Current:Home > ContactUS seeks new pedestrian safety rules aimed at increasingly massive SUVs and pickup trucks -DollarDynamic
US seeks new pedestrian safety rules aimed at increasingly massive SUVs and pickup trucks
View
Date:2025-04-12 13:08:10
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s road safety agency wants the auto industry to design new vehicles including i ncreasingly large SUVs and pickup trucks so they reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it’s proposing a new rule setting testing and performance requirements to minimize the risk of pedestrian head injuries.
The rule is aimed largely at SUVs and pickup trucks, which have grown in size and hood height over the years, causing blind spots for drivers.
NHTSA said pedestrian deaths increased 57% from 2013 to 2022, from 4,779 to 7,522. The agency says the rule would save 67 lives per year.
Data show that pedestrian deaths when hit by the front of a vehicle are most common for SUVs and trucks.
The proposed rule, required by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, would set test procedures to simulate head-to-hood impact as well as requirements to reduce the risk of head injuries. Human-like head dummies that simulate children and adults would be used in testing, NHTSA said in a prepared statement.
“We have a crisis of roadway deaths, and it’s even worse among vulnerable road users like pedestrians,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in the statement. “This proposed rule will ensure that vehicles will be designed to protect those inside and outside from serious injury or death.”
Messages were left Monday seeking comment from automakers and the industry’s main trade association.
The infrastructure law required NHTSA to make U.S. regulations match a global pedestrian safety rule, with a regulation that would focus on vehicles made uniquely for the U.S. market.
Nearly one quarter of new vehicles sold in 2020 were SUVs or pickups, the agency said.
Automakers and the public can comment on the proposal for 60 days, after which NHTSA will draw up a final regulation.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Father drowns in pond while trying to rescue his two daughters in Maine
- Massive landslide destroys homes, prompts evacuations in Rolling Hills Estates neighborhood of Los Angeles County
- Minimum wage just increased in 23 states and D.C. Here's how much
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Mental health respite facilities are filling care gaps in over a dozen states
- Mary-Louise Parker Addresses Ex Billy Crudup's Marriage to Naomi Watts
- Solar Power Just Miles from the Arctic Circle? In Icy Nordic Climes, It’s Become the Norm
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Ryan Reynolds, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson and Other Proud Girl Dads
Ranking
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Belarusian Victoria Azarenka says it was unfair to be booed at Wimbledon after match with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina
- Today's Al Roker Reflects on Health Scares in Emotional Father's Day Tribute
- Climate Activists See ‘New Era’ After Three Major Oil and Gas Pipeline Defeats
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Electric Vehicles for Uber and Lyft? Los Angeles Might Require It, Mayor Says.
- The Biomass Industry Expands Across the South, Thanks in Part to UK Subsidies. Critics Say it’s Not ‘Carbon Neutral’
- A Sprawling Superfund Site Has Contaminated Lavaca Bay. Now, It’s Threatened by Climate Change
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Tighten, Smooth, and Firm Skin With a 70% Off Deal on the Peter Thomas Roth Instant Eye Tightener
Has Conservative Utah Turned a Corner on Climate Change?
An Oil Giant’s Wall Street Fall: The World is Sending the Industry Signals, but is Exxon Listening?
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Cultivated meat: Lab-grown meat without killing animals
Tighten, Smooth, and Firm Skin With a 70% Off Deal on the Peter Thomas Roth Instant Eye Tightener
Long Island Medium Star Theresa Caputo’s Son Larry Caputo Jr. Marries Leah Munch in Italy