MotorVehicleRegs.COM

2021-2022 NTSB Most Wanted List (MWL)

On April 6, 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its 2021-2022 Most Wanted List (MWL) highlighting transportation safety improvements needed now to prevent accidents, reduce injuries and save lives.  Included in the list are recommendations to:

- Implement a Comprehensive Strategy to Eliminate Speeding-Related Crashes

​- Protect Vulnerable Road Users through a Safe System Approach

- Prevent Alcohol- and Other Drug-Impaired Driving

- Require Collision-Avoidance and Connected-Vehicle Technologies on all Vehicles

- Eliminate Distracted Driving

NTSB is calling on NHTSA to:

Develop performance standards for advanced speed-limiting technology, such as variable speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation devices, for heavy vehicles, including trucks, buses, and motorcoaches. Then require that all newly manufactured heavy vehicles be equipped with such devices.

Identify best practices and science-based countermeasures to prevent drug-impaired driving; develop a standard of practice for drug toxicology testing and improving roadside oral-fluid screening devices for better detection of drug-impaired drivers; and finalize development of in-vehicle alcohol detection technology.

Complete standards for collision-warning and automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems in commercial vehicles and require this technology in all highway vehicles and all new school buses.

Develop performance standards for connected-vehicle technology and restart the proposed rulemaking to require this technology be installed on all newly manufactured highway vehicles.

Improve consumer awareness about collision-avoidance systems available in passenger vehicles by improving how these technologies are tested, evaluated, and rated in the New Car Assessment Program’s 5-star rating system.

Many other recommendations are made in the MWL.  For more information, click here.

Regulatory and Legislative Tracking Reports for Vehicle Manufacturers and Suppliers

Since 1999, Kardos & Associates LLC has supplied the auto industry with the most comprehensive regulatory and legislative tracking reports available. We currently offer clients the following:

Motor Vehicle Safety & Emissions Regulatory Update (the REG UPDATE)

The REG UPDATE has been tracking US and Canadian regulatory activity impacting the auto industry for over twenty years. Regulations developed by the NHTSA, FMCSA, EPA, FCC, CARB, Transport Canada, and Environment Canada are the focus. For each rulemaking, the Reg Update provides a description of the rulemaking, comment deadlines, effective dates, a docket reference, and links to documents available online. Deadlines and critical path items are color-coded so that you can quickly identify what’s new and important. In addition to being an excellent tool for tracking regulatory activity, the Reg Update is a great archive of past actions. The report contains information on virtually every rulemaking affecting automakers from the past two decades. Approximately 400 pages in length.

U.S. Safety & Fuel Economy Regulatory & Legislative Update
The U.S. Safety & Fuel Economy Regulatory & Legislative Update provides a snapshot of the past month’s legislative and regulatory activities relating to safety, emissions and fuel economy. The report provides brief summaries of notices issued by DOT, EPA, CARB and others. With regard to federal legislation, the report covers newly introduced bills, information on committee hearings, etc. Activities at the state level pertaining to emerging technologies (e.g., automated vehicles, advance driver assistance systems, EVs and EV infrastructure, etc.) are also covered.

Federal Legislation Tracking Report
Our legislative tracking report focuses on matters relating to environment and energy, safety and fuel economy/climate change. The report covers two years-worth of bills (the length of each Congressional session) and includes summaries and status updates for each tracked bill. Links to bill text and related information are provided.

All of our reports are distributed monthly via email as a PDF. Subscribers also get access to an online archive of past reports.

For pricing, contact Dale Kardos at (202) 3064997 or [email protected]. For more information about Kardos & Associates LLC, see www.kardosllc.com.

For a PDF of this information, click here.

Tire Safety

On Oct. 27, 2015, NTSB issued a press release unveiling a special investigation report which states that NTSB found that the way tires are currently registered and recalled is ineffective. It also said there is insufficient guidance by the tire and automotive industries on the risks associated with tire aging.  According to the report, NTSB found that for the 3.2 million tires recalled from 2009-2013, the recall completion rate was only 44 percent. NTSB also reports that only about 20 percent of affected tires are returned to the manufacturer. This compares to a 78% recall completion rate that exists for vehicles. 

As a result of the study, the NTSB makes nine recommendations to NHTSA to improve registration and recall processes, develop better guidance for consumers on issues related to tire aging and service life, and promote technological innovations that will reduce tire-related crashes. The NTSB also made recommendations to AAA, the RMA and tire manufacturers.    

An executive summary of the report, including findings and safety recommendations, is available at http://go.usa.gov/c3pQH. The full report will be posted on the NTSB website in several weeks.