The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing a new rule that would require new passenger vehicles to be designed to reduce injuries in pedestrian crashes, according to a press release issued Monday. 

A new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard under the rule would establish test procedures simulating head-to-hood impact and performance requirements to minimize the risk of head injury for children and adults, according to the release. It will apply to passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, including multipurpose passenger vehicles such as trucks, SUVs, crossovers, and vans. 

The test procedures include the use of human-like headforms to measure the head-to-hood impact, according to the release. It says the headforms represent a diverse range of pedestrians. 

NHTSA says 88% of pedestrian fatalities in 2022 occurred in single-vehicle crashes and data shows that fatalities of pedestrians struck by the front of a vehicle are most common from multipurpose passenger vehicles (49%) followed by passenger cars (37%). 

Pickup trucks and SUVs represented nearly a quarter of U.S. passenger vehicle sales in 2020, the release says.  It says the new standard would save 67 lives a year. 

“We have a crisis of roadway deaths, and it’s even worse among vulnerable road users like pedestrians,“ said Sophie Shulman, NHTSA’s deputy administrator, in the release. “Between 2013 and 2022, pedestrian fatalities increased 57% from 4,779 to 7,522. This proposed rule will ensure that vehicles will be designed to protect those inside and outside from serious injury or death. We will continue to work to make our roads safer for everyone and help protect vulnerable road users.” 

NHTSA will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days. More information on the process is available here. 

In another move to protect pedestrians, NHTSA released a mandate earlier this year that will require all vehicles to be equipped with two advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in 2029. 

NHTSA’s new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, FMVSS 127, will require automatic emergency braking (AEB) and pedestrian AEB to come standard by September 2029 on all passenger cars and light trucks weighing up to 10,000 pounds.

By then, AEB must stop and avoid rear-end crashes at up to 62 miles per hour and detect pedestrians in daylight and at night.

The standard will require AEB to engage at up to 90 mph when a collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph when a pedestrian is detected.

Auto and road safety advocacy organizations along with insurance companies have vocalized their support for the mandates. While, other groups, such as the Alliance for Automotive Innovation have stated the right technology doesn’t exist for automakers to meet the speed requirements of the mandate and, even if they could be met, would result in more rear-end collisions.

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