National Highway Traffic Safety Administration News

Tesla Driver Paying $23K for 2019 California Crash

A Tesla driver will pay more than $23,000 in restitution for the deaths of two people during a 2019 car crash in a Los Angeles suburb, a decision announced the same day that the automaker recalled nearly all vehicles sold …

California Governor Vetoes Bill to Have Human Drivers Ride in Autonomous Trucks

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks, a measure that union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state. The legislation vetoed Friday night …

Agency Probing Self-Driving Cruise Car Crash In California

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a special investigation into a recent crash of a Cruise self-driving vehicle in California that resulted in minor injuries, the agency said on Thursday. The auto safety agency did not identify the …

Class Action Accuses 3 Automakers, Parts Maker of Selling Risky Air Bag Inflators

A class action lawsuit is accusing three automakers and a parts manufacturer of knowingly selling vehicles containing air bag inflators that are at risk of exploding. Two deaths and at least four injuries have been linked to such explosions. The …

Fewer Crashes After Utah Sets Nation’s Strictest DUI Law, Study Shows

Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published by a U.S. government agency shows. The findings, which pertain to fatalities involving and not involving alcohol, …

Traffic Fatalities Continue on Record Pace But Not in All States

The number of U.S. traffic deaths surged in the first nine months of 2021 to 31,720, the government reported Tuesday, keeping up a record pace of increased dangerous driving during the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated figure of people dying in …

How Autonomous Car Companies Are Outrunning U.S. Regulators and Lawmakers

Self-driving vehicle companies from Tesla Inc. to General Motors Co.’s Cruise are racing to start making money with their technology, outrunning efforts by regulators and Congress to write rules of the road for robot-driven vehicles. On Tuesday, Cruise said that …

Transportation Safety Chief Objects to Use of Driver Error Statistic

With traffic fatalities spiking higher, the nation’s top safety investigator says a widely cited government statistic that 94% of serious crashes are solely due to driver error is misleading and that the Transportation Department should stop using it. Jennifer Homendy, …

Can a Self-Driving 40-Ton Truck Be Safe? Developers Say Yes But Others Are Skeptical.

Shipping companies and software developers are experimenting with self-driving trucks as a way to solve a driver shortage worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing fire from safety advocates who call the technology a risk to motorists. J.B. Hunt Transport Services …

Biden Auto Safety Agency Nominee to Face Senate Committee

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday is set to hold a confirmation hearing on President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency without a permanent leader for nearly five years. The Democratic …