Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
See our letter to Massachusetts Senate and House leadership urging action on S. 1592/A. 2446.
read moreToday the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) took the commendable steps of issuing a Final Rule on side impact protection for children seated in child restraints and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the operation of event data recorders (EDR), devices that provide invaluable information about motor vehicle crashes. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) urges the agency to continue working to address the existing backlog of overdue congressionally mandated vehicle safety rules and move forward expeditiously on vehicle safety directives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58).
read moreIn November 2021, IIJA was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. It includes a provision that addresses hot car tragedies by requiring an ‘audio and visual reminder alert to check the back seat’ in new passenger vehicles. Unfortunately, the provision does not specify the requirement for the system to detect a child alone in a vehicle. Without detection, a system will be inadequate. A reminder alert alone falls short of what is needed to prevent hot car deaths and injuries and creates a false sense of security for families.
read moreOn April 22, 2022, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) signed Senate Bill (SB) 176 into law, strengthening Maryland’s child occupant protection statute. This law requires children to remain rear facing in a child safety seat until age two or older or until they outgrow the specifications of the safety seat.
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