,543
19......................................            2039          41,438          55,616           3,769           4,858          36,580          51,847
20......................................            2040          43,570          58,537           3,831           4,844          38,726          54,706
21......................................            2041          45,392          61,042           3,856           4,872          40,519          57,186
22......................................            2042          46,898          63,122           3,737           4,715          42,183          59,385
23......................................            2043          48,152          64,860           3,744           4,719          43,434          61,116
24......................................            2044          49,192          66,304           3,752           4,723          44,469          62,552
25......................................            2045          50,045          67,490           3,796           4,764          45,281          63,695
26......................................            2046          50,768          68,494           3,770           4,736          46,032          64,724
27......................................            2047          51,403          69,374           3,780           4,745          46,658          65,594
28......................................            2048          51,963          70,147           3,789           4,752          47,211          66,359
29......................................            2049          52,466          70,840           3,797           4,759          47,707          67,043
30......................................            2050          52,911          71,453           3,858           4,818          48,093          67,595
31......................................            2051          53,279          71,960           3,822           4,761          48,518          68,138
32......................................            2052          53,603          72,408           3,813           4,732          48,870          68,594
33......................................            2053          53,869          72,777           3,805           4,719          49,150          68,972
34......................................            2054          54,096          73,092           3,797           4,810          49,285          69,295
35......................................            2055          54,285          73,356           3,832           4,766          49,520          69,523
36......................................            2056          54,445          73,578           3,782           4,711          49,734          69,795
37......................................            2057          54,561          73,741           3,775           4,700          49,862          69,966
38......................................            2058          54,624          73,832           3,768           4,688          49,936          70,064
39......................................            2059          54,665          73,894           3,761           4,677          49,987          70,133
40......................................            2060          54,685          73,926           3,804           4,717          49,968          70,122
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 4000]]

    Table VII-42 and Table VII-43 show the discounted cumulative annual 
benefits, cumulative annual costs, cumulative annual net benefits, and 
breakeven year at a 3 and 7 percent rate, respectively. As shown, the 
proposed rule would be expected to break even between 2029 and 2031 for 
a 3 percent discount rate and 2030 to 2032 for a 7 percent discount 
rate.

                                                            Table VII-42--Breakeven Analysis
                                                           [at 3 Percent, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Cumulative  monetized   Total cumulative  annual  Cumulative  net benefits       Breakeven  year
                                       Calendar           benefits                    costs          ---------------------------------------------------
                Year                     year    ----------------------------------------------------
                                                      Low          High         Low          High         Low          High         Low          High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................         2021           $0           $0       $2,160       $2,822      -$2,822      -$2,160          (*)          (*)
2..................................         2022           18           24        5,040        6,578       -6,559       -5,016          (*)          (*)
3..................................         2023          135          177        8,600       11,172      -11,036       -8,423          (*)          (*)
4..................................         2024          581          760       11,973       15,663      -15,081      -11,213          (*)          (*)
5..................................         2025        1,681        2,199       15,213       19,868      -18,186      -13,014          (*)          (*)
6..................................         2026        3,938        5,160       18,320       23,892      -19,954      -13,161          (*)          (*)
7..................................         2027        7,886       10,354       21,324       27,775      -19,889      -10,970          (*)          (*)
8..................................         2028       13,800       18,158       24,236       31,533      -17,732       -6,078          (*)          (*)
9..................................         2029       21,769       28,700       27,053       35,164      -13,395        1,647          (*)         2029
10.................................         2030       31,840       42,050       29,809       38,707       -6,867       12,241          (*)         2030
11.................................         2031       44,007       58,211       32,492       42,152        1,855       25,719         2031         2031
12.................................         2032       58,215       77,111       35,099       45,497       12,718       42,013         2032         2032
13.................................         2033       74,365       98,630       37,632       48,744       25,621       60,998         2033         2033
14.................................         2034       92,328      122,597       40,102       51,911       40,417       82,494         2034         2034
15.................................         2035      111,934      148,791       42,524       55,009       56,925      106,267         2035         2035
16.................................         2036      132,980      176,944       44,872       58,001       74,979      132,072         2036         2036
17.................................         2037      155,245      206,764       47,165       60,903       94,342      159,599         2037         2037
18.................................         2038      178,494      237,935       49,400       63,726      114,768      188,536         2038         2038
19.................................         2039      202,478      270,126       51,581       66,537      135,941      218,545         2039         2039
20.................................         2040      226,960      303,018       53,734       69,259      157,701      249,284         2040         2040
21.................................         2041      251,726      336,322       55,837       71,918      179,808      280,485         2041         2041
22.................................         2042      276,568      369,758       57,817       74,415      202,153      311,941         2042         2042
23.................................         2043      301,328      403,109       59,742       76,841      224,486      343,367         2043         2043
24.................................         2044      325,889      436,214       61,616       79,200      246,690      374,599         2044         2044
25.................................         2045      350,146      468,927       63,455       81,509      268,637      405,472         2045         2045
26.................................         2046      374,038      501,160       65,229       83,738      290,300      435,931         2046         2046
27.................................         2047      397,524      532,857       66,956       85,906      311,618      465,901         2047         2047
28.................................         2048      420,574      563,975       68,637       88,014      332,561      495,337         2048         2048
29.................................         2049      443,171      594,486       70,273       90,063      353,108      524,213         2049         2049
30.................................         2050      465,294      624,360       71,886       92,078      373,216      552,474         2050         2050
31.................................         2051      486,919      653,569       73,437       94,010      392,909      580,132         2051         2051
32.................................         2052      508,044      682,104       74,940       95,875      412,169      607,165         2052         2052
33.................................         2053      528,654      709,949       76,396       97,681      430,974      633,553         2053         2053
34.................................         2054      548,751      737,102       77,806       99,468      449,283      659,296         2054         2054
35.................................         2055      568,332      763,562       79,189      101,187      467,145      684,373         2055         2055
36.................................         2056      587,399      789,329       80,513      102,837      484,562      708,816         2056         2056
37.................................         2057      605,949      814,401       81,797      104,435      501,515      732,604         2057         2057
38.................................         2058      623,981      838,772       83,040      105,982      517,999      755,732         2058         2058
39.................................         2059      641,501      862,455       84,246      107,481      534,020      778,210         2059         2059
40.................................         2060      658,513      885,454       85,429      108,949      549,565      800,025         2060         2060
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Not breakeven.

                                                            Table VII-43--Breakeven Analysis
                                                           [at 7 Percent, 2014 $ in Millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Cumulative monetized     Total cumulative annual   Cumulative net benefits       Breakeven year
                                       Calendar           benefits                    costs          ---------------------------------------------------
                Year                     year    ----------------------------------------------------
                                                      Low          High         Low          High         Low          High         Low          High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................         2021           $0           $0       $2,119       $2,768      -$2,768      -$2,119          (*)          (*)
2..................................         2022           17           23        4,840        6,316       -6,299       -4,817          (*)          (*)
3..................................         2023          124          162        8,076       10,492      -10,369       -7,914          (*)          (*)
4..................................         2024          514          672       11,028       14,423      -13,909      -10,356          (*)          (*)
5..................................         2025        1,441        1,884       13,757       17,965      -16,524      -11,873          (*)          (*)
6..................................         2026        3,271        4,285       16,277       21,228      -17,958      -11,992          (*)          (*)
7..................................         2027        6,353        8,340       18,622       24,260      -17,907      -10,282          (*)          (*)
8..................................         2028       10,796       14,204       20,810       27,083      -16,287       -6,606          (*)          (*)
9..................................         2029       16,560       21,829       22,847       29,709      -13,149       -1,018          (*)          (*)
10.................................         2030       23,572       31,124       24,766       32,176       -8,604        6,358          (*)         2030
11.................................         2031       31,727       41,955       26,564       34,485       -2,759       15,391          (*)         2031
12.................................         2032       40,894       54,151       28,246       36,643        4,251       25,905         2032         2032

[[Page 4001]]

 
13.................................         2033       50,925       67,515       29,819       38,660       12,264       37,695         2033         2033
14.................................         2034       61,665       81,845       31,297       40,554       21,111       50,548         2034         2034
15.................................         2035       72,949       96,920       32,690       42,337       30,612       64,230         2035         2035
16.................................         2036       84,610      112,520       33,991       43,995       40,615       78,528         2036         2036
17.................................         2037       96,486      128,425       35,214       45,542       50,943       93,211         2037         2037
18.................................         2038      108,420      144,426       36,361       46,992       61,429      108,065         2038         2038
19.................................         2039      120,271      160,333       37,439       48,381       71,891      122,893         2039         2039
20.................................         2040      131,918      175,980       38,463       49,676       82,242      137,516         2040         2040
21.................................         2041      143,257      191,228       39,427       50,893       92,364      151,801         2041         2041
22.................................         2042      154,207      205,967       40,299       51,994      102,214      165,668         2042         2042
23.................................         2043      164,714      220,119       41,116       53,023      111,691      179,003         2043         2043
24.................................         2044      174,744      233,639       41,881       53,986      120,758      191,757         2044         2044
25.................................         2045      184,283      246,502       42,605       54,894      129,388      203,898         2045         2045
26.................................         2046      193,325      258,701       43,276       55,738      137,587      215,425         2046         2046
27.................................         2047      201,883      270,252       43,905       56,528      145,355      226,346         2047         2047
28.................................         2048      209,969      281,167       44,495       57,267      152,701      236,672         2048         2048
29.................................         2049      217,597      291,467       45,047       57,959      159,638      246,420         2049         2049
30.................................         2050      224,788      301,177       45,571       58,614      166,174      255,606         2050         2050
31.................................         2051      231,554      310,316       46,057       59,219      172,336      264,260         2051         2051
32.................................         2052      237,917      318,911       46,509       59,780      178,136      272,402         2052         2052
33.................................         2053      243,891      326,982       46,931       60,304      183,587      280,051         2053         2053
34.................................         2054      249,501      334,562       47,325       60,803      188,698      287,236         2054         2054
35.................................         2055      254,761      341,670       47,697       61,264      193,497      293,973         2055         2055
36.................................         2056      259,688      348,329       48,039       61,691      197,997      300,290         2056         2056
37.................................         2057      264,304      354,567       48,358       62,088      202,216      306,209         2057         2057
38.................................         2058      268,625      360,407       48,656       62,459      206,166      311,751         2058         2058
39.................................         2059      272,665      365,868       48,934       62,805      209,860      316,934         2059         2059
40.................................         2060      276,443      370,976       49,197       63,131      213,313      321,779         2060         2060
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Not breakeven.

    Table VII-44 summarizes the breakeven year for the proposed rule 
based on the estimated costs and monetized benefits.

    Table VII-44--Summary of the Breakeven Year of the Proposed Rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Discount rate                             Year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
At 3 Percent.............................  2029 to 2031.
At 7 Percent.............................  2030 to 2032.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. Cost Effectiveness and Positive Net Benefits Analysis

1. Cost Effectiveness
    The cost-effectiveness analysis identifies the model year the 
agency estimates the net cost per fatal equivalent is no greater than 
the $9.7 million comprehensive cost of a fatality, indicating the point 
at which cost of the propose rule is lower than a fatal equivalent. For 
this analysis, the agency defines the net cost as the difference 
between a given MY cost and the congestion benefits and PDO savings 
(i.e., the lifetime savings of these two categories for a given vehicle 
MY).
    For each discount rate, the range of fatal equivalents covers those 
from the two benefits estimating approaches discussed previously 
Section VII.D: Free-rider and no free-rider. The low fatal equivalent 
numbers represent the low benefit estimates from the free-rider 
approach and the high estimates represent the higher benefit estimates 
from the no free-rider approach. Additionally, the cost-related low and 
high values represent the two potential cost estimates that result from 
utilizing a one-radio or two-radio approach to DSRC implementation 
approach.\369\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \369\ The one-DSRC radio consists of one DSRC radio in vehicle 
paring with a hybrid (WiFi/Cellular/Satellite) vehicle-to-SCMS 
communication. The two DSRC radios in vehicle are paring with DSRC 
vehicle-to-SCMS communication.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency utilizes the net cost per equivalent life saved to 
determine the cost-effectiveness for a given vehicle MY. The net cost 
defined in this analysis is the difference between the MY costs and the 
savings from reducing property damage and congestion. As described in 
Section VII.D.3, fatal equivalents are derived by translating the MAIS 
1-5 injuries saved and the PDOVs prevented into fatalities using the 
calculated relative fatality ratios found in Table VII-37.
    Table VII-45 and Table VII-46 present the factors used when 
determine cost-effectiveness, the net cost per fatal equivalent 
discounted at 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively, and when the 
agency estimates the proposed rule would become cost-effective. As 
shown in the tables, the agency estimates the proposed rule would 
become cost effective in MY 2024 to MY 2026 regardless of the discount 
rate. Note that the negative MY net cost shown in the tables means that 
the MY benefits outweigh its costs.

[[Page 4002]]

                                                        Table VII-45--Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
                                                           [at 3 Percent, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Fatal equivalents           MY net costs           Net cost per fatal          Cost- effective
                                                 ----------------------------------------------------        equivalent        -------------------------
                Year                    Model                                                        --------------------------
                                                      Low          High         Low          High         Low          High         Low          High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................         2021         0.00         0.00    $2,221.39    $2,893.52    $2,221.39    $2,893.52            *            *
2..................................         2022         3.48        67.86     2,958.11     3,963.34        43.59     1,138.99            *            *
3..................................         2023        23.35       208.55     3,592.36     4,965.74        17.23       212.68            *            *
4..................................         2024       104.31       580.04     2,975.53     4,884.16         5.13        46.82         2024            *
5..................................         2025       257.57     1,017.05     2,317.96     4,491.28         2.28        17.44         2025            *
6..................................         2026       586.69     1,774.90     1,208.85     3,970.64         0.68         6.77         2026         2026
7..................................         2027     1,112.42     2,621.45         7.03     3,221.61         0.00         2.90         2027         2027
8..................................         2028     1,606.16     3,090.78      -657.77     2,530.40        -0.21         1.58         2028         2028
9..................................         2029     1,946.18     3,250.93      -896.40     2,042.34        -0.28         1.05         2029         2029
10.................................         2030     2,252.45     3,415.26    -1,101.36     1,645.84        -0.32         0.73         2030         2030
11.................................         2031     2,523.52     3,563.63    -1,301.00     1,280.31        -0.37         0.51         2031         2031
12.................................         2032     2,761.74     3,697.69    -1,487.91       952.38        -0.40         0.34         2032         2032
13.................................         2033     2,847.78     3,975.69    -1,876.58       833.11        -0.47         0.29         2033         2033
14.................................         2034     2,934.41     4,241.63    -2,233.79       731.05        -0.53         0.25         2034         2034
15.................................         2035     3,009.61     4,475.08    -2,526.26       664.36        -0.56         0.22         2035         2035
16.................................         2036     3,074.84     4,678.59    -2,816.23       547.13        -0.60         0.18         2036         2036
17.................................         2037     3,134.46     4,858.86    -3,048.91       459.30        -0.63         0.15         2037         2037
18.................................         2038     3,182.03     5,007.07    -3,242.04       402.76        -0.65         0.13         2038         2038
19.................................         2039     3,224.93     5,139.68    -3,409.01       463.44        -0.66         0.14         2039         2039
20.................................         2040     3,269.38     5,267.60    -3,527.55       387.12        -0.67         0.12         2040         2040
21.................................         2041     3,320.90     5,404.46    -3,692.67       345.44        -0.68         0.10         2041         2041
22.................................         2042     3,224.76     5,283.11    -3,646.00       315.00        -0.69         0.10         2042         2042
23.................................         2043     3,241.75     5,334.51    -3,711.27       294.44        -0.70         0.09         2043         2043
24.................................         2044     3,258.96     5,380.31    -3,768.41       274.41        -0.70         0.08         2044         2044
25.................................         2045     3,275.27     5,423.17    -3,785.48       292.50        -0.70         0.09         2045         2045
26.................................         2046     3,290.63     5,461.25    -3,865.08       242.56        -0.71         0.07         2046         2046
27.................................         2047     3,306.52     5,499.93    -3,909.53       228.66        -0.71         0.07         2047         2047
28.................................         2048     3,319.75     5,536.44    -3,952.52       216.58        -0.71         0.07         2048         2048
29.................................         2049     3,333.27     5,571.05    -3,992.64       204.60        -0.72         0.06         2049         2049
30.................................         2050     3,350.10     5,608.31    -3,984.67       240.58        -0.71         0.07         2050         2050
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The proposed rule would not be cost effective for the MY vehicles since the net cost per fatal equivalent is greater than $9.7M in 2014 dollars.

                                                        Table VII-46--Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
                                                           [at 7 Percent, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Fatal  equivalents           MY net  costs          Net cost per fatal          Cost- effective
                                                 ----------------------------------------------------        equivalent        -------------------------
                Year                  Model year                                                     --------------------------
                                                      Low          High         Low          High         Low          High         Low          High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................         2021         0.00         0.00    $2,213.68    $2,885.80    $2,213.68    $2,885.80            *            *
2..................................         2022         3.28        51.18     2,969.81     3,952.00        58.02     1,206.56            *            *
3..................................         2023        21.83       159.55     3,645.47     4,952.42        22.85       226.83            *            *
4..................................         2024        96.35       450.18     3,141.76     4,879.71         6.98        50.64         2024            *
5..................................         2025       234.85       795.52     2,612.54     4,507.19         3.28        19.19         2025            *
6..................................         2026       527.59     1,396.62     1,722.09     4,035.73         1.23         7.65         2026         2026
7..................................         2027       989.03     2,077.54       751.28     3,373.91         0.36         3.41         2027         2027
8..................................         2028     1,416.94     2,459.15       208.58     2,771.96         0.08         1.96         2028         2028
9..................................         2029     1,710.25     2,598.90        -2.00     2,347.17         0.00         1.37         2029         2029
10.................................         2030     1,974.86     2,741.45      -177.05     2,006.97        -0.06         1.02         2030         2030
11.................................         2031     2,149.18     2,947.24      -458.15     1,772.63        -0.16         0.82         2031         2031
12.................................         2032     2,233.37     3,227.88      -850.33     1,654.44        -0.26         0.74         2032         2032
13.................................         2033     2,309.61     3,478.57    -1,200.35     1,548.14        -0.35         0.67         2033         2033
14.................................         2034     2,385.57     3,711.72    -1,512.27     1,460.19        -0.41         0.61         2034         2034
15.................................         2035     2,451.89     3,916.19    -1,764.75     1,405.16        -0.45         0.57         2035         2035
16.................................         2036     2,509.12     4,095.07    -2,020.80     1,298.41        -0.49         0.52         2036         2036
17.................................         2037     2,562.08     4,254.99    -2,225.59     1,219.23        -0.52         0.48         2037         2037
18.................................         2038     2,602.73     4,384.79    -2,393.47     1,171.68        -0.55         0.45         2038         2038
19.................................         2039     2,640.12     4,501.23    -2,538.36     1,239.43        -0.56         0.47         2039         2039
20.................................         2040     2,678.06     4,613.37    -2,635.41     1,171.48        -0.57         0.44         2040         2040
21.................................         2041     2,720.95     4,730.53    -2,773.58     1,141.05        -0.59         0.42         2041         2041
22.................................         2042     2,641.60     4,624.69    -2,748.24     1,088.07        -0.59         0.41         2042         2042
23.................................         2043     2,656.70     4,670.32    -2,805.80     1,069.77        -0.60         0.40         2043         2043
24.................................         2044     2,670.51     4,709.04    -2,853.41     1,054.05        -0.61         0.39         2044         2044
25.................................         2045     2,685.53     4,747.17    -2,864.22     1,073.57        -0.60         0.40         2045         2045
26.................................         2046     2,696.56     4,779.45    -2,936.06     1,029.21        -0.61         0.38         2046         2046

[[Page 4003]]

 
27.................................         2047     2,711.29     4,815.03    -2,976.53     1,016.55        -0.62         0.37         2047         2047
28.................................         2048     2,721.94     4,845.29    -3,011.12     1,007.69        -0.62         0.37         2048         2048
29.................................         2049     2,734.33     4,873.87    -3,043.14       996.93        -0.62         0.36         2049         2049
30.................................         2050     2,747.06     4,905.91    -3,028.20     1,038.18        -0.62         0.38         2050         2050
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The proposed rule would not be cost effective for the MY vehicles since the net cost per fatal equivalent is greater than $9.7M in 2014 dollars.

2. Lifetime Net Benefits for a Specified Model Year
    The lifetime net benefits for a specified MY vehicle (i.e., MY net 
benefits) is the difference between the monetized MY benefits and the 
corresponding MY costs. Table VII-47 and Table VII-48 show the MY net 
benefits at a 3 and 7 percent discount rate, respectively. As shown, 
for both discount rates, MY 2024 to MY 2026 vehicles would accrue 
positive lifetime net benefits. (Due to rounding errors, discrepancy 
existed between the monetized MY benefits that were deriving directly 
by multiplying $9.7 million by fatal equivalents and those reported in 
the tables below.)

                                                              Table VII-47--MY Net Benefits
                                                           [at 3 Percent, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Monetized MY benefits                 MY costs                     MY net benefits
                  Year                      Model year   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021           $0.00           $0.00       $2,221.39       $2,893.52      -$2,893.52      -$2,221.39
2.......................................            2022           33.79          658.99        3,053.02        3,968.08       -3,934.29       -2,394.03
3.......................................            2023          226.72        2,025.12        3,884.01        4,997.52       -4,770.80       -1,858.89
4.......................................            2024        1,012.92        5,632.53        3,786.63        5,026.18       -4,013.26        1,845.90
5.......................................            2025        2,501.20        9,876.22        3,740.01        4,842.01       -2,340.81        6,136.21
6.......................................            2026        5,697.12       17,235.41        3,690.23        4,769.58          927.54       13,545.18
7.......................................            2027       10,802.30       25,455.98        3,671.47        4,736.63        6,065.67       21,784.52
8.......................................            2028       15,596.91       30,013.55        3,662.23        4,718.02       10,878.89       26,351.32
9.......................................            2029       18,898.69       31,568.66        3,646.96        4,693.24       14,205.45       27,921.70
10......................................            2030       21,872.79       33,164.45        3,671.21        4,714.08       17,158.71       29,493.24
11......................................            2031       24,505.02       34,605.22        3,678.46        4,717.95       19,787.07       30,926.76
12......................................            2032       26,818.31       35,906.98        3,678.43        4,714.96       22,103.36       32,228.55
13......................................            2033       27,653.77       38,606.57        3,678.63        4,713.02       22,940.75       34,927.94
14......................................            2034       28,495.06       41,189.00        3,692.47        4,729.11       23,765.95       37,496.53
15......................................            2035       29,225.26       43,456.01        3,725.64        4,764.99       24,460.27       39,730.37
16......................................            2036       29,858.67       45,432.21        3,719.46        4,736.74       25,121.92       41,712.75
17......................................            2037       30,437.71       47,182.69        3,738.10        4,730.26       25,707.44       43,444.60
18......................................            2038       30,899.56       48,621.96        3,751.52        4,738.62       26,160.94       44,870.43
19......................................            2039       31,316.16       49,909.68        3,769.32        4,857.85       26,458.31       46,140.36
20......................................            2040       31,747.87       51,151.88        3,829.01        4,842.19       26,905.68       47,322.87
21......................................            2041       32,248.10       52,480.81        3,854.63        4,870.78       27,377.32       48,626.18
22......................................            2042       31,314.49       51,302.48        3,731.52        4,709.39       26,605.10       47,570.96
23......................................            2043       31,479.52       51,801.61        3,737.75        4,712.04       26,767.49       48,063.86
24......................................            2044       31,646.62       52,246.36        3,744.33        4,715.51       26,931.12       48,502.03
25......................................            2045       31,805.05       52,662.57        3,786.93        4,755.86       27,049.18       48,875.65
26......................................            2046       31,954.16       53,032.36        3,760.35        4,726.88       27,227.28       49,272.01
27......................................            2047       32,108.44       53,407.94        3,769.78        4,734.65       27,373.79       49,638.16
28......................................            2048       32,236.99       53,762.45        3,777.66        4,740.64       27,496.35       49,984.79
29......................................            2049       32,368.22       54,098.58        3,785.78        4,747.09       27,621.14       50,312.80
30......................................            2050       32,531.65       54,460.39        3,845.70        4,806.01       27,725.64       50,614.69
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                              Table VII-48 MY Net Benefits
                                                           [at 7 Percent, 2014 $ in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Monetized MY benefits               Vehicle costs                  MY net benefits
                  Year                      Model year   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Low            High             Low            High             Low            High
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................            2021           $0.00           $0.00       $2,213.68       $2,885.80      -$2,885.80      -$2,213.68
2.......................................            2022           31.80          497.03        3,041.41        3,956.46       -3,924.66       -2,544.37
3.......................................            2023          212.00        1,549.29        3,868.62        4,982.14       -4,770.14       -2,319.34
4.......................................            2024          935.65        4,371.50        3,771.35        5,010.90       -4,075.25          600.15
5.......................................            2025        2,280.53        7,725.00        3,724.97        4,826.97       -2,546.44        4,000.03

[[Page 4004]]

 
6.......................................            2026        5,123.26       13,562.13        3,674.84        4,754.19          369.08        9,887.29
7.......................................            2027        9,604.09       20,174.30        3,655.69        4,720.85        4,883.24       16,518.61
8.......................................            2028       13,759.41       23,879.93        3,646.03        4,701.83        9,057.59       20,233.89
9.......................................            2029       16,607.61       25,236.98        3,630.38        4,676.66       11,930.95       21,606.59
10......................................            2030       19,177.23       26,621.24        3,654.18        4,697.04       14,480.18       22,967.06
11......................................            2031       20,869.91       28,619.59        3,661.00        4,700.48       16,169.42       24,958.59
12......................................            2032       21,687.48       31,344.84        3,660.57        4,697.09       16,990.38       27,684.27
13......................................            2033       22,427.83       33,779.21        3,660.38        4,694.77       17,733.06       30,118.83
14......................................            2034       23,165.40       36,043.23        3,673.77        4,710.41       18,455.00       32,369.46
15......................................            2035       23,809.50       38,028.75        3,706.49        4,745.84       19,063.67       34,322.26
16......................................            2036       24,365.23       39,765.77        3,699.88        4,717.16       19,648.07       36,065.89
17......................................            2037       24,879.46       41,318.79        3,718.05        4,710.22       20,169.24       37,600.74
18......................................            2038       25,274.25       42,579.22        3,731.05        4,718.15       20,556.11       38,848.18
19......................................            2039       25,637.28       43,709.92        3,748.39        4,836.91       20,800.36       39,961.54
20......................................            2040       26,005.75       44,798.85        3,807.57        4,820.75       21,185.00       40,991.28
21......................................            2041       26,422.20       45,936.55        3,832.67        4,848.82       21,573.37       42,103.88
22......................................            2042       25,651.68       44,908.74        3,709.90        4,687.77       20,963.91       41,198.84
23......................................            2043       25,798.30       45,351.86        3,715.80        4,690.09       21,108.20       41,636.06
24......................................            2044       25,932.43       45,727.85        3,722.05        4,693.23       21,239.19       42,005.80
25......................................            2045       26,078.29       46,098.16        3,764.31        4,733.25       21,345.04       42,333.85
26......................................            2046       26,185.33       46,411.61        3,737.41        4,703.94       21,481.39       42,674.20
27......................................            2047       26,328.44       46,757.14        3,746.51        4,711.38       21,617.06       43,010.63
28......................................            2048       26,431.78       47,050.95        3,754.07        4,717.05       21,714.73       43,296.87
29......................................            2049       26,552.13       47,328.48        3,761.88        4,723.19       21,828.94       43,566.60
30......................................            2050       26,675.71       47,639.58        3,821.49        4,781.80       21,893.91       43,818.10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Summary
    Table VII-49 summarizes the MY vehicles that would be cost-
effective.

    Table VII-49--Summary of the MY Would Be Cost-Effective and Have
                          Positive Net Benefits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Discount rate              Cost-effective       Net benefits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
At 3 Percent...................  2024 to 2026.......  2024 to 2026.
At 7 Percent...................  2024 to 2026.......  2024 to 2026.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

G. Uncertainty Analysis

    In order to account for the inherent uncertainty in the assumptions 
underlying this cost-benefit analysis, the agency also conducted 
extensive uncertainty analysis to illustrate the variation in the 
rule's benefits and costs associated with different assumptions about 
the future number of accidents that could be prevented, the assumed 
adoption rates and estimated effectiveness of the two safety 
applications, and our assumptions about the costs of providing V2V 
communications capability. This analysis showed that the proposed rule 
would reach its breakeven year between 2030 and 2032 with 90 percent 
certainty, with even the most conservative scenario showing that the 
breakeven year would be five to six years later than the previously 
estimated years (2029-2032). Considering these same sources of 
uncertainty in the cost-effectiveness and net benefits analyses showed 
that the proposed rule would become cost-effective and would accrue 
positive net benefits between MY 2024 and MY 2027 with 90 percent 
certainty. This indicates that it is very likely to become cost-
effectiveness at most one MY later than estimated in the primary 
analysis, and that even under the most conservative scenario, this 
would occur two to three model years later than the initial estimate of 
2024-2026.

H. Estimated Costs and Benefits of V2V Alternatives

    In the interest of ensuring the agency's proposed approach to 
regulating V2V technology is both fully informed and backed by a 
comprehensive regulatory analysis, the agency considered two potential 
alternative approaches for V2V deployment. The first alternative 
(Alternative 1) explores the concept going beyond this proposal's 
mandate for only the V2V communications equipment (radio), by also 
including a mandate for two safety warning applications: Intersection 
movement assist (IMA) and left turn across path (LTA). Alternative 2 is 
an ``if-equipped'' approach that would provide requirements for V2V 
communication as specified in this proposed rule but only applicable if 
the equipment is used in the vehicle fleet. These two alternatives 
represent a significant range of potential agency actions beyond the 
baseline and the proposal.
    Alternative 1 shares the same three-year phase-in schedule (50%-
75%-100%) for V2V equipment as the proposed rule but delays the same 
phase in rate by one year delay for safety application implementation 
(0%-50%-75%-100%). Alternative 2 \370\ assumes that a V2V 
implementation would be both slower and most likely stay flat 
thereafter versus the mandatory implementation of the proposed rule, 
never reaching all or even a significant percentage of the fleet. The 
agency believes this results from the cost of installing V2V on any 
particular vehicle is not dependent on adoption by others, while the 
benefits are. With these considerations, the agency assumes that a 5 
percent DSRC adoption for MY 2021 vehicles and a 5 percent increase for 
the subsequent years until plateauing at 25 percent in MY 2025 and 
indefinitely This assumption is broadly based upon adoption rates of 
other advanced technologies in the absence of a mandate. Alternative 2 
has the same safety application implementation schedule as the proposed 
rule as implementation would be voluntary for both regulatory options. 
Table VII-50

[[Page 4005]]

and Table VII-51 summarize the DSRC and safety application adoptions 
rates for the proposed rule and these two alternatives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \370\ The agency believes that V2V would not occur in the 
absence of any government action and has, therefore, not estimated a 
``no action'' alternative. We request comment on this assumption.

                                                      Table VII-50--DSRC Adoption Rates in Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Model year
             Regulation alternatives             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      2021         2022         2023         2024         2025         2026         2027        2028+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proposed Rule Mandating DSRC................           50           75          100          100          100          100          100          100
Alternative 1 Mandating DSRC and Apps...........           50           75          100          100          100          100          100          100
Alternative 2 If-Equipped.......................            5           10           15           20           25           25           25           25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                      Table VII-51--App Adoption Rates * in Percent
                                                               [of DSRC-equipped vehicles]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Model year
             Regulation alternatives             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      2021         2022         2023         2024         2025         2026         2027        2028+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proposed Rule Mandating DSRC................            0            5           10           25           40           65           90          100
Alternative 1 Mandating DSRC and Apps...........           50           75          100          100          100          100          100          100
Alternative 2 If-Equipped.......................            0            5           10           15           20           25           25           25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because of the aggressive app adoption, Alternative 1 would be 
expected to accrue more annual benefits than the proposed rule before 
the entire on-road fleet has been equipped with V2V (i.e., reaching the 
maximum benefits). Alternative 1 would also reach the same maximum 
annual benefits as the proposed rule, but would do so four years 
earlier. This alternative would achieve these benefits without 
significant cost increase, since the incremental cost of adding two 
apps over the DSRC radios is very small (less than 0.1 percent of the 
vehicle technology cost). The annual costs of this alternative would 
range from $2.2 to $5.0 billion.
    Alternative 2 would accrue up to 6 percent of the maximum annual 
benefits of the proposed rule due to lower DSRC and app adoption rates. 
This alternative also has relatively lower annual costs than that of 
the proposed rule, since far fewer vehicles would be installed with 
DSRC. The annual cost of this alternative would range from $254 million 
to $1.3 billion, with an average annual cost about 26 percent of the 
cost of the proposed rule.
    Alternative 1 would breakeven between 2027 and 2030 (combining 3 
and 7 percent discount rates), two years ahead of the proposed rule. 
The first MY vehicles that would be cost-effective and that would 
accrue positive net benefits is expected to be between MY 2024 and MY 
2026, also two years earlier than the proposed rule. In contrast, 
Alternative 2 would breakeven between 2037 and 2055, eight to twenty-
three years behind the proposed rule. The first MY vehicles that would 
be cost-effective under Alternative 2 is expected to be between MY 2026 
and MY 2031, two to five years later than the proposed rule. The first 
MY vehicles that would accrue positive net benefits is between MY 2026 
and MY 2033, two to seven years later than the proposed rule. Table 
VII-52 and Table VII-53 compares these visually at three and seven 
percent discount rates.

              Table VII-52--Comparison of Breakeven and Cost-Effective Measures--3 Percent Discount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Cost-benefit measures (3 percent   Alternative 1 mandating       The proposed rule         Alternative 2 if-
            discount)                 DSRC radios and apps       mandating DSRC only            equipped
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakeven (CY)...................  2027 to 2029.............  2029 to 2031............  2037 to 2045.
Cost-Effectiveness (MY)..........  2022 to 2024.............  2024 to 2026............  2026 to 2030.
Positive Net Benefits (MY).......  2022 to 2024.............  2024 to 2026............  2026 to 2031.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

              Table VII-53--Comparison of Breakeven and Cost-Effective Measures--7 Percent Discount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Cost-benefit measures (7 percent   Alternative 1 mandating       The proposed rule         Alternative 2 if-
            discount)                 DSRC radios and apps       mandating DSRC only            equipped
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakeven (CY)...................  2027 to 2030.............  2030 to 2032............  2039 to 2055.
Cost-Effectiveness (MY)..........  2022 to 2024.............  2024 to 2026............  2027 to 2031.
Positive Net Benefits (MY).......  2022 to 2024.............  2024 to 2026............  2027 to 2033.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 4006]]

    Although mandating safety applications like IMA and LTA along with 
the V2V communication capability (i.e., DSRC) would result in 
significant safety benefits sooner, the agency is not proposing to 
mandate these applications as part of this proposal, because the agency 
currently does not have sufficient data to proceed with a mandate at 
this time. As explained above, further research for establishing 
practicable and objective test procedures and performance requirements 
for the applications will likely need to be conducted prior to mandate 
to avoid potential unintended consequences which could have broader 
negative effects, such as false warnings causing consumers to dismiss 
the technology, on the development and deployment of V2V-based 
applications.
    Additional details on the analysis of Alternative 1 and Alternative 
2 can be found in the PRIA accompanying this proposal rule.
    We request comment on the alternative cost and benefits analysis 
including the approach for the alternative? Do commenters agree with 
the costs assumptions used for developing and implementing safety 
applications? Why or why not? Please provide supporting data. Do 
commenters agree with our assessment that mandating applications would 
result in accruing benefits sooner? Do commenters have estimates for 
the potential costs that an earlier mandate (like, consumer rejection 
of tech, opportunity cost, etc.) that are not quantified or are not 
quantifiable but hold great importance? Do commenters have any 
information that could assist the agency in learning more about these 
and any other applications that may be useful in a potential agency 
decision to mandate V2V-enabled safety applications.

VIII. Proposed Implementation Timing

    This section of the NPRM describes the proposed timing for 
implementing the requirements for new vehicles and aftermarket devices, 
and also describes our expectations of the availability of the national 
SCMS.

A. New Vehicles

    The agency proposes the following lead time and phase-in period for 
all new light vehicles sold in the U.S. to comply with this proposed 
rule.
1. Lead Time
    We are proposing two years of lead time, with the two years 
starting on Sept. 1 following issuance of a final rule to this 
proposal. This approach would allow a minimum of two full calendars of 
lead time. New light vehicles manufactured for sale in the U.S. would 
not be required to comply until that time. NHTSA believes that a lead 
time period is necessary to allow for the development and production of 
automotive-grade V2V communications devices by the automotive supplier 
industry. While a quantity of DSRC devices were developed for the 
Safety Pilot Model Deployment in Ann Arbor, MI, these were mostly 
prototype aftermarket devices that were not designed to directly 
integrate into the vehicle's controller area network. Furthermore, the 
expected lifespan of these devices is only 3 to 5 years instead of the 
lifespan of a typical vehicle. Those devices, or ones based on their 
design, would therefore not be appropriate for meeting this proposed 
standard. At the time of issuance of this NPRM, we have limited 
information regarding the capability of automotive suppliers to produce 
the quantities of DSRC devices to equip all new light vehicles sold in 
the U.S. annually (approximately 15 million \371\). However, the agency 
was able to confirm, confidentially, with at least one supplier while 
gathering information for this proposal that request for quotations 
were being issued by original equipment manufacturers for V2V capable 
devices. In addition, the ITSA market study commissioned by the agency 
indicated the industry would need approximately 18 months to two years 
to ``ramp-up' V2V devices for mass production, considering the device 
itself and the perceived integration as original equipment are less 
complex than other technologies such as ESC or powertrain components.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \371\ See the 2015 EIA Annual Energy Outlook, available at 
http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/tables_ref.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Depending on when the final rule establishing DSRC FMVSS is issued, 
the agency concurs with the ITSA market study and its own regulatory 
experience that automotive suppliers with need some lead time to 
generate production-level devices in the quantities that would be 
required annually by automotive OEMs.
    Lead time also allows the automotive OEMs time to integrate V2V 
communications devices into their product lines, as these devices are 
not currently part of any production vehicles sold in the U.S. This 
will minimize costs by allowing OEMs to incorporate the new technology 
into product cycle planning. Many OEMs conduct ``refreshes'' (i.e. 
minor cosmetic changes, new features, quality fixes, etc.) on their 
product lines in a staggered fashion approximately three to four years 
after a major redesign.
    For these reasons, the agency is proposing a two year lead time 
after issuance of the final rule before manufacturers are required to 
begin complying with the requirements. Two years was chosen because it 
is approximately half the amount of time between average vehicle 
refreshes, allowing OEMs to integrate V2V technology into their 
existing product cycles. This will minimize the cost burden on the OEMs 
by not requiring concurrent redesigns of all production lines at the 
same time. We seek comment on whether this amount of lead time is 
necessary and appropriate. If commenters believe that additional lead 
time is needed, or that less lead time is needed, we ask that they 
support their comments as best as possible with specific information as 
to why.
2. Phase-In Period
    While the agency understands that design changes may be required in 
order to integrate V2V communications devices into all light vehicles, 
since V2V technology is a cooperative system, the potential benefits 
associated with V2V devices depend on a high penetration rate of 
equipped vehicles. As such, the agency proposes an aggressive phase-in 
schedule after the conclusion of the lead time period. In addition to 
the proposed two years of lead time, NHTSA proposes a three year phase-
in period. The three year phase-in schedule, which starts immediately 
after the conclusion of the lead time, would be as follows:

 End of Year 1--50% of all new light vehicles must comply with 
the rule
 End of Year 2--75% of all new light vehicles must comply with 
the rule
 End of Year 3--100% of all new light vehicles must comply with 
the rule

    This proposed schedule allows a total of five years until all new 
vehicles would be required to comply with the final rule. This is 
consistent with a DOT-sponsored market study \372\ conducted by ITS 
America, in which interviews were conducted with a wide range of V2V 
stakeholders including:

    \372\ Impact of Light Vehicle Rule on Consumer/Aftermarket 
Adoption- Dedicated Short Range Communications Market Study, 
Intelligent Transportation Society of America, FHWA-JPO-17-487, 
available at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/60000/60500/60535/FHWA-JPO-17-487_Final_.pdf. (last accessed Dec 12, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Automotive OEMs
 Tier 1 Suppliers
 Tier 2 Suppliers
 Automotive Insurance Companies
 Component Manufacturers
 System Integrators and Service Providers

[[Page 4007]]

 Roadside Infrastructure Operators and Manufacturers

    The consensus from that research was that OEMs and suppliers will 
need approximately three to five years after the final rule in order 
for all new vehicles to comply with the regulation.\373\ Therefore, the 
agency believes that this comprehensive input from the industry 
provides a sufficient justification for the lead time and phase-in 
period. See Table VIII-1 for the full schedule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \373\ Vehicle to Vehicle Crash Avoidance Safety Technology 
Public Acceptance Final Report--FHWA-JPO-17-491 See Docket No. 
NHTSA-2016-0126.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, depending on the number of product lines and the timing of 
their redesigns, it may be economically advantageous for some OEMs to 
comply with the regulation prior to the proposed schedule. These OEMs 
will be able to capitalize on arriving to market earlier than their 
competitors, and the customers of these OEMs will realize safety, 
mobility, and environmental benefits earlier than others. As such, the 
agency does not envision granting credits for early compliance with 
this schedule as there are sufficient incentives already in place for 
OEMs to consider early compliance.

         Table VIII-1--Proposed Lead Time and Phase-In Schedule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Percentage of
                       Time period                           vehicles
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 year after final rule.................................               0
2 years after final rule................................               0
3 years after final rule................................              50
4 years after final rule................................              75
5 years after final rule................................             100
------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Aftermarket

    Based on market study research,\374\ the agency believes that the 
aftermarket device industry will move quickly (within one year) after 
the issuance of the final rule to develop and market V2V communications 
devices that support safety applications as well as mobility, 
environmental, and other applications. While these aftermarket devices 
will support V2V, they will also enable more fee-based services such as 
mobility applications and data and communications suites to be marketed 
to device owners. While safety is important to consumers, the other 
applications offered by these devices may be potentially more 
attractive to the consumer. The agency believes that there will be a 
market for these aftermarket devices; however, it will be driven by the 
totality of features offered by these devices that directly impact the 
consumers' time spent in their vehicles, as well as by device cost.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \374\ ``Impact of Light Vehicle Rule on Consumer/Aftermarket 
Adoption--Dedicated Short Range Communications Market Study'', ITS 
America Research, 2015, pp 21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The agency believes aftermarket device suppliers would need to 
react to a newly issued FMVSS to capitalize on the large volume of 
light vehicles that will not be equipped with V2V communications 
devices. The prevailing view is the market for such aftermarket devices 
will exist only during the transition period between the issuance of 
the final rule and the turnover of the entire fleet. NHTSA typically 
assumes that the maximum life span of a light vehicle is 39 years. We 
would anticipate that the vast majority of the light vehicle fleet in 
the U.S. will be completely replaced in less than 20 years, and they 
will be capable of V2V communications. This gives the aftermarket 
device industry a relatively small window of time to sell aftermarket 
devices to light vehicles without V2V communications capabilities 
installed by the OEMs.
    Additionally, based on research from the Safety Pilot Model 
Deployment and additional market research, we believe the aftermarket 
industry is capable of producing V2V communications devices that can 
meet the proposed performance requirements and could be installed by a 
qualified installer, if needed. These aftermarket devices do not need 
to be connected to the vehicle controller area network vehicle bus; 
however, an external GPS and V2V antenna will need to be installed as 
well as a connection to the in-vehicle power. Therefore, the agency 
expects that specially-trained installers should be able to install 
these devices in a similar manner to other devices such OnStar FMV, 
which is installed at major electronics retailers as well as at car 
dealerships. Therefore, these devices could deploy faster than OEM 
integrated as they do not require an OEM to integrate them into their 
vehicle build and testing processes. For these reasons, the agency 
believes it is technically possible that these devices could be 
available on the market within one to two years after this proposed 
FMVSS is finalized.
    Based on this, the agency anticipates that aftermarket devices will 
be available for purchase and installation during the lead time period 
and prior to the start of the first year of the phase-in period (i.e. 
less than two years after the final rule is issued).
    The agency seeks comment on these lead time projections for both 
OEM and aftermarket devices. Specifically, do commenters believe the 
proposed lead times are reasonable? If so, why? If not, why? What type 
of adjustments, if any, should agency make? Do commenters agree with 
the agency's perspective on a ``window of opportunity'' for aftermarket 
devices? If so, why? If not, why? Please provide any supporting data 
for your response.

IX. Public Participation

A. How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
Number NHTSA-2016-0126 in your comments. Your comments must not be more 
than 15 pages long.\375\ NHTSA established this limit to encourage you 
to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may 
attach necessary additional documents to your comments, and there is no 
limit on the length of the attachments. If you are submitting comments 
electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that you scan the 
documents submitted using the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) 
process,\376\ thus allowing the agency to search and copy certain 
portions of your submissions in order to better evaluate them. Please 
note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in order for the 
substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet 
the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and Department 
of Transportation (DOT) Information Dissemination Quality guidelines. 
Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines in preparing 
your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_reproducible (last accessed Dec. 7, 
2016). DOT's guidelines may be accessed at http://www.dot.gov/regulations/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines (last 
accessed Dec. 7, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \375\ See 49 CFR 553.21.
    \376\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of 
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or 
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments

    When submitting comments, please remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives, 
and substitute language for your requested changes.

[[Page 4008]]

     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified in the DATES section above.

C. How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you submit your comments by mail and wish Docket Management to 
notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, 
stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon 
receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by 
mail.
    If you submit your comments through www.regulations.gov, you can 
find very useful information about how to confirm that your comments 
were successfully received and uploaded under the ``Help'' link on the 
top right of the home page, under ``FAQs.''

D. How do I submit confidential business information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. When you send a comment 
containing confidential business information, you should include a 
cover letter setting forth the information specified in our 
confidential business information regulation.\377\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \377\ See 49 CFR part 512.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, you should submit a copy from which you have deleted 
the claimed confidential business information to the Docket by one of 
the methods set forth above.

E. Will NHTSA consider late comments?

    NHTSA will consider all comments received before midnight E.S.T. on 
the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent 
practicable, we will also consider comments received after that date. 
Additionally, if interested persons believe that any information that 
NHTSA may place in the docket after the issuance of the NPRM affects 
their comments, they may submit comments after the closing date 
concerning how NHTSA should consider that information for the final 
rule. If a comment is received too late for us to practicably consider 
in developing a final rule, we will consider that comment as an 
informal suggestion for future rulemaking action.

F. How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket.
    You may also read the materials at the DOT Docket Management 
Facility by going to the street address given above under ADDRESSES.

X. Regulatory Notices and Analyses

A. Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13563, and DOT Regulatory 
Policies and Procedures

    Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 
51735, Oct. 4, 1993), as amended by Executive Order 13563, ``Improving 
Regulation and Regulatory Review'' (76 FR 3821, Jan. 21, 2011), 
provides for making determinations whether a regulatory action is 
``significant'' and therefore subject to OMB review and to the 
requirements of the Executive Order. The Order defines a ``significant 
regulatory action'' as one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
     Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or 
more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments or 
communities;
     Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with 
an action taken or planned by another agency;
     Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, 
grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of 
recipients thereof; or
     Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    The rulemaking proposed in this NPRM will be economically 
significant if adopted. Accordingly, OMB reviewed it under Executive 
Order 12866. The rule, if adopted, would also be significant within the 
meaning of the Department of Transportation's Regulatory Policies and 
Procedures.\378\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \378\ DOT Order 2100.5, ``Regulatory Policies and Procedures,'' 
available at http://www.dot.gov/regulations/rulemaking-requirements 
(last accessed Mar. 16, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The benefits and costs of this proposal are described above in 
Section VII of this preamble. Because the proposed rule would, if 
adopted, be economically significant under both the Department of 
Transportation's procedures and OMB guidelines, the agency has prepared 
a Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis (PRIA) and placed it in the 
docket and on the agency's Web site. Further, pursuant to Circular A-4, 
we have prepared a formal probabilistic uncertainty analysis for this 
proposal.\379\ The circular requires such an analysis for complex rules 
where there are large, multiple uncertainties whose analysis raises 
technical challenges or where effects cascade and where the impacts of 
the rule exceed $1 billion. This proposal meets these criteria on all 
counts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \379\ See Chapter 12 of the PRIA accompanying this NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 
as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
(SBREFA) of 1996, whenever an agency is required to publish a notice of 
rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make 
available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that 
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small 
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). 
The Small Business Administration's regulations at 13 CFR part 121 
define a small business, in part, as a business entity ``which operates 
primarily within the United States.'' (13 CFR 121.105(a)). No 
regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of an agency 
certifies the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a statement of 
the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    NHTSA has considered the effects of this proposed rule under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. I certify that this proposed rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The following is NHTSA's statement providing the

[[Page 4009]]

factual basis for the certification (5 U.S.C. 605(b)).\380\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \380\ See also Chapter 13 of the PRIA accompanying this NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If adopted, the proposal would directly affect twenty large single 
stage motor vehicle manufacturers.\381\ None of these would qualify as 
a small business, however. Based on our preliminary assessment, the 
proposal would also affect 3 entities that fit the Small Business 
Administration's criteria for a small business (Panoz, Saleen, and 
Shelby). According to the Small Business Administration's small 
business size standards (see 13 CFR 121.201), a single stage automobile 
or light truck manufacturer (NAICS code 336111, Automobile 
Manufacturing; 336112, Light Truck and Utility Vehicle Manufacturing) 
must have 1,000 or fewer employees to qualify as a small business. We 
believe that the rulemaking would not have a significant economic 
impact on these small vehicle manufacturers because we believe that the 
market for the products of these several small manufacturers is highly 
inelastic, and purchasers of these products are enticed by the desire 
to have an unusual vehicle. Additionally, all vehicle models would 
incur a similar cost to meet the proposed standard, so raising the 
price to include the value of V2V technology should not have much, if 
any, effect on sales of these vehicles, and costs should be able to be 
passed on to consumers. Based on this analysis, we do not believe that 
the proposed rule would have a significant economic impact on these 
three small domestic vehicle manufacturers. Therefore, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis was not prepared, but we welcome comments on this 
issue for the final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \381\ BMW, Daimler (Mercedes), Fiat/Chrysler (which also 
includes Ferrari and Maserati), Ford, Geely (Volvo), General Motors, 
Honda (which includes Acura), Hyundai, Kia, Lotus, Mazda, 
Mitsubishi, Nissan (which includes Infiniti), Porsche, Subaru, 
Suzuki, Tata (Jaguar Land Rover), Toyota, and Volkswagen/Audi.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

    NHTSA has examined today's proposal pursuant to Executive Order 
13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999) and concluded that no additional 
consultation with States, local governments or their representatives is 
mandated beyond the rulemaking process. The agency has concluded that 
the rulemaking will not have sufficient federalism implications to 
warrant consultation with State and local officials or the preparation 
of a federalism summary impact statement. The proposal will not have 
``substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
    NHTSA rules can preempt in two ways. First, the National Traffic 
and Motor Vehicle Safety Act contains an express preemption provision: 
When a motor vehicle safety standard is in effect under this chapter, a 
State or a political subdivision of a State may prescribe or continue 
in effect a standard applicable to the same aspect of performance of a 
motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment only if the standard is 
identical to the standard prescribed under this chapter. 49 U.S.C. 
30103(b)(1). It is this statutory command by Congress that preempts any 
non-identical State legislative and administrative law addressing the 
same aspect of performance.
    The express preemption provision described above is subject to a 
savings clause under which ``[c]ompliance with a motor vehicle safety 
standard prescribed under this chapter does not exempt a person from 
liability at common law.'' 49 U.S.C. 30103(e). Pursuant to this 
provision, State common law tort causes of action against motor vehicle 
manufacturers that might otherwise be preempted by the express 
preemption provision are generally preserved. However, the Supreme 
Court has recognized the possibility, in some instances, of implied 
preemption of such State common law tort causes of action by virtue of 
NHTSA's rules, even if not expressly preempted. This second way that 
NHTSA rules can preempt is dependent upon there being an actual 
conflict between an FMVSS and the higher standard that would 
effectively be imposed on motor vehicle manufacturers if someone 
obtained a State common law tort judgment against the manufacturer, 
notwithstanding the manufacturer's compliance with the NHTSA standard. 
Because most NHTSA standards established by an FMVSS are minimum 
standards, a State common law tort cause of action that seeks to impose 
a higher standard on motor vehicle manufacturers will generally not be 
preempted. However, if and when such a conflict does exist--for 
example, when the standard at issue is both a minimum and a maximum 
standard--the State common law tort cause of action is impliedly 
preempted. See Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U.S. 861 (2000).
    Pursuant to Executive Order 13132 and 12988, NHTSA has considered 
whether this proposal could or should preempt State common law causes 
of action. The agency's ability to announce its conclusion regarding 
the preemptive effect of one of its rules reduces the likelihood that 
preemption will be an issue in any subsequent tort litigation.
    To this end, the agency has examined the nature (e.g., the language 
and structure of the regulatory text) and objectives of today's 
proposal and finds that this proposal, like many NHTSA rules, would 
prescribe only a minimum safety standard. As such, NHTSA does not 
intend that this proposal preempt state tort law that would effectively 
impose a higher standard on motor vehicle manufacturers than that to be 
established by today's proposal. Establishment of a higher standard by 
means of State tort law would not conflict with the minimum standard 
announced here. Without any conflict, there could not be any implied 
preemption of a State common law tort cause of action.

D. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)

    With respect to the review of the promulgation of a new regulation, 
section 3(b) of Executive Order 12988, ``Civil Justice Reform'' (61 FR 
4729; Feb. 7, 1996), requires that Executive agencies make every 
reasonable effort to ensure that the regulation: (1) Clearly specifies 
the preemptive effect; (2) clearly specifies the effect on existing 
Federal law or regulation; (3) provides a clear legal standard for 
affected conduct, while promoting simplification and burden reduction; 
(4) clearly specifies the retroactive effect, if any; (5) specifies 
whether administrative proceedings are to be required before parties 
file suit in court; (6) adequately defines key terms; and (7) addresses 
other important issues affecting clarity and general draftsmanship 
under any guidelines issued by the Attorney General. This document is 
consistent with that requirement.
    Pursuant to this Order, NHTSA notes as follows. The issue of 
preemption is discussed above. NHTSA notes further that there is no 
requirement that individuals submit a petition for reconsideration or 
pursue other administrative proceedings before they may file suit in 
court.

E. Protection of Children From Environmental Health and Safety Risks

    Executive Order 13045, ``Protection of Children from Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19855, April 23, 1997), applies to any 
rule that: (1) Is determined to be ``economically significant'' as 
defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental, 
health, or safety risk that

[[Page 4010]]

the agency has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on 
children. If the regulatory action meets both criteria, the agency must 
evaluate the environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule 
on children, and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to 
other potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives 
considered by the agency.
    This notice is part of a rulemaking that is not expected to have a 
disproportionate health or safety impact on children. Consequently, no 
further analysis is required under Executive Order 13045.

F. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information by a Federal agency 
unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. There is no 
information collection requirement associated with this proposal. The 
proposal would require new vehicles to be capable of V2V 
communications, which would require a new aspect of performance where 
the vehicle broadcasts Basic Safety Messages (BSMs) during operation, 
which other vehicles could then receive and interpret as appropriate. 
BSMs include information about a vehicle's current location, heading, 
and speed, among other things--information that safety applications on 
other vehicles could interpret to determine whether a warning to the 
driver is needed for the driver to avoid a potential crash. The agency 
does not foresee any reporting requirements or PRA related impacts 
directly attributable to the proposed performance requirements in this 
proposal.

G. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act (NTTAA) requires NHTSA to evaluate and use existing voluntary 
consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless doing so would 
be inconsistent with applicable law (e.g., the statutory provisions 
regarding NHTSA's vehicle safety authority) or otherwise impractical. 
Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards developed or 
adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. Technical standards 
are defined by the NTTAA as ``performance-based or design-specific 
technical specification and related management systems practices.'' 
They pertain to ``products and processes, such as size, strength, or 
technical performance of a product, process or material.''
    Examples of organizations generally regarded as voluntary consensus 
standards bodies include ASTM International, SAE International (SAE), 
and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). If NHTSA does not 
use available and potentially applicable voluntary consensus standards, 
we are required by the Act to provide Congress, through OMB, an 
explanation of the reasons for not using such standards.
    This proposal would require new light vehicles to be capable of V2V 
communications. Section III.D.10 above discusses how voluntary 
consensus standards by SAE, IEEE, and ISO interact with the agency's 
proposed requirements for V2V communication. In summary, the voluntary 
consensus standards provide information that support both performance 
requirements and design specifications, and are the bridge for 
connecting the requirements to the specifications. In relation to this 
proposal, NHTSA's job is to identify and define performance 
requirements and verification tests that will indicate that V2V devices 
have been designed and implemented such that they will operate to 
provide V2V communications and security that will support crash 
avoidance applications. The voluntary consensus standards are building 
blocks for those requirements, but as they are not at the vehicle-
level, they cannot be incorporated wholesale into the FMVSS. We seek 
comment on NHTSA's approach to inclusion of relevant voluntary 
consensus standards in the development of our proposed requirements.

H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) 
requires federal agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, 
benefits, and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a 
Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more 
than $100 million annually (adjusted for inflation with base year of 
1995). Before promulgating a rule for which a written statement is 
needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires the agency to 
identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives 
and adopt the least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome 
alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of 
section 205 do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable 
law. Moreover, section 205 allows the agency to adopt an alternative 
other than the least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome 
alternative if the agency publishes with the final rule an explanation 
of why that alternative was not adopted.
    As noted above, NHTSA has prepared a detailed economic assessment 
of this proposal in the PRIA. In that assessment, the agency analyzes 
the benefits and costs of requiring new light vehicles to be capable of 
V2V communications. NHTSA's preliminary analysis indicates that this 
proposal could result in private expenditures of between $2 and $5 
billion annually.
    The PRIA also analyzes the benefits and costs of a range of 
regulatory alternatives. While the ``No Action'' alternative would 
result in no costs, it would also result in no benefits. For the 
alternative that would include mandates for safety applications, 
NHTSA's preliminary analysis indicates that the costs would not be 
significantly different from the proposal, but that benefits would 
accrue faster, such that the alternative would be cost-effective and 
achieve positive net benefits two model years before the proposal 
would. The agency is proposing not to require applications at this 
time, however, due to the need for significant additional research to 
establish performance requirements and test procedures for them, and 
without which unintended consequences such as high false positive rates 
could occur.
    Since the agency has estimated that this proposal could result in 
expenditures of over $1 billion annually, NHTSA has performed a 
probabilistic uncertainty analysis to examine the degree of uncertainty 
in its cost and benefit estimates and included that analysis in Chapter 
12 of the PRIA.

I. National Environmental Policy Act

    NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking action for the purposes of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The agency has determined that 
implementation of this proposed action will not have any significant 
impact on the quality of the human environment.

J. Plain Language

    Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write all rules in 
plain language. Application of the principles of plain language 
includes consideration of the following questions:
     Have we organized the material to suit the public's needs?
     Are the requirements in the rule clearly stated?
     Does the rule contain technical language or jargon that 
isn't clear?
     Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, 
use of headings,

[[Page 4011]]

paragraphing) make the rule easier to understand?
     Would more (but shorter) sections be better?
     Could we improve clarity by adding tables, lists, or 
diagrams?
     What else could we do to make the rule easier to 
understand?
    If you have any responses to these questions, please include them 
in your comments on this proposal.

K. Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)

    The Department of Transportation assigns a regulation identifier 
number (RIN) to each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulations. The Regulatory Information Service Center 
publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of each year. You may 
use the RIN contained in the heading at the beginning of this document 
to find this action in the Unified Agenda.

L. Privacy Act

    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

    Motor vehicles, Motor vehicle safety.

Proposed Regulatory Text

    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA proposes to amend 49 CFR 
part 571 as follows:

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 571 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95.

0
2. Add Sec.  571.150 to subpart B to read as follows:

Sec.  571.150   Standard No. 150; V2V communications.

    S1 Scope. This standard specifies performance requirements for 
vehicle-to-vehicle communications capability.
    S2 Purpose. The purpose of this standard is to ensure that new 
motor vehicles are able to transmit and receive standardized, 
authenticated Basic Safety Messages (BSMs), in order to create an 
information environment upon which a variety of safety applications can 
rely, which in turn can reduce deaths and injuries on the roads.
    S3 Application. This standard applies to new passenger cars, 
multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a gross vehicle 
weight rating of 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) or less.
    S4 Definitions.
    Basic Safety Message (BSM) contains safety data according to 
specific requirements and is used in a variety of applications to 
exchange safety data regarding vehicle status. BSM transmission of 10 
times per second is typical when congestion control is not active. BSM 
content, initialization time, transmission requirements, and other 
characteristics must comply with the requirements of S5, below.
    Channel busy ratio is a measure of the amount of time a channel is 
designated as busy over the total observed time channel is available.
    Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the international standard of 
time that is kept by atomic clocks around the world
    Denial of Service (DoS) attack is an attempt to make a machine or 
network resource unavailable to its intended users, such as to 
temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend such as disrupting 
DSRC communications
    DSRC device means a device uses Dedicated Short Range 
Communications to transmit and receive a variety of message traffic to 
and from other DSRC devices that include On-Board Units (integrated 
into a vehicle), Aftermarket Safety Devices, and Road-Side Units.
    Event Flag is part of the Basic Safety Message. An Event Flag 
conveys the sender's status with respect to safety-related events such 
as Antilock Brake System activation, Stability Control Activation, hard 
braking, and airbag deployment.
    GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) means a satellite system 
that is used to pinpoint the geographic location of a user's receiver 
anywhere in the world.
    Packet Error Rate refers to the unit of data for radio transmission 
subject to Forward Error Correction (FEC). The number of error packets 
after FEC divided by the total number of received packets is the Packet 
Error Rate.
    Reasonably Linkable refers to data elements in the BSM or other 
aspects of V2V transmissions capable of being used to identify a 
specific individual on a persistent basis without unreasonable cost or 
effort, in real time or retrospectively, given available data sources. 
This is intended to have the same meaning as ``linkable as a practical 
matter'' as used in this standard.
    Roadside Equipment (RSE) means any roadside equipment that prepares 
and transmits messages to V2V devices and receives messages from V2V 
devices for the purpose of supporting V2I applications or, potentially, 
security. This is intended to include the DSRC radio, traffic signal 
controller where appropriate, interface to the backhaul communications 
network necessary to support the applications, and support such 
functions as data security, encryption, buffering, and message 
processing.
    Timestamp means the current time of an event that is recorded by a 
computer.
    Vehicle reference point means the theoretical point projected on 
the surface of the roadway that is in the center of a rectangle 
oriented about the vehicle's axis of symmetry front-to-back, 
encompassing the farthest forward and rearward points and side-to-side 
points on the vehicle, including original equipment such as outside 
side view mirrors.
    S5 Requirements. Each vehicle to which this standard applies must 
transmit and receive messages consistent with the requirements below. 
To obtain interoperable V2V communications for crash avoidance safety, 
DSRC devices must be capable of: First, transmitting and receiving an 
established message (i.e. the BSM that has specified content of 
information, but also the measuring unit for each information element 
and the level of precision needed); Second, conforming to DSRC 
transmission protocols that will support crash avoidance safety (i.e., 
how far, how often, on what frequency, etc.); Third, implementing a 
method for a device to add validation context to message transmissions 
such that a receiver of that message can authenticate certain 
information about the sender of the message; Fourth, incorporating a 
uniform method for dealing with possible occurrences of high volumes of 
DRSC messages (i.e., potentially reducing the frequency or range of 
messages in high congestion situations) and; Fifth, robustness to 
incorrect or malicious incoming messages.
    S5.1 Content. Each BSM must contain the following elements, except 
as provided in S5.1.7.:
    S5.1.1 Message packaging. As part of each BSM, a DSRC device must 
transmit a Message ID, a Message Count, and a Temporary ID, as follows:
    S5.1.1.1 The Message ID must be the digit ``2.''
    S5.1.1.2 The Message Count must contain an integer between 0 and 
127 that is 1 integer greater than the integer used in the last BSM 
transmitted by the

[[Page 4012]]

same DSRC device. If the last BSM Message Count was 127, then the 
Message Count for the following BSM is 0.
    S5.1.1.3 The Temporary ID must be a randomly generated 4-digit 
number. The DSRC device must randomly generate a new 4-digit number 
every five minutes. However, if other temporary identifiers, such as 
pseudonym certificates, are used, the Temporary ID should be changed 
every time another identifier (such as a pseudonym certificate) is 
changed.
    S5.1.2 Time. As part of each BSM, a DSRC device must transmit a 
data element indicating the time, expressed in UTC, and within +/- 1 
milliseconds of the actual UTC time.
    S5.1.3 Location. As part of each BSM, a DSRC device must transmit:
    S5.1.3.1 Longitudinal and lateral location within 1.5 meters of the 
actual position at a Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) smaller 
than 5 within the 1 sigma absolute error; and
    S5.1.3.2 Elevation location within 3 meters of the actual position 
at a Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) smaller than 5 within the 
1 sigma absolute error.
    S5.1.4 Movement. As part of each BSM, a DSRC device must transmit 
speed, heading, acceleration, and yaw rate, as follows:
    S5.1.4.1 Speed must be reported in increments of 0.02 m/s, within 1 
km/h (0.28 m/s) of the vehicle's actual speed.
    S5.1.4.2 Heading must be reported accurately to within 2 degrees 
when the vehicle speed is greater than 12.5 m/s (~28 mph); and to 
within 3 degrees when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to 12.5 
m/s. Additionally, when the vehicle speed is below 1.11 m/s (~2.5 mph), 
the DSRC device must latch the current heading and transmit the last 
heading information prior to the speed dropping below 1.11 m/s. The 
device is to unlatch the latched heading when the vehicle speed exceeds 
1.39 m/s (~3.1 mph) and transmit a heading within 3 degrees of its 
actual heading until the vehicle reaches a speed of 12.5 m/s where the 
heading must be transmitted at 2 degrees accuracy of its actual 
heading.
    S5.1.4.3 Acceleration. Horizontal (longitudinal and lateral) 
acceleration must be reported accurately to 0.3 m/s\2\, and vertical 
acceleration must be reported accurately to 1 m/s\2\.
    S5.1.4.4 Yaw rate. Yaw rate must be reported accurately to 0.5 
degrees/second.
    S5.1.5 Other event based information.
    S5.1.5.1 Path History. The Path History data frame will be 
transmitted as a required BSM element at the operational frequency of 
the BSM transmission
    S5.1.5.1.1 Path History data frame requires a history of a vehicles 
past GNSS locations as dictated by GNSS data elements including UTC 
time, latitude, longitude, heading, elevation sampled at a periodic 
time interval of 100 ms and interpolated in-between by circular arcs, 
to represent the vehicle's recent movement over a limited period of 
time or distance.
    S5.1.5.1.2 Path History points should be incorporated into the Path 
History data frame such that the perpendicular distance between any 
point on the vehicle path and the line connecting two consecutive PH 
points shall be less than 1 m.
    S5.1.5.1.3 Minimum number of Path History points vehicles should 
report the minimum number of points so that the represented Path 
History distance (i.e., the distance between the first and last Path 
History point) is at least 300 m and no more than 310 m, unless 
initially there is less than 300 m of Path History. If the number of 
Path History points needed to meet both the error and distance 
requirements stated above exceeds the maximum allowable number of 
points (23), the Path History data frame shall be populated with only 
the 23 most recent points from the computed set of points.
    S5.1.5.1.3 Path History data frame shall be populated with time-
ordered Path History points, with the first Path History point being 
the closest in time to the current UTC time, and older points following 
in the order in which they were determined.
    S5.1.5.2 Path Prediction. Trajectories in the Path Prediction data 
frame are represented, at a first order of curvature approximation, as 
a circle with a radius, R, and an origin located at (0,R), where the x-
axis is aligned with the transmitting vehicle's perspective and normal 
to the vehicle's vertical axis. The radius, R, will be positive for 
curvatures to the right when observed from the transmitting vehicle's 
perspective, and radii exceeding a maximum value of 32,767 are to be 
interpreted as a ``straight path'' prediction by receiving vehicles.
    S5.1.5.2.1 When a device is in steady state conditions over a range 
from 100 m to 2,500 m in magnitude, the subsystem will populate the 
Path Prediction data frame with a calculated radius that has less than 
2% error from the actual radius. For the purposes of this performance 
requirement, steady state conditions are defined as those which occur 
when the vehicle is driving on a curve with a constant radius and where 
the average of the absolute value of the change of yaw rate over time 
is smaller than 0.5 deg/s\2\.
    S5.1.5.2.2 After a transition from the original constant radius 
(R1) to the target constant radius (R2), the subsystem shall repopulate 
the Path Prediction data frame within four seconds under the maximum 
allowable error bound defined above.
    S5.1.5.2.3 Path Prediction trajectories will be transmitted as a 
required BSM element at the operational frequency of the BSM 
transmission.
    S5.1.5.3 Exterior lights. The subsystem shall set the individual 
light indications in the data element to be consistent with the vehicle 
status data that is available. If meaningful values are unavailable, or 
no light indications will be set to indicate the light is on, the data 
element should not be transmitted.
    S5.1.5.3.1 The Exterior Lights data element, if available, provides 
the status of all exterior lights on the vehicle, including parking 
lights, headlights (including low and high beam, and automatic light 
control), fog lights, daytime running lights, turn signal (right and 
left), and hazard signals.
    S5.1.5.4 Event flags. If a stated criterion is met as indicated for 
each Event Flag listed, the sender shall set the Event Flag to 1. If, 
and only if, one or more of the defined Event Flags are set to 1, the 
subsystem shall transmit a BSM with the corresponding Event Flags 
within 250 ms of the initial detection of the event at the sender. The 
Event Flags data element shall be included in the BSM for as long as an 
event is active.
     ABS Activation: The system is activated for a period of 
time exceeding 100 ms in length and is currently active.
     Stability Control Activation: The system is activated for 
a period of time exceeding 100 ms in length and is currently active.
     Hard Braking: The vehicle has decelerated or is 
decelerating at a rate of greater than 0.4 g.
     Air Bag Deployment: At least one air bag has been 
deployed.
     Hazard Lights: The hazard lights are currently active.
     Stop Line Violation: The vehicle anticipates that it will 
pass the line without coming to a full stop before reaching it.
     Traction Control System Activation: The system is 
activated for a period of time exceeding 100 ms in length and is 
currently active.
     Flat Tire: The vehicle has determined that at least one 
tire has run flat.
     Disabled Vehicle: The vehicle considers itself to be 
disabled.

[[Page 4013]]

     Lights Changed: The status of the external lights on the 
vehicle has changed recently.
     Wipers Changed: The status of the front or rear wipers on 
the vehicle has changed recently.
     Emergency Response: The vehicle is a properly authorized 
public safety vehicle, is engaged in a service call, and is currently 
moving. Lights and/or sirens may not be evident.
     Hazardous Materials: The vehicle is known to be carrying 
hazardous materials and is labeled as such.
    S5.1.6 Vehicle-based motion indicators. As part of each BSM, a DSRC 
device must transmit transmission state and steering wheel angle.
    S5.1.6.1 Transmission state must be reported as either ``neutral,'' 
``reverse,'' or ``forward'' for any forward gear.
    S5.1.6.2 Steering wheel angle must be reported accurately to 5 
degrees.
    S5.1.7 Vehicle size. Vehicle size must be reported accurately to 
0.2 meters of the vehicle's length and width.
    S5.1.9 Prohibited elements of the BSM. No BSM may contain data 
linked or reasonably linkable to a specific private vehicle or its 
driver or owner, including but not limited to VIN, VIN string, vehicle 
license plate, vehicle registration information, or owner code.
    S5.2 Initialization time. A DSRC device must begin transmitting the 
BSM within 2 seconds after the V2V device power is initiated.
    S5.3 Transmitting the BSM. A DSRC device must transmit the BSM with 
the following power/range, on the following channel, and at the 
following data rate(s) and times:
    S5.3.1 Transmission range. A DSRC device must transmit the BSM in 
all directions on the same plane as the device (i.e., 360 degrees) and 
at least 10 degrees above the vehicle and 6 degrees below the vehicle 
(i.e., along the vertical axis) such that it can be received at any 
point within at least 300 meters from the transmission antenna, with a 
Packet Error Rate (PER) of less than 10 percent.
    S5.3.2 Transmission channel. A DSRC device must transmit the BSM on 
Channel 172, as allocated for ``public safety applications involving 
safety of life and property'' in 47 CFR part 90, subpart M. All non 
safety-critical communications will occur on the remaining channels 
allocated for DSRC in subpart M.
    S5.3.3 Transmission data rate. A DSRC device must transmit the BSM 
at a bit rate of 6 Mbps.
    S5.3.4 Transmission staggering timing. A DSRC device must transmit 
the BSM every 100 ms +/1 a random value between 0 and 5 ms.
    S5.4 Signing the BSM. [Reserved for message signature requirement 
if needed]
    S5.4.1 Rotating certificates. [Reserved for rotating certificate 
requirement if needed]
    S5.5 Congestion Mitigation.
    A DSRC device must transmit the BSM as follows under the following 
circumstances:
    S5.5.1 Calculate Tracking Error.
    This section specifies the set of steps that calculate the tracking 
error in the congestion control algorithm for the system. Note that the 
tracking error is communications-induced and independent of the 
positioning system tracking error. The system performs the following 
operations every 100 ms.
     The system estimates the position of the HV at the current 
time, defined as HV local estimator, per defined below.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.019

    1. First find Delta_time, the time since vehicle's last known 
position.

(1) Delta_time_ms = T - T

    2. Do not perform position extrapolation in the following cases:
     If Delta_time_ms < 0, then there is a time-related error.
     If Delta_time_ms > 150 ms, then the vehicle has not 
received a position update for a very long time and its position is 
outdated.
    3. If 50 ms <= Delta_time_ms <= 150 ms, then perform position 
extrapolation:
     Calculate the estimated distance traveled by the vehicle 
in Delta_time_ms.
     Ahead_distance_m = Speed_mps * Delta_time_ms/1000
     Across_distance_m = 0
    4. Use ConvertXYtoLatLon function to find the vehicle's new 
position at time T'. ConvertXYtoLatLon(. . .)

INPUT
    RefLat = e.g., REF_LATITUDE (rad)
    RefLon = e.g., REF_LONGITUDE (rad)
    RefHeading = e.g., REF_HEADING (rad)
    Y = ACROSS_DISTANCE (m w.r.t. REF LATLON)
    X = AHEAD_DISTANCE (m w.r.t. REF LATLON)
    a = 6378137; # semi-major axis of earth
    f = 0.003353; # flattening
    f1 = (f*(2-f))[caret]0.5; # eccentricity

[[Page 4014]]

    f2 = a*(1-f1[caret]2)/(1-
f1[caret]2*(sin(RefLat))[caret]2)[caret](3/2); # radius of earth in 
meridian
    f3 = a/(1-f1[caret]2*(sin(RefLat))[caret]2)[caret](1/2); # radius 
of earth in prime vertical
    E = (cos(RefHeading)*Y + sin(RefHeading)*X;
    N = (cos(RefHeading)*X - sin(RefHeading)*Y;
OUTPUT
    NEW_LATITUDE (rad) = (1/f2)*N + RefLat;
    NEW_LONGITUDE (rad) = (1/(f3*cos(RefLat)))*E + RefLon;

    5. For all future calculations, use the calculated New_Latitude and 
New_Longitude as vehicle's position, and current time.
     The system makes an assumption of the latest HV state 
information received by the RVs based on a Bernoulli trial 
corresponding to the quality of channel indicator as defined below:
    Assumption of latest HV State Information at RVs
    After each transmission, use a Bernoulli trial with the channel 
quality indicator [Pgr](k) to infer whether this previous transmission 
is successfully received by RVs.
     Channel Quality Indicator ([Pgr]): The system calculates 
[Pgr] as an average of the PERs observed by the HV from all of the RVs 
within 100 m of the HV over an interval 5000 ms, and updated at the end 
of each 1000 ms sub-interval.
    Let AVGPER be calculated as:
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.020
    

where

PER\i\ is for RV `i' and N(k) is the Vehicle Density within 100 m.

    Next, [Pgr] is calculated by smoothening AVGPER to filter out 
temporal noise or disturbance in the measurement as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.034

where

i is the weight factor 0.9, [Pgr](k) is the 
channel quality indicator for the current interval window. Note 
that, if [Pgr](k) exceeds 0.3, then it is set to 0.3.

    1. If the outcome of this Bernoulli trial is positive, assume that 
the previous transmission by HV is successfully received by RVs. Update 
the latest information the RVs have about the HV as the state 
information contained in previous transmission.
    2. If, however, the outcome of this Bernoulli trial is negative, 
treat the previous transmission by HV as a failure and do not update 
the latest HV state information as that received by RVs.
    3. Count the number of Bernoulli trials with successive negative 
outcomes. If this count is greater than 3, set the previous 
transmission as successful and update the latest information the RVs 
have about the HV as the state information contained in the previous 
transmission.
    The state information is defined:
    Let [theta]latest be the HV's assumed latest state information 
received by RVs and [theta]Pre-tx be the HV's state information 
contained in the message of its previous transmission (wheret is the 
time in msec when the longitudinal position x(in degrees), lateral 
positiony (in degrees), speed v(in m/s), and heading [theta](t)(in 
degrees) are measured. The HV's assumed latest state information 
received by RVs is updated after each transmission as follows:

[[Page 4015]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.021

where

rand () is a uniform random number generator and [Pgr](k) 
is the estimated channel quality indicator.

     Using the latest HV state information assumption at RVs, 
the system estimates the position of the HV at the current time, 
defined as HV remote estimator, using the estimator described above. 
This indicates where the HV believes the RVs ``thinks'' that the HV is 
located at the current time.
     The system then calculates the tracking error e(k), 
between where the HV believes its current position is and where the HV 
believes RVs think the HV is located at the current time. It is also 
known as the suspected, expected or estimated tracking error between 
the HV local estimator and the HV remote estimator.

Where:

the tracking error is defined as the distance between HV local 
estimator position (x(k), (y(k)) and output of the HV remote 
estimator position, ((x(k), (y(k)) using the great circle formula, 
i.e.
    e(k) = R(x(k)) x (cos-1(sin(x(k)) x sin(x(k)) + 
cos(x(k)) x cos(x(k)) x cos(y(k) - y(k))))

where

    R(x(k)) = a x (1 - f1\2\)/(1 - f1\2\ x sin 
\2\ (x(k)))\1.5\

is the Meridian Radius of the Earth in meters x(k)), at latitude, a 
= 6378137 is the mean radius of earth in meters, fi = (f x (2 - f)) 
\0.5\ is the Eccentricity, and f = 0.003353 is earth's flattening.
    Here (x(k), y(k)) are the latitude and longitude from the HV 
Local Estimator, converted to radians, and (x(k), y(k)) the latitude 
and longitude from the HV Remote Estimator, converted to radians.

[[Page 4016]]

    S5.5.2 Transmission power must vary depending on the following:
    S5.5.2.1 If there is an Event Flag or a transmission decision is 
based on p(k), the BSM must be transmitted at maximum power despite 
the presence of any other conditions;
    S5.5.2.2 If the channel busy ratio is below 50% (Umin) and the 
transmission is based on Max_Trans_Time, then the BSM must be 
transmitted at maximum power (20 dBm, Pmax);
    S5.5.2.3 If the channel busy ratio is above 80% (Umax) and the 
transmission is based on Max_Trans_Time, then the BSM must be 
transmitted at minimum power (10 dBm, Pmin);
    S5.5.2.4 If the channel busy ratio is between (c) and (b), then 
the BSM must be transmitted at a power based on a linear function 
that proportionally reduces the transmission power based on the 
channel busy ratio value during the previous transmission (U(k-1)) 
and the previous transmission power (P(k-1). Where the transmitted 
power (P(k)) is defined by:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP12JA17.022

    S5.6 Detecting misbehavior. A DSRC device must detect 
misbehavior in the following ways:
    S5.6.1 Internal self-diagnostics. A DSRC device must be able to 
perform the following self-diagnostic checks:
    S5.6.1.1 If a DSRC device detects a malfunctioning sensor which 
may cause misbehavior, the device must:
    (a) Either transmit the BSM with the affected elements set to 
``Unavailable'' if relevant standards allow the element to be set to 
``Unavailable''; or
    (b) Cease BSM transmission if relevant standards do not allow 
the element to be set to ``Unavailable.''
    If either (a) or (b) is detected, [Reserved for requirement to 
report malfunctions if needed]
    S5.6.1.2 [Reserved for requirement to report physical tampering]
    S5.6.2 Checking and reporting on the plausibility of incoming 
BSMs. A DSRC device must perform a preliminary plausibility check on 
all incoming BSMs and respond accordingly, as follows:
    S5.6.2.1 The preliminary plausibility check must identify as an 
implausible message any BSM for which the components of the vehicle 
dynamic state (position, speed, acceleration, and yaw rate) are 
outside the following values:
    (a) Speed greater than 70 m/s (252 km/h or 156 mph);
    (b) Longitudinal acceleration of 0-100 km/h in fewer than 2.3 
seconds (greater than 12 m/s\2\);
    (c) Longitudinal deceleration of 100-0 km/h in fewer than 95 
feet (greater than 12 m/s\2\);
    (d) Lateral acceleration of greater than 11 m/s\2\ (1.12 G);
    (e) Yaw rate of greater than 1.5 radian/s
    Additionally, a BSM must be identified as implausible if values 
within the BSM are not internally consistent given the formula V\2\ 
= ac/(Y')\2\.
    S5.6.2.2 A DSRC device must be able to perform the plausibility 
checks described in S5.6.2.1 on at least 5,500 BSMs per second.
    S5.6.2.3 [Reserved for requirement to report any failed 
plausibility check]
    S5.6.2.4 A DSRC device must support the detection of other 
devices which are suspected of misbehaving, and at a minimum detect 
the following types of misbehavior:
    (a) Proximity Plausibility: Instances are detected of two or 
more vehicles, either partially or wholly, occupying the same 
physical space based on the reported GPS positions.
    (b) Motion Validation: Attempts to validate the reported 
position of a transmitting vehicle based on the previously-reported 
velocity and heading values of the vehicle.
    (c) Content and Message Verification: Attempts to categorize 
BSMs as suspicious by checking the data validity of the BSM.
    (d) Denial of Service Detection: Attempts to disrupt, limit, or 
alter the functionality of V2V device to meet the requirements 
through exhaustions of storage, computation, or other limited 
resources of the V2V device.
    S5.6.3 [Reserved for requirements for sending misbehavior 
reports]
    S5.7 Indicating a malfunction. The DSRC device must be able to 
indicate to its user the occurrence of one or more malfunctions that 
affect the performance of the device, its supporting equipment, or 
the inputs used to form, transmit, or receive a BSM, as follows:
    S5.7.1 Malfunctions could include, but are not limited to, the 
following:
    (a) Device components not operating properly;
    (b) Input sensor data falling outside tolerance levels;
    (c) On-board memory failures;
    (d) GPS receiver failures;
    (e) An inability to transmit or receive BSMs; or
    (f) Any other failure that could prevent normal operation.
    S5.7.2 The malfunction indication must be clearly presented to 
device users in the form of a telltale lamp or message.
    S5.7.3 Owners' information for the device (or vehicle, if the 
DSRC device is installed as original equipment) must clearly 
describe the malfunction indication, potential causes, and when the 
device must be taken in for service (as needed).
    S5.7.4 The malfunction indication must remain present and/or 
illuminated until the malfunction no longer exists and the DSRC 
device is returned to proper operation.
    S5.8 [Reserved for requirement to communicate with the SCMS if 
needed].
    S5.9 Communicating about and obtaining software and security 
updates. A DSRC device must be able to indicate clearly to users 
that either device software or security updates are available and 
that the user must consent to the update before it can occur. If the 
DSRC device is included in a vehicle as original equipment, the 
indicator must be present in the vehicle. If the DSRC device is not 
included in the vehicle as original equipment, the indicator must be 
present in the device itself.
    S5.10 [Reserved for hardware protection requirement].
    S5.11 Consumer Privacy Statement.
    S5.11.1 Owners information for the device must include the 
statement set forth in Appendix A below.
    S5.11.2 Manufacturers also must make the statement set forth in 
Appendix A easily accessible to the public, as by publishing it on 
an easily located Web site indexed by make, model, and year.
    S6 Test Conditions.
    S6.1 Ambient conditions.
    S6.1.1 The ambient temperature is between 0 [deg]C (32[emsp14] 
[deg]F) and 40 [deg]C (104[emsp14] [deg]F).
    S6.1.2 The maximum wind speed is no greater than 10 m/s (22 mph) 
for passenger cars and 5 m/s (11 mph) for multipurpose passenger 
vehicles, trucks, and buses.
    S6.2 Road test surface.
    S6.2.1 The tests are conducted on a dry, uniform, solid-paved 
surface. Surfaces with irregularities and undulations, such as dips 
and large cracks, are unsuitable.
    S6.2.3 The test surface has a consistent slope between level and 
1 percent.
    S6.3 Vehicle conditions.
    S6.3.2 Test weight. The vehicle may be tested at any weight 
consisting of the test driver and instrumentation only that fall 
between its lightly loaded vehicle weight (LLVW) and its gross 
vehicle weight rating (GVWR) without exceeding any of its gross axle 
weight ratings.
    S6.3.3 Tires. The vehicle is tested with the tires installed on 
the vehicle at the time of initial vehicle sale. The tires are 
inflated to the vehicle manufacturer's recommended cold tire 
inflation pressure(s) specified on the vehicle's placard or the tire 
inflation pressure label.
    S7 Test Procedures.
    S7.1 Pre-test/Inspection.
    S7.1.1 Inflate the vehicles' tires to the cold tire inflation 
pressure(s) provided on the vehicle's placard or the tire inflation 
pressure label.
    S7.1.2 Vehicle dimensions.
    S7.1.2.1 Measure vehicle length including any equipment 
installed on the vehicle when first sold.
    S7.1.2.2 Measure vehicle width including any equipment installed 
on the vehicle when first sold.
    S7.1.2.3 Measure vehicle height including any equipment 
installed on vehicle when first sold.

[[Page 4017]]

    S7.1.2.4 Measure the V2V System GNSS Receiver Antenna.
    S7.1.2.5 Measure the independent instrumented vehicle sensor 
coordinates.
    S7.2 Static Performance Test Procedure:
    S7.2.1 Place the test vehicle on car wheel rollers and position 
the vehicle on the test track.
    S7.2.2 Two dimensional Range: Position a DSRC packet capture 
device directly in front of the test vehicle with the following 
characteristics:
    S7.2.2.1 The device is 1.5 m above the test surface;
    S7.2.2.2 The device is at a nominal distance of 300 m in front 
of the test vehicle.
    S7.2.3 Upward elevation range: Position a DSRC packet capture 
device at any point along the following line.
    S7.2.3.1 The line originates at a point that is directly 1.5 m 
above the vehicle reference point.
    S7.2.3.2 The line rises at a +10 degree angle from the test 
surface proceeding in the direction directly in front of the test 
vehicle.
    S7.2.3.3 The line terminates at a point that is directly above 
the point used in S7.2.2.
    S7.2.4 Downward elevation range: Position a DSRC packet capture 
device at any point along the following line.
    S7.2.4.1 The line originates at a point that is directly 1.5 m 
above the vehicle reference point.
    S7.2.4.2 The line falls at a -6 degree angle from the test 
surface proceeding in the direction directly in front of the test 
vehicle.
    S7.2.4.3 The line terminates at any point where it intersects 
the test surface.
    S7.2.5 Configure the DSRC packet capture devices to log BSMs 
over-the-air (OTA); devices must have a receive sensitivity of -92 
dBm.
    S7.2.6 Activate the DSRC packet capture devices to log BSMs OTA.
    S7.2.7 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate BSM 
transmission.
    S7.2.7.1 Run the vehicle for 110 mins.
    S7.2.7.2 Rotate the vehicle 90 degrees in the clockwise 
direction every 15 minutes until the time in S7.2.7.1 expires.
    S7.2.8 Deactivate the test vehicle and DSRC packet capture 
devices.
    S7.2.9 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with S.5.
    S7.2.10 Positional Accuracy Test.
    S7.2.10.1 Using the transmission blocking water filled plastic 
blanket that will hold one gallon of water with a water width of 1 
inch, cover the test vehicle GPS antenna to prevent it from 
receiving a valid GNSS signal.
    S7.2.10.2 Connect GPS signal generator to the test vehicle OBE.
    S7.2.10.3 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate 
BSM transmission.
    S7.2.10.4 Activate the DSRC packet capture devices to log BSMs 
OTA.
    S7.2.10.5 Using the GPS signal generator, inject a known fake 
GPS signal into the OBE.
    S7.2.10.6 After 5 minutes, deactivate the test vehicle starting 
system and DSRC capture packet device.
    S7.2.10.7 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with the positional accuracy requirements.
    S7.3 Simulated Performance Tests.
    S7.3.1 Place the test vehicle on the test track.
    S7.3.2 Position a DSRC packet capture device directly in front 
of the test vehicle with the following characteristics:
    S7.3.2.1 The device is 1.5 m above the test surface;
    S7.3.2.2 The device is at a nominal distance of 300 m in front 
of the test vehicle.
    S7.3.3 Configure the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
over-the-air (OTA); devices must have a receive sensitivity of -92 
dBm.
    S7.3.4 Congestion Mitigation.
    S7.3.4.1 Position a reference OBE device (i.e. rack of OBE 
modules) on the test track within a 300 m range of the test vehicle.
    S7.3.4.2 Activate the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
OTA.
    S7.3.4.3 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate 
BSM transmission.
    S7.3.4.3.1 Run the vehicle for 15 minutes.
    S7.3.4.3.2 After 5 minutes, activate the reference OBE device in 
S7.3.4.1 to simulate a congested DSRC environment.
    S7.3.4.3.3 After another 5 minute period, deactivate the 
reference OBE device in S7.3.4.1.
    S7.3.4.3.4 After another 5 minute period, deactivate the test 
vehicle starting system.
    S7.3.4.4 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with the correct congestion mitigation strategy in S5.5.
    S7.3.5 Misbehavior Detection.
    S7.3.5.1 Position a reference OBE device on the test track 
within a 300 m range of the test vehicle.
    S7.3.5.2 Activate the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
OTA.
    S7.3.5.3 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate 
BSM transmission.
    S7.3.5.4 Using the reference OBE device, transmit simulated 
misbehaving BSMs.
    S7.3.5.4.1 After 10 mins, deactivate the reference OBE device.
    S7.3.5.7 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with the misbehavior detection requirement in S5.6.
    S7.4 Dynamic Performance Test Procedure.
    S7.4.1 Configure the test vehicle to send BSMs representing the 
best estimate of the BSM data parameters.
    S7.4.2 Configure the test vehicle to send ground truth data 
(position, speed, heading, acceleration, yaw rate, and time) from 
independent sensors mounted on the test vehicle via non-DSRC 
wireless link.
    S7.4.3 Configure the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
over-the-air (OTA); devices must have a receive sensitivity of -92 
dBm.
    S7.4.4 Configure an RSE on the test track to receive the test 
vehicles' ground truth data.
    S7.4.5 Dynamic test maneuver.
    S7.4.5.1 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate 
BSM transmission.
    S7.4.5.2 Activate the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
OTA.
    S7.4.5.3 Put the test vehicle transmission in ``Drive'' and 
accelerate the vehicle to 30 mph +/-1 mph.
    S7.4.5.4 Apply the service brake to decelerate the vehicle 0.3 
g, bring the vehicle to a stop.
    S7.4.5.6 Shift the transmission to ``Park'' and cycle the 
ignition.
    S7.4.5.7 Shift the transmission to ``Drive'' and accelerate the 
vehicle to 15 mph +/-mph.
    S7.4.5.8 Proceed up an incline with a minimum rise of ? ft.
    S7.4.5.9 Drive the test vehicle in a figure eight at 18 mph.
    S7.4.5.10 Bring the test vehicle to a stop and shift the 
transmission to ``Reverse''.
    S7.4.5.11 Accelerate the test vehicle in the reverse direction.
    S7.4.5.12 Decelerate the vehicle to a stop and shift the 
transmission to ``Park''.
    S7.4.5.13 Cycle the ignition.
    S7.4.5.14 Deactivate the test vehicle starting system.
    S7.4.5.15 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with S5.
    S7.4.6 Misbehavior Detection: Plausibility.
    S7.4.6.1 Configure a remote test vehicle (RV1) to offset its 
positional BSM data laterally into the left adjacent lane.
    S7.4.6.2 Place RV1 on a two lane test track and position it in 
the right most lane.
    S7.4.6.3 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate 
BSM transmission.
    S7.4.6.4 Activate the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs 
OTA.
    S7.4.6.5 Drive the test vehicle [30 mph +/-1 mph] along the test 
track in the left lane and proceed past RV1.
    S7.4.6.6 Repeat S7.4.6.5 three (3) times.
    S7.4.6.7 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with S5.6.
    S7.4.6.8 Drive the test vehicle past the RSE at a constant [30 
mph +/-1 mph].
    S7.4.6.9 Bring the test vehicle to a stop.
    S7.4.6.10 [Reserved for requirement to retrieve and process the 
log files to determine if a Misbehavior Report was sent to the 
SCMS].
    S7.4.7 [Reserved for Misbehavior Detection Signature Failure 
testing requirement].
    S7.5 V2V Malfunction Detection.
    S7.5.1 Start-up Self test:
    S7.5.2 Position the test vehicle on the test platform.
    S7.5.3 Position a DSRC packet capture device at a nominal 
distance of 300 m from the test device.
    S7.5.4 Create a malfunction on the test vehicle.
    S7.5.5 Activate the DSRC packet capture device to log BSMs over-
the-air (OTA).
    S7.5.6 Activate the test vehicle starting system to initiate BSM 
transmission.
    S7.5.7 Retrieve and process the log files to determine 
compliance with S5.
    S7.5.8 Cycle the test vehicle starting system.
    S7.5.9 Deactivate the vehicle starting system.
    S7.5.10 Correct the system malfunction.
    S7.5.11 Reactivate the test vehicle starting system.
    S7.5.12 Deactivate the test vehicle starting system.
    S8 Phase-in schedule.
    S8.1 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, [2 years 
after issuance of a final rule], and before September 1, [3 years 
after issuance of a final rule]. For vehicles manufactured on or 
after September 1, [2 years after issuance of a final rule], and

[[Page 4018]]

before September 1, [3 years after issuance of a final rule], the 
number of vehicles complying with this standard must not be less 
than 50 percent of the manufacturer's production on or after 
September 1, [2 years after issuance of a final rule], and before 
September 1, [3 years after issuance of a final rule].
    S8.2 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, [3 years 
after issuance of a final rule], and before September 1, [4 years 
after issuance of a final rule]. For vehicles manufactured on or 
after September 1, [3 years after issuance of a final rule], and 
before September 1, [4 years after issuance of a final rule], the 
number of vehicles complying with this standard must not be less 
than 75 percent of the manufacturer's production on or after 
September 1, [3 years after issuance of a final rule], and before 
September 1, [4 years after issuance of a final rule].
    S8.3 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, [4 years 
after issuance of a final rule]. All vehicles manufactured on or 
after September 1, [4 years after issuance of a final rule] must 
comply with this standard.
    S8.4 Calculation of number of complying vehicles.
    (a) For purposes of complying with S8.1, a manufacturer may 
count a vehicle if it is certified as complying with this standard 
and is manufactured on or after June 5, [1 year after issuance of a 
final rule], but before September 1, [3 years after issuance of a 
final rule].
    (b) For purposes of complying with S8.2, a manufacturer may 
count a vehicle if it.
    (1) Is certified as complying with this standard and is 
manufactured on or after June 5, [1 year after issuance of a final 
rule], but before September 1, [4 years after issuance of a final 
rule], and is not counted toward compliance with S8.1; or
    (2) Is certified as complying with this standard and is 
manufactured on or after September 1, [3 years after issuance of a 
final rule], but before September 1, [4 years after issuance of a 
final rule].
    S8.5 Vehicles produced by more than one manufacturer.
    S8.5.1 For the purpose of calculating average annual production 
of vehicles for each manufacturer and the number of vehicles 
manufactured by each manufacturer under S8.1 through S8.3, a vehicle 
produced by more than one manufacturer must be attributed to a 
single manufacturer as follows, subject to S8.5.2:
    (a) A vehicle that is imported must be attributed to the 
importer.
    (b) A vehicle manufactured in the United States by more than one 
manufacturer, one of which also markets the vehicle, must be 
attributed to the manufacturer that markets the vehicle.
    S8.5.2 A vehicle produced by more than one manufacturer must be 
attributed to any one of the vehicle's manufacturers specified by an 
express written contract, reported to the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration under 49 CFR part 585, between the 
manufacturer so specified and the manufacturer to which the vehicle 
would otherwise be attributed under S8.5.1.
    S8.6 Small volume manufacturers. Vehicles manufactured during 
any of the two years of the September 1, [2 years after issuance of 
a final rule] through August 31, [4 years after issuance of a final 
rule] phase-in by a manufacturer that produces fewer than 5,000 
vehicles for sale in the United States during that year are not 
subject to the phase-in requirements of S8.1 through S8.4. Instead, 
all vehicles produced by these manufacturers on or after September 
1, [4 years after issuance of a final rule] must comply with this 
standard.
    S8.7 Final-stage manufacturers and alterers. Vehicles that are 
manufactured in two or more stages or that are altered (within the 
meaning of 49 CFR 567.7) after having previously been certified in 
accordance with part 567 of this chapter are not subject to the 
phase-in requirements of S8.1 through S8.4. Instead, all vehicles 
produced by these manufacturers on or after September 1, [5 years 
after issuance of a final rule] must comply with this standard.
    S9 Interoperable technology.
    S9.1 The agency is also recognizing that communications mediums 
other than DSRC may be capable of providing equal or better 
performance than DSRC. These alternative technologies would be 
permissible if and only if it satisfies all of the criteria set 
forth in this section:
    S9.1.1 Interoperable technology testing requirements:
    S9.1.1.1 Transmitting and receiving an established message with 
all other V2V devices, including DSRC devices, including BSM content 
data as specified in S5.1.2, S5.1.3, S5.1.4, S5.1.5, S5.1.6, and 
S5.1.7;
    S9.1.1.2 Utilizing transmissions protocols that achieve at least 
the same level of performance as DSRC including S5.2, S5.3.1, 
S5.3.4, and S5.3.5; and
    S9.1.1.3 Ensuring, at the minimum, the same robustness to 
incorrect or malicious incoming messages as DSRC as specified in the 
plausibility checks specified in S5.6.2.
    S9.1.2 Interoperable technology performance requirements:
    S9.1.2.1 A device that enables V2V communication, but does not 
use DSRC technology must perform at the same level as the 
requirements found in S5.2, S5.3, S5.4, S5.7-S5.10 for DSRC devices, 
except that it is not required to meet:
    S9.1.2.2 Specific references to DSRC, where the technology meets 
all other requirements;
    S9.1.2.3 The message packaging or protocol suite requirements 
found in S5.1.1.
    S9.1.2.4 The required channel or data rate in S5.3.2 and S5.3.3; 
and
    S9.1.2.5 The requirements associated with message congestion 
mitigation and misbehavior detection found in S5.5 and S5.6 except 
as specified in S5.6.2;
    S9.1.3 Interoperability technology testing procedures:
    S9.1.3.1 The test conditions for testing non-DSRC V2V devices 
shall be the same as those for DSRC devices in S6.
    S9.1.3.2 The test procedures for testing non-DSRC V2V devices to 
determine whether they can send BSMs that are interoperable with 
DSRC devices shall be the same as those for DSRC devices in S7, 
minus any specific references to DSRC in the vehicle being tested, 
including but not limited to S7.3.4, S7.3.5, and S7.4.6.
    S9.1.3.3 [Reserved for test procedures on receiving BSMs from a 
DSRC test device]
    S9.1.3.4 [Reserved for test procedures on ensuring 
interoperability with other approved non-DSRC V2V devices]

Appendix A to Sec.  571.150: V2V Privacy Statement

(a) V2V Messages

    (1) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
requires that your vehicle be equipped with a Vehicle-to-Vehicle 
(V2V) safety system. The V2V system is designed to give your vehicle 
a 360 degree awareness of the driving environment and warn you in 
the event of a pending crash, allowing you to take actions to avoid 
or mitigate the crash, if the manufacturer of your vehicle has 
installed V2V safety applications.
    (2) Your V2V system periodically broadcasts and receives from 
all nearby vehicles a V2V message that contains important safety 
information, including vehicle position, speed, and direction. V2V 
messages are broadcast ten times per second in only the limited 
geographical range (approximately 300 meters) necessary to enable 
V2V safety application to warn drivers of pending crash events.
    (3) To help protect driver privacy, V2V messages do not directly 
identify you or your vehicle (as through vehicle identification 
number or State motor vehicle registration), or contain data that is 
reasonably or, as a practical matter, linkable to you. For purposes 
of this statement, V2V data is ``reasonably'' or ``as a practical 
matter'' linkable to you if it can be used to trace V2V messages 
back to you personally for more than a temporary period of time (in 
other words, on a persistent basis) without unreasonable expense or 
effort, in real time or after the fact, given available data 
sources. Excluding reasonably linkable data from V2V messages helps 
protect consumer privacy, while still providing your V2V system with 
sufficient information to enable crash-avoidance safety 
applications.

(b) Collection, Storage and Use of V2V Information

    (1) Your V2V system does not collect or store V2V messages 
except for a limited time needed to maintain awareness of nearby 
vehicles for safety purposes or in case of equipment malfunction. In 
the event of malfunction, the V2V system collects only those 
messages required, and keeps that information only for long enough 
to assess a V2V device's misbehavior and, if a product defect seems 
likely, to provide defect information to your vehicle's 
manufacturer.
    (2) NHTSA does not regulate the collection or use of V2V 
communications or data beyond the specific use by motor vehicles and 
motor vehicle equipment for safety-related applications. That means 
that other individuals and entities may use specialized equipment to 
collect and aggregate (group together) V2V transmissions and use 
them for any purpose including applications such as motor vehicle 
and highway safety, mobility, environmental, governmental and 
commercial purposes. For example, States and localities may deploy 
roadside

[[Page 4019]]

equipment that enables connectivity between your vehicle, roadways 
and non-vehicle roadway users (such as cyclists or pedestrians). 
These technologies may provide direct benefits such as use of V2V 
data to further increase your vehicle's awareness of its 
surroundings, work zones, first responders, accidents, cyclists and 
pedestrians. State and local entities (such as traffic control 
centers or transportation authorities) may use aggregate V2V safety 
messages for traffic monitoring, road maintenance, transportation 
research, transportation planning, truck inspection, emergency and 
first responder, ride-sharing, and transit maintenance purposes. 
Commercial entities also may use aggregate V2V messages to provide 
valuable services to customers, such as traffic flow management and 
location-based analytics, and for other purposes (some of which 
might impact consumer privacy in unanticipated ways). NHTSA does not 
regulate the collection or use of V2V data by commercial entities or 
other third parties.
    (3) While V2V messages do not directly identify vehicles or 
their drivers, or contain data reasonably linkable to you on a 
persistent basis, the collection, storage and use of V2V data may 
have residual privacy impacts on private motor vehicle owners or 
drivers. Consumers who want additional information about privacy in 
the V2V system may review NHTSA's V2V Privacy Impact Assessment, 
published by The U.S. Department of Transportation at http://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    (4) If you have concerns or questions about the privacy 
practices of vehicle manufacturers or third party service providers 
or applications, please contact the Federal Trade Commission. 
https://www.ftc.gov.

    Dated: December 12, 2016.
Anthony R. Foxx,
Secretary, Department of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 2016-31059 Filed 1-3-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P