Automotive & Trucking

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Autonomous heavy-duty motor vehicles — those with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or greater — to date have been barred from public roadways in California. This will change if newly proposed California DMV regulations take effect.

The proposed regulations include several notable changes and perhaps most notable among them is the opportunity for providers of autonomous heavy-duty vehicles to apply for a permit to operate through testing or deployment.Continue Reading Autonomous Commercial Vehicles Now Come “Heavy-Duty” If New California DMV Law Passes 

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EPA recently published an interim final rule delaying by nine months the time for manufacturers and importers of products containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to report to EPA on their past activities. EPA’s PFAS reporting rule requires anyone who manufactured (including imported) any PFAS compound, or who imported any article containing a PFAS compound, at any time between 2011 and 2022, to submit detailed information regarding those past activities. The rule published on May 13, 2025, postpones the start of the reporting period from July 11, 2025, to April 13, 2026. Reporting must now be completed by October 13, 2026, for most manufacturers and by April 13, 2027, for small manufacturers reporting exclusively as article importers.Continue Reading Federal PFAS Reporting Delayed, but Aerospace and Car-Part Companies are not Off-the-Hook

On April 21, 2025, the FTC filed an enforcement action against Uber alleging that it enrolled consumers in Uber One without proper consent, created substantial barriers to cancellation, and misrepresented the financial benefits of the subscription. To learn more, please read our Client Alert Three-Clicks You’re Out? The FTC’s Action against Uber Showcases That Businesses…

On April 28, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order for Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers. The EO declares it “the policy of [the] Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.” Current Federal law provides that a commercial motor vehicle driver must be able to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.” 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2). A June 15, 2016, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) guidance document describes circumstances in which that regulation will and will not be enforced. The new EO requires that the Secretary of Transportation rescind that guidance document within 60 days and issue new guidance with “revised inspection procedures necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. 391.11(b)(2).” Such guidance should ensure that “a violation of the English language proficiency requirement results in the driver being placed out-of-service.”Continue Reading New Executive Order on English Language Requirement for Commercial Vehicle Drivers

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On April 24, the Department of Transportation announced the Trump Administration’s new framework for the regulation of Automated Vehicles (“AVs”). To learn more, please read our Client Alert NHTSA Announces First Actions Under Trump Administration’s New Framework for Removing Regulatory Barriers for Automated Vehicles.

The Fifth Circuit vacated the FTC’s Combatting Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule in January of this year, finding that the FTC failed to follow the correct administrative procedures when it promulgated the regulation. To learn more, please read our Client Alert Auto Dealers: Buckle-Up Enhanced State-Level Enforcement Ahead.

On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the reach of Section 1964(c) of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by holding that a plaintiff may seek treble damages for a business or property loss resulting from a personal injury. To learn more, please read our Client Alert From Capone to Corporations:…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the below notices of final rulemaking this month. Specifically, NHTSA published one correction to its recent final rule on child restraint systems, and two notifications of enforcement discretion announcing that it would not enforce the requirements of two of its new final rules until March 20, pursuant to the “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” presidential memorandum. The agency did not take further actions on these rules after March 20 and they remain effective.Continue Reading NHTSA Rulemaking Roundup: March 2025

Crowell’s &Motion podcast addresses all things related to the Transportation industry. In this session, our privacy and cybersecurity partner Jason Johnson discusses the California Privacy Protection Agency’s (CPPA) recent settlement with Honda to resolve claims that Honda violated the California Consumer Privacy Act. This settlement comes out of the Agency’s review of vehicles with embedded…