NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration
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22 states join California to sue the Trump admin over emissions standards
A group of 22 states have joined California in suing the Trump administration, which revoked that state's right to set its own emissions standards. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a plan for national vehicle emissions rules. The One National Program Rule would set federal standards on fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with the administration's aim to scale back Obama-era targets.
US DOT tells self-driving shuttle company to stop transporting kids
Sorry kids, neither you nor robots can be trusted. The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has told Transdev North America to stop hauling children around in its EZ10 Generation II autonomous shuttles in Babcock Ranch -- a community in Southwest Florida.
US DOT outlines safe transition to self-driving cars
US legislation for self-driving cars first made its way to the House of Representatives this past July. The bipartisan SELF DRIVE Act passed the House vote on September the 6th, and will now need to go through the Senate. Odds are that we'll see autonomous cars on the road sooner rather than later, thanks to this bill and new voluntary guidance The US Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The governmental agencies released new guidelines on Tuesday that provide federal guidance for automated driving systems to both individual states and businesses.
The government wants our cars to 'talk' to each other
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is throwing its weight behind vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication systems. After years of experimentation and a real-world trial in Ann Arbor, MI the government is (almost) ready to make peer-to-peer networking a required safety feature on all new cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it'll "begin taking the next steps" towards implementing V2V, though, what those steps are is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. One major detail left to be ironed out is when exactly these new safety standards will go into effect. The agency is currently finalizing its analysis of the data gathered during the Ann Arbor trial, which it will then use to build a regulatory proposal. For those that don't know, V2V systems allow cars to share information about their position, speed and heading with each other and alert a driver when there is potential for danger. That could be a car speeding through an intersection ahead or a truck in your blind spot when trying to change lanes. While there is potential for integration with automated collision avoidance technology in the future, initially the DOT will be focused on passive systems. If you're concerned about the government having yet another avenue through which to track you, breathe easy. The data passed between vehicles includes no personally identifiable information. In fact, it doesn't even identify the car -- it only contains basic safety data. In addition to that, the NHTSA envisions multiple layers of security and privacy protection to ensure vehicles are sending and receiving reliable data.
Deputy Administrator of NHTSA joins Google as Director of Safety for Self-Driving Cars
El Goog has been experimenting with autonomous vehicles for a while, and now it's hiring a government man to help handle the red tape and get them on the roads. Ron Medford will be leaving his job as second in command (Deputy Administrator) at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and joining the search giant in January as the Director of Safety for Self-Driving Cars. Google's prototype robot chauffeurs have navigated over 300,000 miles of US road, but to graduate from the testing stage will require just as much regulatory expertise as it will tech smarts. That's where Medford comes in, who will be paying close attention to the NHTSA's multi-year project to define standards for self-driving cars, which started only recently. Now, hopefully, we won't have to wait as long for those stressful journeys as pilot to become relaxing jaunts as fleshy cargo. [Image Credit: Getty Images / Brendan Hoffman]
University of Michigan connects 3,000 cars for year-long safety pilot
Road safety continues to be a major concern for both researchers and car makers alike. Yesterday saw yet another real-world trial kicking off, this time on a much grander scale. A total of 3,000 vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan are taking part in a 12-month project run by the state's Transportation Research Institute. The vehicles have Dedicated Short Range Communications and video recording facilities, which means the cars can communicate with each other, traffic signals, and share data to a central platform -- which in turn issues warnings when high risk situations, or if traffic problems occur. Of course, this trial will also create a massive data set, which researchers will be able to plunder, and help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) better determine the viability of such systems. So while it's unlikely to lead to self driving cars just yet, it's a step in the right direction.
NHTSA issues 'distraction guidelines' proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets
With companies like Tesla and Ford replacing tactile, in-dash systems with touchscreens and gizmos, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration wants to set "distraction guidelines" for how automakers implement factory-installed in-car electronics. Nearly a year after discussing the possibility of bringing restrictions to in-car information, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled phase one of a (potential) three-part, "first-ever federal proposal" loaded with suggestions for keeping driver's eyes and attention on the road. Notably, these voluntary guidelines take aim at "communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation devices or functions that are not required to safely operate the vehicle." According to Reuters, though, the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers claims that "elements" of the guidelines have been in practice for nearly ten years. The ideas range from ensuring that one hand is always left free for steering and restricting the entry of text, such as an address, unless the your car is in park, to limiting in-dash text prompts to "no more than 30 characters of text unrelated to the driving task" so that your eyes can't wander off of the road for too long. Passengers, of course, would be free to do whatever they wish. Vehicles under 10,000 pounds are said to be the primary focus, with the NHTSA noting that electronic warning systems will not be on the radar as they intend to help drivers, well, drive. Before the proposal spins into action, beginning in March it will be up for public comment for 60 days L.A., Washington D.C. and Chicago. Depending on how the phase one guidelines pan out, phase two will focus on devices brought into vehicles, like cellphones, while phase three would set its sights on voice controls. If you're curious about all of the specifics, you'll find more info in the press release after the break and the full proposal draft at the source link below.
Chevy Volt safe from fire hazard after all, says government
The Chevy Volt isn't prone to catching fire after all, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The all-electric car came under scrutiny last year after one caught fire following a side-impact crash test. GM offered a buyback program for Volt owners concerned their cars might suddenly immolate, then the company made "enhancements" to the Volt's battery coolant system. That set things right, as far as the NHTSA is concerned: it says "no discernable defect trend exists" in the Volt, and that GM's revisions "reduce the potential for battery intrusion resulting from side impacts." Chevy dropped the Volt's price by $1,000 for 2012, too. So what do you think? Is a $39,000 starting price and less of a chance of burning to death enough to make you go electric?
Washington establishing timeline for sales of 'loud' EVs
Whenever we test drive an EV, we try to bring along a passenger who screams things out the window like "Beware! Silent car!" and "Electric vehicle! Don't get hit!" But we understand that for some of you this might not be an option. Luckily, it looks like initiatives to outfit electric vehicles with warning sounds have been picking up steam, from the Pedestrian Safety Act last year to a new bill that would have the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration establish a three year timeline for auto manufacturers. According to Autoblog, "there's no word as to how loud the noise would be or what it will sound like," although drivers would not be able to turn it off, and it would likely be variable, depending on your speed -- not unlike the system Brabus uses in its Smart High Voltage EV. As for your car-lovin' Engadget editors, we're already looking for one that emulates the growl of the '68 Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in Bullitt.
Study confirms the obvious: chatting behind the wheel is dangerous
A new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virgina Tech Transportation Institute using vehicle-embedded sensors and videocams has confirmed what most of us already knew, which is that talking on your cellphone make you more susceptible to getting in an accident. Of the 82 crashes and 761 "near misses" experienced by 241 drivers over the course of the yearlong study, dialing and talking on a cellphone were the second and third most common causes, respectively, after drowsiness. Moreover, dialing a phone nearly triples your chances of getting into an accident, concluded the study, which showed that driving distractions in general played a role in almost 80% of the accidents recorded. If proof like this doesn't shock legislators into addressing this problem, our only hope seems to be voluntary measures adopted by wireless carriers, such as the clever audible stoplight alert system we brought you yesterday.
