• The five-star safety rating system gets an overdue overhaul to test for pedestrian safety
  • Measuring the effectiveness of driver-assist systems mirrors testing by the IIHS
  • Analysts call the updates the most significant in the agency’s 46-year history

The U.S. government’s new car safety agency will enact more rigorous crash-test criteria to offset the growing number of pedestrian fatalities as well as to reduce the severity and frequency of car crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced this week. 

Crash-test ratings will soon include evaluations of such driver-assist technology as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection as well as the efficacy of blind-spot monitors to prevent cars from veering out of lanes and/or side-swiping other vehicles.

The new assessments in the NCAP program aim to establish new test procedures and criteria for automakers to use. Within one year of enactment, the decision will let consumers see how well certain vehicles limit crashes with “vulnerable road users” such as pedestrians and cyclists. 

Started in 2021 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the 577-page decision also provides a 10-year roadmap for testing other technologies and improving crash tests. The driver-assist criteria goes into effect with the 2026 model year.

“These changes to the 5-Star Safety Ratings will speed up adoption of technologies that reduce the frequency and severity of crashes while helping consumers make informed decisions about buying a new car,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The long overdue updates to the NHTSA’s five-star safety rating assessment, formally known as the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), that appear on window stickers of new cars, marks what some analysts call the most significant update since the program started in 1978. 

“This is the biggest step forward for the five-star safety ratings since the program was created,” William Wallace, the director of safety advocacy at Consumer Reports said. “Today’s move helps keep pace with new technologies and positions NCAP for long-term success.”

The updates mirror what the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has implemented in doling out the automotive industry’s coveted Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards. The insurance industry-funded safety agency works with automakers to meet ever-increasing safety standards while working independently of the NHTSA and insurance companies. 

For the third year in a row, the IIHS raised the safety bar for 2024 by updating a front crash test to account for rear passenger safety, which over the years had become more lax as automakers focused on crash safety for front-seat occupants. Last year, the IIHS changed the side-impact test from a strike barrier weighing 3,300 pounds, as it had been since 2003, to a 4,180-pound barrier. The average weight of an SUV has increased 1,000 pounds to 4,600 pounds in the two decades since the test’s last update, according to the IIHS.

Additionally, the IIHS has included in its testing headlight effectiveness at night since the majority of crashes happen at night. Now that 95% of new cars sold come with automatic emergency braking (AEB), the IIHS has begun to assess those systems’ pedestrian detection functions. AEB applies the brakes before imminent impact—a technology estimated to cut in half the number of rear-end collisions, considered to be the most common crash type between two vehicles—and both the feds and the IIHS expect automakers to address the efficacy of such systems in preventing impacts with pedestrians. 

Even though crash fatalities dipped from 32,043 in 2001 to 26,325 in 2021, pedestrian fatalities have increased 51% in the same time, accounting for 7,388 deaths, according to the NHTSA. In 2022, the last year for complete data, the number of pedestrian fatalities hit a record high. 

More uniform and advanced testing, as well as clear communication in how such advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) work, may buck a trend that counters the goals of such systems. Many drivers misuse and over-rely on such technology, leading to more distracted driving crashes. 

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