Research indicates driving assistance technology continues to underperform. In AAA’s latest survey of attitudes about automated vehicles, drivers overwhelmingly want automakers to improve the performance of existing driver support features rather than develop self-driving cars. And this desire is backed by another round of AAA testing that reveals inconsistent performance remains a problem with available […]
U.S. Pedestrian Deaths Jumped in First Half of 2021
Dangerous driving, inadequate infrastructure, larger vehicles combine to create deadly results for people on foot. A new analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects that U.S. drivers struck and killed 3,441 pedestrians in the first six months of 2021, up 17% – or 507 additional lives lost – from the same period the […]
IIHS and HLDI Call on Regulators to Require Pedestrian AEB that Works in the Dark
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) this month petitioned federal regulators to require manufacturers to equip all new passenger vehicles with automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems capable of detecting and avoiding pedestrians in the dark as well as in daylight. Both a HLDI analysis of insurance claims […]
NHTSA to Allow Adaptive Driving Beam Headlights on New Vehicles
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a final rule allowing automakers to install adaptive driving beam headlights on new vehicles. This satisfies a requirement in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law more than a year and a half ahead of schedule. Adaptive driving beam headlight systems, or ADB, use automatic headlight beam […]
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Includes New Vehicle Safety Provisions
This week, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The president’s signature was the culmination of months of negotiation over the bill, which totals $1.2 trillion and includes $550 billion in new money for the nation’s infrastructure. According to an analysis by the Automotive ServicefAssociation (ASA), the legislation will make […]
States Step Up Efforts to Protect Pedestrians Amid Surge in Unsafe Driving During Pandemic
As the number of pedestrians struck and killed by drivers continues a decade-long trend in the wrong direction during the pandemic, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and its State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) members are marking the second annual National Pedestrian Safety Month this October by taking steps to address the behavioral safety issues […]
Pedestrian Deaths Soar in 2020 Despite Drop in Driving During Pandemic
Projected fatality rate for people walking spiked 21% for largest ever year-over-year increase as dangerous driving and traffic violence plagued U.S. roads. New data from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects that 2020 had the largest ever annual increase in the rate at which drivers struck and killed people on foot. What drove this […]
U.S. Pedestrian Death Rate in 2020 on Pace for Record High Despite Significant Drop in Driving
A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects that the U.S. pedestrian fatality rate rose 20% in the first six months of 2020 as speeding, distracted and impaired driving, and other dangerous driving behaviors increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety offers the first comprehensive look at state […]
National Transportation Safety Board Issues 11 Safety Recommendations to Improve Pedestrian Safety in Auto Accidents
Revising safety standards on headlight systems and evaluating vehicle design changes part of recommendations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are the recipients of 11 safety recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on September 25 in its Pedestrian Safety Special […]