Massachusetts

A Controversial Right-to-Repair Car Law Makes a Surprising U-Turn

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2023

A Controversial Right-to-Repair Car Law Makes a Surprising U-Turn

Who owns the data created by cars: their owners, or the companies that built them?

In 2020, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a law that began to answer that question. It required automakers selling cars in the state to build an “open data platform” that would allow owners and independent repair shops to access the information they need to diagnose and repair cars. Automakers countered, arguing that such a platform would make their systems vulnerable to cyberattacks and risk driver safety. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association and lobbying group that represents most global carmakers, sued the state.

Now, after some waffling, the Biden administration has backed Massachusetts voters. In a letter sent yesterday, a lawyer for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the American car safety regulator, told the Massachusetts attorney general’s office that the feds would allow the state to go ahead and enforce its law. “NHTSA strongly supports the right to repair,” wrote Kerry Kolodziej, the government lawyer.

This is a change of course. The administration had staked out the right to repair—the idea that the owner of a product, not the company that sold it to them, gets to decide how to fix it—as a signature issue, involving the Federal Trade Commission in the effort to push back against manufacturers who put limits on independent repairs. But in June, NHTSA’s Kolodziej wrote to warn automakers not to comply with Massachusetts’ law, frustrating right-to-repair advocates. She said that the “open data platform” demanded by the law could make Massachusetts-sold cars susceptible to hackers, who might use the platform to access vital steering, acceleration, or electronics systems.

Yesterday’s letter indicates that lawyers for the federal government and Massachusetts have agreed that there are ways to give more people access to crucial vehicle repair information safely. Car manufacturers could comply with the law “by using short-range wireless protocols, such as via Bluetooth,” to give owners or independent shops authorized by owners access to the information they need to diagnose issues with and repair vehicles, the letter says.

Nathan Proctor, the head of the right-to-repair campaign at the advocacy organization US Public Interest Research Group, wrote in a statement that the government’s reversal on the Massachusetts law creates an opportunity for new discussion of national right-to-repair issues. “It’s time to have a frank conversation about the future of internet-connected cars to ensure it’s one which respects privacy, safety and the Right to Repair,” he wrote. “NHTSA’s latest letter could be the start of that conversation.”

It remains unclear how the feds’ newest move will affect car buyers in Massachusetts. The automakers’ lawsuit stemming from the right-to-repair law is still ongoing. The state attorney general, Andrea Joy Campbell, said she would finally begin enforcing the law earlier this summer. In the letter sent by NHTSA, the agency acknowledged that the open data platform required by the law still does not exist, and indicated that federal and state lawmakers had agreed to allow vehicle manufacturers “a reasonable period of time to securely develop, test, and implement this technology.” The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General did not respond to WIRED’s questions.

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Massachusetts

Major Traffic Delays: Sinkhole Opens Up on Route 495 in Massachusetts

Published

7 hours ago

October 7, 2024

Press Room

Major Traffic Delays: Sinkhole Opens Up on Route 495 in Massachusetts

Massachusetts State Police have issued an announcement about expected traffic delay in the Methuen – Haverhill portion of major route 495 South, north of Boston.

State Troopers out of Andover and Newbury are on the scene where portions of the highway have sunk into the earth, creating a large sink hole just at the edge of the white solid line on the highway.

The incident occurred early Monday morning following a water main break in the area.

The Massachusetts State Police made the announcement on X this morning.

The sinkhole is on Route 495 South just after Exit 106, the exit for Route 125 and the Ward Hill Business District.

Delays are already packing in the area, and the evening commute, couple with the rain is expected to create chaos and extreme delays in the surrounding area.

The closure will also severely affect Route 213 (the Loop), and Route 110, Route 97, and Route 125.

If your drive home takes you near any of these areas, you should seek alternate routes.

Route 495 is already a congested highway during high traffic cycles, so this will be a major inconvenience for travelers on this Northern Massachusetts corridor, about an hour north of Boston and close to the New Hampshire border.

Massachusetts State Police via X

According to americangeosciences.com, sinkholes happen when water erodes the bedrock below the surface of roads and properties. Massachusetts is not prone to sinkholes, like Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, but it can happen.

Leaking pipes, as in the case of this water main break, is a common cause of sinkholes.

Check the Massachusetts State Police X feed for more.

The Five Best ‘Hole in the Wall’ Restaurants in all of New Hampshire

Here are the best mom and pop owned restaurants and hidden gems that the Granite State has to offer. Guy Fieri should probably visit these but chances are he has never heard of them. HIS LOSS!

Gallery Credit: Kira Lew

Two Most Loved Custom Tree Houses for Rent in New England

Two options to experience life in a real tree house next vacation.

Gallery Credit: Ginny Rogers

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Massachusetts

2 Massachusetts researchers awarded Nobel Prize in medicine

Published

14 hours ago

October 7, 2024

Press Room

2 Massachusetts researchers awarded Nobel Prize in medicine – CBS Boston

Watch CBS News

Massachusetts researchers Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for their discovery of microRNA. WBZ TV’s Paula Ebben reports.

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts home to one of the ‘coolest neighborhoods’ in the world, new ranking says

Published

22 hours ago

October 7, 2024

Press Room

Massachusetts home to one of the ‘coolest neighborhoods’ in the world, new ranking says

Massachusetts is home to many renowned attractions, including one of the “coolest neighborhoods” in the world, according to a new ranking.

In an effort to find out “what exactly makes a neighborhood cool,” Time Out says it quizzed its global team of “on-the-ground” writers and editors to compile its 2024 ranking.

Time Out says its global editors vetted each neighborhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community, and one-of-a-kind local flavor, resulting in a list that “celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities.”

Time Out ranked 38 neighborhoods across the globe, and one from Massachusetts made the list.

Somerville’s Union Square checked in at 38th in the ranking.

Time Out wrote the following in its review of Union Square:

Somerville’s easternmost hub of Union Square has been a center of activity since the American Revolution, but more recently, it’s become a haven for graduate students and young families to live in proximity to Cambridge’s prominent universities and Boston’s booming biotech industry. It’s also the nexus of the Green Line train extension northwest of downtown Boston, which finally opened in 2022 after years of anticipation. Now with its own T stop, Union Square really feels like Boston’s coolest cousin. Local spots like Portuguese breakfast staple Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery reflect Union Square’s diverse demographics, while restaurants like Celeste and nearby Sarma stand out among the most exciting restaurants in the Boston area. Annual events like Porchfest and What the Fluff? Festival do their part to maintain Union Square’s quirky charm, even as the area continues to change.

If the wait for breakfast is too long at the Neighborhood, take your pick from flavors including maple bacon and berry pistachio at Union Square Donuts. Afterward, climb up the Prospect Hill Monument to walk it off and see a cool view of the Boston skyline. Head to Bow Market for lunch (try the empanadas at Buenas) and to shop indie boutiques offering vintage goods, stationery, jewelry, records, and more. In the afternoon, practice your throwing at Urban Axes and check out which local bands are hitting the stage later at The Jungle. Dine at Field & Vine, and have a nightcap next door at Backbar.