Posted in Car Accident,In the News on May 25, 2013
If crash avoidance technologies, like forward collision warning systems are installed in all automobiles, then it could eliminate as many as 60% of all highway accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board is quoting those figures in order to support its call for auto safety technologies to be made mandatory in all automobiles.
The call was made as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s annual wish list of safety improvements that the Board released recently. Among the many items on the 10-item list, is a call for a federal mandate that would require that crash avoidance technologies be installed in all passenger vehicles, as well as commercial vehicles.
The technologies that the National Transportation Safety Board wants to be made mandatory include forward collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, speed limiting systems, automatic braking, electronic stability control as well as tire pressure monitoring systems.
These features are currently available in several models of automobiles, but have not been made standard. Electronic stability control systems have been made standard on some passenger vehicles, but the National Transmission Safety Board wants the feature to be made mandatory in all vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. According to the Board, if there’s a federal mandate for the installation of these systems, it will lower the price of the technology, and make these devices more affordable.
The more vehicles that are fitted with such crash avoidance technologies, the greater the benefits. In fact, the Board believes that when most cars on the road are fitted with auto safety technologies, as many as 60% of all highway accidents will be prevented.
