US to add features such as blind spot warnings and pedestrian detection to vehicle crash ratings
The U.S. government’s automobile safety ratings will get a major update starting with the 2026 model year when regulators add new driver-assistance technologies and tests for protecting pedestrians
DETROIT — The U.S. government's automobile safety ratings will get a major update starting with the 2026 model year when regulators add new driver-assistance technologies and tests for protecting pedestrians.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it has finalized the changes, which were required by Congress under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
In addition to the five-star ratings for crash tests, the agency will add four new technologies including pedestrian automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind spot warning, and intervention if a driver tries to move toward a vehicle in a blind spot.
The new rule also strengthens test procedures and performance standards for technology that's already included in the ratings such as automatic emergency braking.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said the previous ratings, which went into effect in 1978, have helped the industry rise to higher safety standards.
The new requirements make sure “that the evaluation of these cars includes not just the safety of people inside vehicles during a crash, but how the design of a vehicle could prevent a crash or make it less fatal for someone outside the vehicle," Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The agency said that the five-star crash test ratings, which most vehicles now get, would not change under the new system. But consumers would also see green check marks if vehicles they're shopping for have the safety features and can be
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