U.S. Sens. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Edward Markey (D-MA) recently sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urging the agency to include crash-avoidance technology information into the safety rating section on the Monroney label, which is the window sticker attached to new vehicles sold in the United States.
Crash-avoidance technology includes forward collision warning, lane-tracking technology, and active braking.
Heller and Markey are both members of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and co-authors of the Safety Through Informed Consumers Act provision in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.
The provision requires the NHTSA to integrate driver assistance technologies into the agency’s safety rating system. The deadline for implementation was Dec. 4, 2016, yet the requirement has not been finalized.
The senators requested Heidi King, acting NHTSA administrator, provide an update on NHTSA’s plan and timeline.
“As crash-avoidance technologies continue to be developed and improved, they will become even more effective over time,” the senators wrote. “It is critical to educate U.S. consumers now about these technologies to increase the fleet penetration of these systems, which in turn will bring the consumer cost down.”
The fastest, most effective way to do this is through the agency’s safety rating system, the letter stated.