Know Before You Drive Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Know Before You Drive Act restricts how manufacturers may market partially automated driving systems, requires clear notices before sale, requires update notices when software materially changes dynamic-driving capabilities, and adds automated-driving information to automobile disclosure labels. Notices must explain the system's features, capabilities, limitations, operational design domain, driver-supervision duties, object-event detection and response expectations, requests to intervene, and performance-relevant failures. Violations can trigger federal vehicle-safety penalties, FTC unfair-or-deceptive-practice enforcement, and state attorney general lawsuits.
Who Benefits and How
Vehicle buyers, owners, lessees, and drivers benefit from plain-language or icon-based disclosures that make it harder to confuse driver-assistance features with fully automated driving. State attorneys general gain a parens patriae enforcement tool for residents, while the FTC can police deceptive claims and notices. NHTSA gains an additional safety-disclosure hook through the Automobile Information Disclosure Act.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Vehicle manufacturers must change marketing, supply compliant notices to dealers, provide software-update notices, and add partially automated or automated driving information to labels. Auto dealers must provide required notices to purchasers when manufacturers supply them. FTC, NHTSA, and state attorneys general must enforce the new requirements, coordinate overlapping actions, and handle litigation or penalties.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits manufacturer representations that imply partially automated systems can function as automated driving systems or have capabilities beyond their actual performance.
- Requires clear purchaser notices within two years describing partially automated system features, limitations, operational design domains, and driver duties.
- Requires manufacturers to provide update notices when software changes materially affect the dynamic driving task.
- Adds automated-driving information to automobile disclosure labels and authorizes FTC and state attorney general enforcement.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires automakers and dealers to give clear consumer disclosures about partially automated driving systems and treats misleading claims as enforceable safety and consumer-protection violations.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Technology, Consumers
Primary Purpose
Requires automakers and dealers to give clear consumer disclosures about partially automated driving systems and treats misleading claims as enforceable safety and consumer-protection violations.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Vehicle buyers
- Partially automated vehicle drivers
- FTC
- State attorneys general
- NHTSA
Identified Costs
- Vehicle manufacturers
- Auto dealers
- FTC
- State attorneys general
- NHTSA
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeForwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Ms. Schrier introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Partially automated vehicle drivers, Vehicle buyers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
- "manufacturer"
- → Vehicle manufacturer
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A system or feature that performs part of the dynamic driving task but still requires driver supervision and intervention under defined conditions.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology