NHTSA Could Expand Safety Requirements to Include Pedestrians

New cars could soon be required to include more safety features as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seeks ways to combat a rising number of pedestrian deaths, reports Andrew J. Hawkins.

For the first time, NHTSA will consider the inclusion of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS — sorry for all the acronyms!) features, like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot detection, and lane-keep assistance. These ADAS features, which are quickly becoming standard in most vehicles today, could become essential criteria for a five-star safety rating from the government.

This signals a shift from prior safety standards, which only assessed the safety of a car's occupants through crash tests, but failed to account for the safety of pedestrians or cyclists. "NHTSA acknowledges that this is no longer a tenable system," writes Hawkins. "For the first time ever, NCAP includes technology recommendations not only for drivers and passengers but for road users outside the vehicle, like pedestrians," according to a statement by Steven Cliff, deputy administrator at NHTSA.

"The idea is to rate automobile safety on a host of new technologies that can stop risky driving behavior before it even occurs. As a result, NCAP tests will become more stringent, and vehicles that don’t include these features are likely to receive a lower rating."