The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it will propose significant updates and upgrades to its testing program in 2020. The updates and upgrades mean that the testing regime for the 2020 model-year and later cars will be more difficult to pass. The NHTSA says that the more stringent tests will help the five-star safety rating program “keep pace with advancements in safety technology.”
The revamped testing processes for the five-star program will involve “new technologies, new test procedures, updates to vehicle labeling, advancements in crash-test dummies, and continued consumer research to ensure (the New Car Assessment Program) products are effectively meeting the public’s needs.” Along with the changes to the test program, the NHTSA is also eyeing revisions to how it rates vehicle safety for pedestrians and other “vulnerable road users.”
NHTSA acting administrator James Owens stated that the NHTSA program has been a “tremendous success,” but notes that the organization believes vehicles can be safer. Owens says that the NHTSA wants to help give buyers safer vehicles by offering automakers an incentive to continue investing in vehicle safety technology.
The NHTSA is currently working in a Federal Register Notice that will be published in 2020, seeking comments from citizens on upgrades that could be made. Part of the updates it intends to make will take into account active safety technologies like collision avoidance assist, and new test procedures will be implemented.
The NHTSA says that in 2018, 36,560 were people killed in traffic accidents, which was a decline of 2.4 percent compared to 2017. The decline in deaths is due to safer vehicles and new safety tech. The IIHS offered up the crash test video for the 2019 Ford Ranger last summer.
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Source: GM Authority
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