The legislation is being proposed by U.S. Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., and U.S. Reps. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. It comes just days after the National Transportation Safety Board reiterated its call for collision-avoidance systems to be included as standard equipment in new cars, a recommendation it has been making for some years.
The new legislation would, if passed, require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to integrate "active safety technology" into its 5-star crashworthiness ratings. NHTSA's program measures the level of safety provided by vehicles in frontal and side crashes and rollovers and requires the results be posted on window stickers for new cars.
The program does not include collision-avoidance systems in its ratings but, according to NHTSA's website, identifies vehicles equipped with features like electronic stability control, lane departure warning and forward collision warning.
The NTSB said only four passenger vehicle models last year included a complete forward collision avoidance system as a standard feature. NHTSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislation, nor did the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group.
Earlier this week, the Alliance reiterated its position that consumers — not government — should be in the position to decide how their money is spent on collision-avoidance technology.
In proposing the legislation, Heller called it "a necessary piece of legislation to ensure American families are well-versed on whether vehicles they are looking to purchase are equipped with the newest, state-of-the-art safety technology."
"Given recent issues surrounding ignition switch defects, airbag defects and numerous vehicle recalls, this bipartisan-bicameral legislation will help restore consumers' confidence in the safety of their vehicles," he added.
Markey said consumers trust what they read in the window stickers of the cars they buy but that the absence of collision-avoidance technology from the ratings means they lack important information.
"Today's 5-star safety rating system only tells them how safe they are in the vehicle once a crash occurs, ignoring any features like collision warning and automatic emergency braking, that can help avoid that crash in the first place," he said.
©2015 the Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
