National Highway Traffic Safety Administration News

Safety Agency to Require Automatic Emergency Braking on New Vehicles

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years. Wednesday’s announcement by the National Highway …

Company Refuses US Request to Recall Air Bag Inflators

DETROIT (AP) — A Tennessee company could be heading for a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request that millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators be recalled. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is demanding …

Tesla Shouldn’t Call Driving System Autopilot, Buttigieg says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tesla shouldn’t be calling its partially automated driving system Autopilot because the cars can’t drive themselves, the top U.S. transportation official says. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s concerned about Tesla’s marketing of the system, which is …

Distraction, Speeding, Alcohol Drive Up 2021 Traffic Deaths

DETROIT (AP) — Nearly 43,000 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2021, the highest number in 16 years with deaths due to speeding and impaired or distracted driving on the rise. The 2021 final numbers, released Monday by the …

US Opens Investigation into Tesla Seat Belts Coming Loose

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash. The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety …

Tesla that Hit Firetruck Was Using Automated Driving System

DETROIT (AP) — A Tesla that crashed into a firetruck in California last month was operating on one of the company’s automated driving systems, U.S. safety regulators said Wednesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it has dispatched …

Hyundai, Kia to Offer Software Upgrade to 8.3 Million U.S. Vehicles to Prevent Thefts

WASHINGTON —Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. will offer a software upgrade to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles in response to increasing thefts targeting vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices, U.S. auto safety regulators said. Hyundai said it is “introducing …

US Ends Probe into Ford SUV Exhaust Issues Without a Recall

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s road safety agency has closed a more than six-year investigation into exhaust odors in Ford Explorer passenger cabins, determining that the SUVs don’t have high levels of carbon monoxide and don’t need to be …

Agency Study: Traffic Crashes Cost US Society $340 Billion in 2019

U.S. auto safety regulators said Tuesday in a landmark report that motor vehicle crashes, which are rising fast, cost American society $340 billion in 2019. In a comprehensive economic impact study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) examined the …

Tesla Driver in Multi-Car Crash Told Police Self-Driving Software Malfunctioned

WASHINGTON — The driver of a 2021 Tesla Model S involved in an eight-vehicle crash last month on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge told police he was in Full-Self Driving (FSD) mode which had malfunctioned, according to a police report made …