road safety News

Traffic Deaths Fell But Fatality Rate Spiked During Coronavirus Lockdowns

U.S. traffic deaths fell during the coronavirus lockdowns but drivers engaged in riskier behavior as the fatality rate spiked to its highest level in 15 years, according to preliminary data released Thursday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported …

Insurance Group Says Safety Technologies Could Stop 40% of Big Truck Rear Crashes

Safety features such as automatic emergency braking and forward collision warnings could prevent more than 40% of crashes in which semis rear-end other vehicles, a new study has found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group supported by …

Roads Are Emptier But Riskier During Coronavirus Quarantine. Fatality Rate Up 14%.

As Americans have been driving less and covering fewer miles, the emptier roads have become more lethal. Preliminary data from the National Safety Council indicate a year-over-year 14% jump in fatality rates per miles driven in March, in spite of …

U.S. Agency Rewrite of Rules Will Speed Up Arrival of Self-Driving Cars

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday it was proposing sweeping changes to U.S. safety requirements to speed the deployment of self-driving vehicles without human controls. The agency said it is proposing to rewrite 11 safety standards that …

Safety Groups Argue Curtailing Impaired Driving Requires Moving Beyond Fines, Jail Time

Efforts to curtail impaired driving and related accidents by repeat offenders on the road should address the underlying problems prompting the unsafe behavior, according to a new report from state highway officials and the liquor industry’s drunk driving prevention group. …

Pedestrian Fatalities Continue to Rise

A new report projects that 6,227 pedestrian fatalities occurred in 2018, the highest number in nearly three decades. Pedestrians will account for 16 percent of all traffic deaths in 2018, compared to 12 percent in 2008. While advancements in motor …

Traffic Fatalities Again Top 40,000; Few Cars on Roads Have Latest Technology

Traffic fatalities on U.S. roads reached an estimated 40,000 in 2018, the third year in a row in which at least that many people died in vehicle crashes, according to new figures from the National Safety Council. The 2018 total …

Ford Recalls More Than 953,000 Vehicles Globally to Replace Air Bag Inflators

Ford is recalling more than 953,000 vehicles worldwide to replace Takata passenger air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel. The move includes over 782,000 vehicles in the U.S. and is part of the largest series of recalls in …

16.7 Million Recalled Takata Air Bags Still Unrepaired and on U.S. Roads

More than three years after the government took over management of recalls involving dangerous Takata air bag inflators, one third of the recalled inflators still have not been replaced. That’s according to an annual report on the recalls released by …

U.S. Moves to Permit Euro-Style, Low-Glare Headlights

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is moving to allow advanced headlights known as “adaptive driving beams” to be used in vehicles on U.S. roads that could help prevent nighttime crashes. The agency said it was acting in …