NHTSA Publishes Priority Plan For Vehicle Safety Rulemaking |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
July 21, 2003
NHTSA 33-03
Monday, July 21, 2003
Contact: Tim Hurd
Telephone: (202) 366-9550
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today published its plan for vehicle safety rulemaking priorities, NHTSA Vehicle Safety Rulemaking Priorities and Supporting Research: 2003-2006. The plan highlights the agency's highest priority rulemaking actions to help address the most significant vehicle safety needs.
"It is time to acknowledge that history is calling us to another important task. It is the battle to stop the deaths and injuries on our roads and highways," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. "The Bush Administration is committed to improving safety on our highways - safety is our highest transportation priority. This priority plan and the initiatives we proposed in our surface transportation reauthorization legislation respond to that call."
"Our resources and precious dollars must be focused on measures that will save the most lives and prevent the most injuries," said Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, NHTSA Administrator. "Our safety data make our priorities very clear."
For the near term (2003-2004), NHTSA's priority regulatory issues include side crash protection, occupant ejection prevention in rollover crashes, roof crush resistance, glare from headlamps, rear seat center position safety belts, improved crash test dummies, head restraints, and fuel system integrity.
Longer term (2005-2006) testing, analysis, and potential rulemaking will address incompatibility in crashes between passenger cars and light trucks, electronic stability control, roadway departure collision avoidance systems, and driver distraction.
The plan is organized along several broad categories: light vehicle crash prevention and occupant protection, incompatibility between passenger cars and light trucks, heavy truck safety, and special populations protection. The last category includes safety for children, people with disabilities, and older people. NHTSA has well over 100 rulemakings underway at any point in time.
The plan can be found on NHTSA's web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings or obtained from the Department of Transportation's Docket Management System (website at http://dms.dot.gov/), docket number NHTSA-2003-15505.
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