Federal Government Policy and Business

U.S. Proposes Overhaul of Car-Safety Ratings

The Wall Street Journal (online registration required): The U.S. is proposing adding automatic brakes and other advanced safety features to a five-star rating program for new vehicles, a significant regulatory overhaul that could help spur widespread adoption of driverless-car technologies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday proposed adding assessments of the features in the hopes the safety breakthroughs will eventually become mainstays on cars and trucks the way air bags and electronic stability control have over the years. Autonomous driving technologies such as lane-departure and blind-spot warnings increasingly allow vehicles to avoid crashes as opposed to simply helping drivers survive collisions. More than 32,000 people die each year on U.S. roads.

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