[QuietCars] NHTSA Proposes a Pass-Fail Pedestrian Safety Rating for Vehicles - Route-Fifty - May 23, 2023

[Deborah Kent Stein]

Interesting, and troubling. Judging by what's been happening in Chicago,
reckless driving may account for the increase in pedestrian fatalities more
than car design. We've had a rash of hit-and-run fatalities over the past
few months. 


-----Original Message-----
From: QuietCars [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Nightingale, Noel via QuietCars
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2023 11:52 AM
To: quietcars at nfbnet.org
Cc: Nightingale, Noel <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
Subject: [QuietCars] NHTSA Proposes a Pass-Fail Pedestrian Safety Rating for
Vehicles - Route-Fifty - May 23, 2023


https://www.route-fifty.com/infrastructure/2023/05/nhtsa-proposes-pass-fail-
pedestrian-safety-rating-vehicles/386710/
NHTSA Proposes a Pass-Fail Pedestrian Safety Rating for Vehicles By Daniel
Vock Route-Fifty May 23, 2023

The scheme put forward by the National Highway Transportation Safety
Administration comes as pedestrian deaths are surging nationwide.
The Biden administration has proposed rating new cars based on how well they
protect pedestrians in the event of a crash-a feature that advocates for
cyclists and pedestrians, along with many city officials, have long sought.
But the scheme put forward by the National Highway Transportation Safety
Administration falls short of what many of those advocates had proposed. A
vehicle's safety for pedestrians would not be factored into the government's
five-star rating system. Instead, vehicles would get a separate pass or fail
designation for pedestrian safety.
The agency explained that it would use the pass-fail system while it worked
on overhauling the entire five-star rating scheme, which safety advocates
have criticized as being too lax. "In the meantime," the agency explained,
"NHTSA believes that the proposal in this notice would provide consumers
with valuable information and continue to incentivize vehicle safety
improvements to help protect pedestrians."
NHTSA's proposal is certainly a breakthrough for safety advocates, who have
blamed automakers for selling bigger and more powerful vehicles that keep
their occupants safe but endanger other road users. Annual pedestrian deaths
have increased by 37% in the two decades leading up to 2020, even as deaths
of people inside vehicles declined.
"Ensuring the safety of pedestrians is a top priority at [the Department of
Transportation], and these proposed updates to [the New Car Assessment
Program] are an important step in addressing the crisis of roadway deaths in
America," said NHTSA Chief Counsel Ann Carlson in a statement. "Vehicles
must be designed to protect their occupants while increasing safety for
those outside the vehicle, too."
As part of the 2021 infrastructure law, Congress required NHTSA to establish
a way to inform consumers and the public about "pedestrian, bicyclist or
other vulnerable road user safety technologies."
But advocates worry that federal regulators aren't moving quickly enough to
identify those tools.
NHTSA is a notoriously slow-moving agency, and it spent most of the last six
years without a Senate-confirmed leader. In fact, the actions announced this
week are a follow-up to a process it started in 2015, late in the Obama
administration.
"Pedestrian deaths have been rising. Cars have been getting larger and more
dangerous with their blunt front ends and low visibility from the driver's
seat. And this needs to be regulated," said Mike McGinn, the executive
director of America Walks, a pedestrian advocacy group. "So it's positive
that this administration and [Transportation] Secretary Pete [Buttigieg] are
looking at the safety ratings for people outside cars, not just inside
cars."
"It's an important step, but we really need to go much further than
proposed. We need more than just incentives for auto manufacturers to make
safer vehicles. This should really be in our safety standards, just like
airbags and seatbelts. Cars should be designed to be safer for pedestrians,"
he added.
The agency said it plans to mandate features such as pedestrian automatic
emergency braking in all new vehicles less than 8,500 pounds.
McGinn also said he was concerned about an aspect of the proposal that would
only post the pedestrian safety ratings on NHTSA's website, and not on the
vehicle with other details about the vehicle.
"However NHTSA measures vehicle safety for pedestrians, it should be shared
at the point of sale, not buried in a government website," he said.
The tests that NHTSA plans to use to evaluate a vehicle's safety for
pedestrians are similar to tests already used for vehicles in Europe.
"The pedestrian protection testing evaluates the potential risk of head,
pelvis, leg and knee injuries to pedestrians hit by the front of vehicles
that result in impacts between the pedestrian and the bumper, leading edge,
hood and windshield of a vehicle," the agency explained. "A vehicle that
scores well in these tests will likely utilize designs that absorb energy,
reduce hard points of contact, and include front end shapes that would cause
less harm (i.e., injuries) to a pedestrian if a vehicle hits that
pedestrian."
NHTSA will accept comments on its proposal for 60 days once the proposal is
posted on regulations.gov.



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