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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced proposed updates to its 5-Star Safety Ratings program.
The changes are to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).
“NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings system helps consumers learn more about the safety of new and used vehicles and select the one that’s right for them,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff said. “The proposed improvements will not only make the program more useful and informative but also keep up with the pace of innovation in vehicle safety.”
The proposed changes are:
- Testing procedures and performance criteria would be strengthened for the driver-assistance technologies already included in NCAP.
- Four new driver-assistance technologies – lane-keeping support, pedestrian automatic emergency braking, blind spot detection and blind spot intervention – would be recommended for inclusion.
- Emerging vehicle technologies related to driver distraction, alcohol detection, seat belt interlocks, intelligent speed assist, driver monitoring systems, and rear-seat child reminder assist would be considered to potentially add to the program.
- NHTSA would request comments on how to develop a meaningful ratings system for driver-assistance technologies and would discuss ways to provide a crash avoidance rating on the window sticker of new and used vehicles.
- A 10-year roadmap would be established for future NCAP updates.