The January 2016 petition by Consumer Watchdog, the Center for Auto Safety and Joan Claybrook, former NHTSA Administrator and now President Emeritus of Public Citizen, asked the agency to require Automatic Emergency Braking, a set of three new technologies to prevent collisions, as standard equipment. But in March, NHTSA announced that it had reached a secret agreement with twenty automakers allowing them to roll out weakened versions of the technology on a “voluntary” basis over a ten year period, evading formal federal safety protections.
The groups said “Americans will pay a heavy toll in deaths and injuries” for NHTSA’s “abdication of its regulatory responsibilities,” calling it “unprecedented in the history of the agency.” See http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consumer-advocates-demand-federal-agency-act-on-auto-safety-petition-300273449.html
The quo has been revealed. Watch the DOT Revolving Door for the quid to follow at the end of the Obama Administration.
The deaths and injuries not prevented will follow later.
Lou
