Key Points
Delay of Safety Standards
Efforts to improve safety on American roads have encountered a new obstacle. Despite the stated goal of reducing traffic fatalities, NHTSA, under pressure from automakers, has delayed the implementation of new standards related to five-star safety ratings.
While this decision may have come as a relief for manufacturers, it appears less promising for the public, especially against the backdrop of nearly 40,000 deaths on US roads last year.
The updated requirements were set to take effect for the 2026 model year, expanding the New Car Assessment Program. They included features such as blind spot object warning, automatic emergency braking for pedestrians, and lane keeping support system. Updates to the automatic emergency braking standards were also planned for the same period.
Pressure from Automakers
However, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which includes brands like BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and others, stated that the established timeline was too rigid. According to the alliance, manufacturers would not have enough time to equip future models with the necessary technology and achieve five-star ratings.
Manufacturers would not have enough time to equip future models with the necessary technology.
Last week, NHTSA announced a delay in the implementation of the new safety rules until the 2027 model year, yielding to pressure from some of the world’s largest automakers.
Enough Time for Preparation
The delay has drawn criticism, as manufacturers cannot claim to have been caught off guard. As early as March 2022, NHTSA publicly discussed these changes, and even then, many vehicles already met or exceeded the proposed standards. This makes the argument about insufficient time less convincing.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation also asked President Donald Trump to review rules that would require almost all passenger cars and trucks to have advanced automatic emergency braking systems by 2029.
These rules were finally approved back in April 2024.
This situation highlights the ongoing tension between regulators’ desire to rapidly improve safety standards and the technological and economic realities of the auto industry. While the delay may give manufacturers extra time to refine systems, it also means that car buyers in the coming years will receive technology that could already have been standard. The dynamics of these negotiations often determine how quickly safety innovations transition from premium optional features to mass-market standard solutions, directly impacting the lives of millions of people.