President Joe Biden announced he intended to nominate Ann Carlson for the position of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator.
Carlson, who has served as the acting administrator for the NHTSA since September 2022, would oversee the agency that sets safety standards, identifies safety defects, and recalls unsafe vehicles. Additionally, the agency awards grants to State highway Safety Offices and helps to educate the American public on driving, riding, and walking safely.
In her role as acting administrator Carlson directed the setting of fuel economy regulations for cars and trucks, the administration said, as well as leading the testing and deployment of advanced vehicle technologies. Carlson previously served as the agency’s chief counsel. During her time as acting administrator, Carlson issued orders requiring safety data reporting on vehicles equipped with automated driving systems and advanced driver assistance systems, as well as issued rules that required automatic emergency braking in heavy-duty vehicles.
The announcement was met with approval from the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. In a statement, the GHSA said it was “pleased to strongly support” her nomination.
“Carlson is a thoughtful, engaged safety leader who is focused on achieving real, systemic change that addresses the root causes of the traffic safety crisis,” the group said. “She is an effective and vocal proponent of the Safe System approach, a holistic strategy to traffic safety that calls for using all available countermeasures – equitable enforcement, infrastructure improvements, design changes, and public engagement – to reduce the number of crashes, injuries, and deaths on our roads. Strong federal leadership is critical as traffic fatalities, and dangerous driving remain at unprecedented levels.”