FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2021
CONTACT: Pete Daniels / pdaniels@saferoads.org / 301-442-2249 (C)
Statement of Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) New Crash Reporting Requirements for Vehicles Equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving Systems (ADS)
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) commends the actions taken today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require auto manufacturers and operators of vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that are rated as Level 2 per the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and vehicles with more sophisticated automated driving system capability (SAE Levels 3 – 5) to report crashes. This order will provide NHTSA with the data necessary to determine the safety of the crash avoidance and automated driving systems. It also will provide a level of transparency that was previously not available to the public.
It is particularly timely for NHTSA to adopt this new reporting requirement given the paucity of data collected by the voluntary Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative. History and experience have repeatedly shown that voluntary agreements fail to yield accurate, comprehensive and reliable results. NHTSA’s actions are an urgently needed step in the right direction.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement, and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to improve road safety in the U.S. Advocates’ mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.
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