National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Through its Transportation Lighting and Safety program, the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is evaluating the potential for new lighting technologies and approaches to improve driving safety at night, including new car headlight systems. For the study, vehicle manufacturer Audi AG has provided the LRC with an A7 equipped with adaptive high beam ‘matrix lights’ that allow drivers to benefit from using high beams all the time while selectively dimming a portion of the bea

A report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) outlines the life-saving benefits of currently available collision avoidance systems and recommends that the technology become standard on all new passenger and commercial vehicles. The report, The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes, stresses that collision avoidance systems can prevent or lessen the severity of rear-end crashes, thus saving lives and reducing injuries. According to statistics fro

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has joined with members of Congress, safety advocates and industry representatives at the US Department of Transportation’s headquarters to highlight advances in the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program, a research partnership between NHTSA and an industry consortium to develop technology to prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from operating their vehicles while under the influence. The event f

The US government is looking into opening up wi-fi space for the public, but it could impact on vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V) technology developed to prevent up to 80 per cent of car crashes, according to a discussion on CBS News. After more than a decade in development and more than a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money spent, the technology aimed at making roads safer and saving an estimated 1,083 lives every year may now be sidelined to make room for wi-fi. Dr Peter Sweatman, director

US Senators Cory A. Booker and Deb Fisher, members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, have sent a bipartisan letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator Mark Rosekind to request an update on agency policies related to automated vehicle technology and to urge the NHTSA to embrace policies that promote innovation in and the improved safety benefits of the technology. “These technologies promise to significantly reduce roadway accidents, shorten

The US Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Truck Safety Coalition, the Center for Auto Safety and Road Safe America have filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requesting that the agency initiate rulemaking to require forward collision avoidance and mitigation braking (F-CAM) systems on all new large trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more. F-CAM technology uses radar and sensors to first alert the driver and then t

Announcing President Obama’s US$94.7 billion Fiscal Year 2016 budget for the US Department of Transportation, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Our budget proposal lays the foundation for a future where our transportation infrastructure meets the demands of a growing population and an economy that depends on the free flow of freight,” said Secretary Foxx. “This Administration is looking towards the horizon – the future – but to do this we need Congress’ partnership to pass a long-term reauthorisa

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to add two cutting-edge automatic emergency braking systems to the recommended advanced safety features included under its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) – the latest step in a half-century of safety innovations that have saved more than 600,000 lives, according to new NHTSA research. The agency plans to continue to encourage development and commercialization of additional promising saf

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' (DHSMV) recently-released third annual Red-Light Camera Summary Report analysed data from 68 police agencies in the cities and towns in Florida where red-light safety cameras are deployed. The report shows a decrease in red-light running violations and crashes at intersections with red-light safety cameras and is consistent with results from previous state reports affirming the effectiveness of this important law enforcement tool. Total violations

The USDOT has released a new plan for ITS research and priorities for the second half of the decade. The new ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019 outlines the direction and goals of the Department’s ITS Program and provides a framework around which the ITS Joint Program Office and other Department agencies will conduct research, development, and adoption activities to achieve them. The ITS Strategic Plan’s framework is built around two key ITS Program priorities, realising connected vehicle implementation and a