Search Results for agency_names:"National Highway Traffic Safety Administration"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a final rule to amend safety standards for child restraint systems in vehicles. The goal is to improve the ease of use and effectiveness of lower and tether anchorages in cars, fulfilling the MAP-21 mandate. The new regulations include clearer labeling, standardized anchorage configurations, and improved testing tools to ensure child safety systems are more user-friendly. The rule includes a phased implementation starting in September 2028 to allow manufacturers time to incorporate these changes into vehicle designs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted Legacy Limousines and Luxury Coaches a temporary exemption from installing shoulder belts on side-facing seats in their motorcoaches, as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208. Instead, they can install lap belts, as NHTSA has determined the overall safety of these buses with lap belts is equivalent to those with shoulder belts. This exemption, valid from January 21, 2025, to January 21, 2027, was granted because there is limited data showing shoulder belts significantly increase safety for side-facing seats, and type 1 seat belts are generally considered safe in this context.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a final rule to modify event data recorders (EDRs) requirements. The rule changes the duration and frequency at which EDRs record pre-crash data from 5 seconds at 2 Hz to 20 seconds at 10 Hz. These changes, effective by September 2027 for most manufacturers, aim to provide investigators with better data to understand vehicle crashes. The rule responds to a mandate by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and includes allowances for small-volume and limited-line manufacturers to comply by later dates.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a delay in the effective date of a new rule regarding seat belt warning systems. Initially set to take effect on January 3, 2025, this rule requires a seat belt use warning for rear seats and updates the warning standards for front seats. The delay, pushing the effective date to March 20, 2025, is due to a regulatory review mandated by the President's memorandum. This decision is enacted immediately and is exempt from notice and comment procedures.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is asking for public comments on its plan to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extending an existing information collection related to its State Highway Safety Grant Program. This program helps states improve highway safety by providing grants, and the information collected is necessary to evaluate whether states meet federal funding criteria. Comments can be submitted through various methods, including an online portal. The deadline for submission is April 12, 2021, and the feedback will help in assessing the necessity and effectiveness of the information collection.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a final rule to revise civil penalty amounts for violations of various transportation regulations, effective December 30, 2024. These adjustments are required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act and are meant to ensure that penalties maintain their deterrent effect by accounting for inflation. The rule covers a wide array of areas including aviation, hazardous materials, and vehicle safety, among others. The adjustments apply prospectively, meaning they will only affect violations occurring after the rule takes effect.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a notice inviting public comments on proposed revisions to the information collection process associated with the "Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety." This proposal seeks to extend and revise the currently approved collection, which helps entities demonstrate their safety practices concerning automated driving systems (ADS) through Voluntary Safety Self-Assessments (VSSA). NHTSA plans to keep the current framework, which allows entities flexibility in how they communicate safety information, without requiring changes to the existing information collection structure. They estimate approximately 2,400 total annual burden hours for four responses from entities developing and deploying ADS technology.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has delayed the effective date of a rule concerning the Hybrid III 5th Percentile Female Test Dummy until March 20, 2025. This rule, initially set to take effect on January 3, 2025, updates the chest jacket and spine box specifications to address fit, availability, and noise issues. The delay, in accordance with a presidential memorandum for reviewing new regulations, allows for additional evaluation and is effective immediately upon publication, bypassing the usual notice and comment process.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a new rule to enhance safety standards for electric vehicles. This rule creates a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 305a to replace the existing standard, expanding requirements to cover both light and heavy vehicles while focusing on the safety of the propulsion battery systems. NHTSA requires manufacturers to submit standardized emergency response documents to assist responders in handling electric vehicles safely. This regulation aligns U.S. standards with the Global Technical Regulation No. 20 on electric vehicle safety and includes documentation requirements for risk mitigation in diverse conditions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comments on its plan to extend and modify a currently approved information collection related to crash data studies. These studies include the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) and Special Crash Investigation (SCI), aimed at enhancing motor vehicle and highway safety data collection. NHTSA intends to increase the number of data collection sites and expand its focus to include more types of crashes, such as those involving non-motorists and large vehicles. The agency estimates the total annual burden for respondents to be 17,521 hours, with no associated costs beyond labor.