NHTSA Evolves Alongside Automobile Technology

Kevin Jones
Technical Analyst

Today’s vehicles are being equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), lane-departure warning systems, blind spot detection, voice/data communications, airbags, entertainment systems, electronic data recorders (EDRs), and an array of other devices for passengers’ entertainment, information, navigation, convenience, comfort, and vehicle emission controls.

Obviously we are way past those days when people could understand vehicles by simply opening the doors, popping the hood, and kicking the tires. Because automobiles have evolved quickly and in many ways, research organizations and institutions are driven to stay current with how these different electronics affect vehicle and roadway safety.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) recently issued a report in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) requesting that the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) National Research Council (NRC) study how NHTSA’s various departments are ensuring that vehicle electronics are benefiting – and not compromising – the safety of vehicles.

As part of their study, the NSC appointed a 16-member panel that was asked to review NHTSA’s response to faulty electronics claims and unintentional acceleration. The findings are contained in TRB Special Report 308: The Safety Challenge and Promise of Automotive Electronics: Insights from Unintended Acceleration. Visit The National Academies Press website to download the report.

View NHSTA’s statement in response to the report.