NHTSA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend FMVSS No. 135, replacing the long-standing brake-pedal hardware mandate with a self-certified performance standard for vehicles designed exclusively for automated operation. Under the proposed framework, manufacturers such as Tesla (Cybercab) and Zoox would attest compliance without independent pre-market review. NHTSA retains post-market enforcement authority, but recall authority is typically reactive. The comment period closes August 11, 2026 — this is the public's only statutory opportunity to shape final safety requirements before AVs without manual controls enter mixed traffic.
The record
Transportation & Infrastructure
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The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has implemented a 5% fare increase on Metro-North's New Haven Line—the second such hike in under a year—effective July 1, 2026, alongside station closures approved by the CTDOT board in a public meeting. This regressive policy offloads costs onto working commuters while cutting service, undermining the stated federal goal of making transit 'more efficient' and hitting low- and middle-income riders hardest.
The Nashville Zoo is opposing a proposed 69,220-square-foot AI data center from Atlanta-based DC Blox at 648 Grassmere Park, directly adjacent to its animal enclosures, citing threats to sensitive species from noise, vibration, light, and pollution. More than 150,000 people have signed a Change.org petition launched by the zoo, but the developer has not submitted a formal environmental impact assessment under local zoning rules, and the Metro Nashville Planning Commission has not required setbacks or a full review.
The Trump administration's Federal Transit Administration has launched a safety investigation into MARTA following a stabbing homicide on a train, requiring budgets, security spending, and crime data within 15 days under 49 CFR Part 673. While the probe aims to address safety, its narrow focus on punitive compliance risks diverting resources from supportive services that low-income riders depend on for access to jobs and healthcare.
The Trump administration launched a 49 U.S.C. § 5329 safety investigation into MARTA after a fatal stabbing on May 30, 2026, and a non-fatal stabbing. The FTA gave MARTA 15 days to produce 2026–2027 budgets and crime data, warning that findings of systemic noncompliance could jeopardize federal grants. Advocates fear the probe will force MARTA to cut fare subsidies for low-income riders—currently serving 12,000 monthly users per MARTA's 2025 ridership report—redirecting funds to security upgrades ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Secretary Duffy's framing of 'string of fatal stabbings' overstates the incident pattern, but the investigation's real lever is capital grant conditions, not fare policy.
Project 2025 proposes to separate the FAA from DOT, end the Essential Air Service subsidy, slash the 1,500-hour copilot rule, and shift FAA R&D to private certification. These moves would shrink safety oversight, strand rural airports, and accelerate a pilot shortage crisis, all while treating aviation like a deregulated business rather than a public utility.