# Texas mandates seat belts but forgets the funding

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020/texas-mandates-seat-belts-but-forgets-the-funding
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020/texas-mandates-seat-belts-but-forgets-the-funding.md
Podcast: [There Auto Be A Law](https://stenobird.com/podcast/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020)
Published: 2026-06-11T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/autosafety/2904601
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/135978/2904601/autosafety/2026_06_10_18_27_30_f9ac9a92-2404-4e02-8ab1-7d824455ba83.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020/episodes/texas-mandates-seat-belts-but-forgets-the-funding
Duration seconds: 3804

## Resource

The “magic” Donut Labs battery gets debunked as ordinary lithium‑ion, tied to a crowdfunding-fueled scam with big promises and no manufactured cells, while real solid-state progress is still coming from major automakers. Americans are keeping cars longer (now ~13 years), slowing the spread of safety tech like advanced AEB. Driverless delivery trucks tout reliability and UL 4600 talk, but robotaxis draw scrutiny for safety claims, red-light issues, and a stalled vehicle that delayed firefighters. Zoox safety marketing and exemptions get criticized, Texas is dragged for an unfunded school-bus seatbelt mandate, liquid hydrogen gets a quick reality check, and multiple recalls hit seatbelts, moonroofs, and fire risks (Jeep, Pacifica PHEV). Support the show! https://electrek.co/2026/06/08/donut-lab-solid-state-battery-exposed-lithium-ion-fraud/ https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/americans-are-keeping-their-cars-longer-than-ever-and-remaking-the-auto-industry-c169e494 https://www.wsj.com/business/logistics/driverless-trucks-pepsico-texas-arizona-arkansas-ee4495f0?mod=hp_lead_pos11 https://edition.cnn.com/us/waymo-robotaxis-safety-invs https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/bodycam-shows-cop-trying-move-102600011.html https://abc13.com/post/texas-school-districts-struggling-costs-complying-bus-seatbelt-law/19235825/ https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V356-0668.pdf https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V344-7460.pdf https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V346-4589.pdf https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V363-5757.pdf https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V362-0804.pdf

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020/episodes/texas-mandates-seat-belts-but-forgets-the-funding/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/there-auto-be-a-law-5505020/texas-mandates-seat-belts-but-forgets-the-funding.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.