Feds keep hood, windshield safety regulation

The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Washington – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is abandoning plans to scrap a 35-year-old regulation aimed at preventing injuries from vehicle hoods during severe crashes involving windshields.

In July 2008, NHTSA proposed abolishing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 219 on “Windshield zone intrusion.”

The regulation — introduced in September 1976 and essentially unchanged since then — requires that a vehicle’s hood must not enter the zone in front of the windshield during a full frontal crash test at 30 miles per hour.

The standard is aimed at reducing injuries and deaths that result from contact with vehicle components, like the hood, that are sent into the vehicle interior through the windshield opening during a frontal crash.

Click here to view the full article from The Detroit News

Click here to view CAS Comments on the Rulemaking