While it is important to ensure that regulations developed in the past are still achieving their purposes, DOT must focus on its statutory objectives both in those reviews and in moving forward aggressively with the many needed new protections for consumers on our roadways. If a rule is no longer serving a beneficial function or is inadequate to protect safety, fuel economy, or another consumer priority, DOT should use the review process to strengthen it. If such strengthening is not feasible, DOT only should weaken or eliminate such rules if consumers are not harmed as a result. When undertaking rule review activities, DOT must not compromise the purposes for which a rule was initially developed, nor divert resources that are necessary for work that is central to the Department’s mission.
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