NTSB Wants Crash-Avoidance Tech to Be Mandatory

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a list today which they call the “2013 Most Wanted,” meant to bring to light ten major issues facing transportation in the coming year.

Out of the ten issues highlighted, six of them affect highway safety, and one in particular could affect the vehicles that automakers produce.

The NTSB wants to mandate collision avoidance technology as mandatory equipment for all new vehicles. NTSB lists lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, and electronic stability control as technologies that should be made mandatory by NHTSA. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) claims that 879 fatal passenger vehicle crashes and 115 fatal large truck crashes could be prevented with the implementing of mandatory forward collision warning systems.

While it sounds like installing these systems as mandatory tech would be a no-brainer, automakers have warned that the cost to the consumer will be hefty, likely somewhere between $1,000 to $3,000 extra.

“Transportation is safer than ever, but with 35,000 annual fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries, we can, and must, do better,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “The Most Wanted List is a roadmap to improving safety for all of our nation’s travelers.”

Also included on the list is the need to eliminate distracted driving, which the NTSB says can be done through stricter laws, and more technology in cars that prevents the use of handheld and other devices will the car is being driven.

“We’re releasing the list now so it is available to policymakers at the state and federal levels as well as industry groups as they craft their priorities for 2013,” Hersman said. “We want to highlight the results of our investigations and ensure that safety has a seat at the table when decisions are made.”

See the full NTSB “2013 Most Wanted” list here.