Major automakers criticize US auto safety agency, call for reform

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A major trade group representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other automakers sharply criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, saying the auto safety regulator is impeding progress and struggling to modernize.
“Its fractured relationship with the industry, decades-old safety regulations, and lack of a clear strategic roadmap for emerging technologies are stifling innovation and threatening U.S. global leadership,” said Alliance for Automotive
Innovation CEO John Bozzella in written testimony for a U.S. House of Representatives hearing Thursday, calling for the agency to conduct significant reforms and listing dozens of regulatory standards that should be repealed, revised, or updated.
NHTSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He reiterated industry calls to repeal automatic emergency braking rules and make it easier to deploy autonomous vehicles without human controls.
“Unfortunately, federal inaction is holding us back. Despite years of dialogue, there is still no comprehensive federal framework for AVs,” Bozzella said, also calling for NHTSA to ease fuel economy requirements starting in 2027, saying they are “misaligned with consumer demand and current technology adoption rates.”
U.S. traffic deaths remain sharply above pre-COVID levels despite falling 3.8% in 2024 to 39,345, but are still drastically higher than the 36,355 killed in 2019.
NHTSA routinely fails to write regulations even when directed by Congress and has often gone years without a Senate-confirmed leader.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an industry funded group that prods automakers to build safer vehicles, will tell Congress the agency must do more.
“NHTSA is failing to meet the moment. In recent years, it has approached its job with a lack of urgency, using flawed methodologies that underestimate the safety benefits of obviously beneficial interventions,” IIHS President David Harkey will testify adding NHTSA “requires stronger leadership, a sense of urgency, and a greater willingness to act.”
NHTSA has refused to require antilock braking systems for motorcycles despite calls from IIHS since 2013.
IIHS said fatal crash rates for motorcycles with optional ABS are 22% lower than identical models without it. The European Union, United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and India have all mandated the technology, IIHS said.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
Source: worldautoforum.com