Issues
European Seat Back Strength Standard (ECE 17) Woefully Inadequate
The European Seat Back Strength Standard (ECE 17) in many ways is a close cousin to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) 207 regarding seat strength. The number for strength is so low that no auto manufacturer follows it. The easiest way to describe this is in terms of relative…
Crash Avoidance Recalls
Crash Avoidance Recalls
Nissan Recalls 3.5 Million Vehicles for Airbag Problems
Nissan is recalling about 3.5 million vehicles, including almost 3.2 million in the United States, because the front-passenger airbag might not work properly in a crash, according to reports from the automaker posted Friday on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The action ends a two-year effort by federal regulators to get…
Fixing the U.S. recall loophole is a job for 'someone else'
AutoNation just kicked the can. Last year, the largest U.S. auto dealership group staked out a bold and admirable position on recalls, pledging to go beyond federal law and not sell new or used vehicles with pending recalls. It did quite a bit of moralizing on the issue, too. CEO Mike Jackson said then that…
Fixing the U.S. recall loophole is a job for ‘someone else’
AutoNation just kicked the can. Last year, the largest U.S. auto dealership group staked out a bold and admirable position on recalls, pledging to go beyond federal law and not sell new or used vehicles with pending recalls. It did quite a bit of moralizing on the issue, too. CEO Mike Jackson said then that…
How to Find Technical Service Bulletins and Other Manufacturer Communications via NHTSA’s Search Portal
April 25, 2016 202-328-7700 How to Find Technical Service Bulletins and Other Manufacturer Communications via NHTSA’s Search Portal On February 4, 2016, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx seeking to enforce the Congressional mandate in in the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act”…
Driving to Safety: How Many Miles of Driving Would It Take to Demonstrate Autonomous Vehicle Reliability?
Autonomous vehicles would have to be driven hundreds of millions of miles and, under some scenarios, hundreds of billions of miles to create enough data to clearly demonstrate their safety, according to a new RAND report. Under even the most-aggressive test driving assumptions, it would take existing fleets of autonomous vehicles tens and even hundreds…
CAS Comments on NHTSA Enforcement Guidance Bulletin 2016-02
CAS Comments on NHTSA Enforcement Guidance Bulletin News: Growing Momentum for Self-Driving Cars Worries Safety Advocates – 6/2/16