Nhtsa to Overhaul Crash Test Program

The major problem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) program is that nearly all vehicles pass current tests. This makes it hard for consumers to compare between vehicles. This situation triggered the need for the NHTSA to overhaul its crash test program. Some of the standards have not been changed since its creation in 1979. The crash test program overhaul will also reduce three crash ratings to one.

The safety agency earlier held a day-long hearing with automakers, suppliers and safety advocates to discuss ways so as to overhaul NHTSA's crash test program for new vehicles and create a single safety ranking. The hearing is aimed at toughening the standards and give rewards only to the most deserving vehicles.

Among the revisions contemplated is the awarding of higher ratings to vehicles that have more safety features, including crash-avoidance systems. Other revisions include increasing speeds in some crash tests, increasing the weight of crash barriers, expanding the scope of the new tests to account for additional injuries, considering the use of dummies to better represent female drivers, and improving frontal, side-impact and rollover testing while gauging new auto technologies and features like electronic stability control, brake assist systems and lane departure warnings.

The proposal to overhaul the crash test standards do not require for new legal requirements. This is because what would only be changed is how the safety agency conducts tests that are used to assign the ratings.

Automakers offered support for the proposal to overhaul the crash test standards for new vehicles. On the other hand, safety groups suggested that the NHTSA should also test child restraint systems to ascertain how they hold up in crashes and rate them accordingly. The standards should not be limited to the efficiency of brakes, steering, suspension or even the K & N cold air intake - it should delve deeper than the current standards.

At the said public hearing, General Motors Corp., the Honda Motor Co., and the Toyota Motor Corp. all endorsed the efforts to give vehicles a single overall ranking for performance during simulated frontal, side and rollover crashes. Toyota's Chris Tinto said it is hard for engineers to figure how much weight to give each of the current three scores, let alone for consumers to try to interpret three numbers.

The NHTSA introduced a list of changes that it is considering. However, the safety agency did not disclose the final details of their proposed revisions. In 2006, 87 percent of vehicles received four or five stars for side impact crashes while some 95 percent garnered top ratings for frontal crashes.

Safety groups criticized the safety agency for not going far enough in toughening the standards. At present, tougher crash tests are conducted by outside groups like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The institute’s standards have gotten more attention and have stressed safety flaws of those vehicles which got top ratings in government tests.

Adrian Lund, the institute's president, offered harsh criticism of the NHTSA initial revisions, calling them "timid" and "disappointing." He said that the NHTSA has been delinquent in doing research, noting that it still is not considering the roof strength in assessing new cars. He said, “These tests don't challenge industry to design safer cars and instead reinforce what they're already doing.” Lund also said that the NHTSA should not focus all of its efforts on crash-avoidance technologies such as electronic stability control at the expense of ensuring that vehicles are crash-worthy.

At the much-concluded 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, NHTSA officials announced that the agency planned to toughen several of its voluntary car safety crash tests used to rate new vehicles. The safety agency said the new program would encourage automakers to voluntarily invest in safety technologies.

Joan Claybrook, who was NHTSA administrator when the program was introduced in 1979, said Wednesday that the program is "long overdue for updating." Claybrook said the program should include ratings for child safety restraints, pedestrian safety and vehicle performance in rear-impact crashes. She also suggested automakers be required to add the ratings to new car window stickers.