On March 10, 2022, Deputy NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff signed a “first-of-its-kind” final rule revising occupant protection standards for automated vehicles. The rule “updates the occupant protection Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards [“FMVSS”] to account for vehicles that do not have traditional manual controls associated with a human driver because they are equipped with automated driving systems [“ADS”].” This is essentially NHTSA’s first attempt to address the effects of vehicle automation on crashworthiness systems.
Continue Reading NHTSA Issues “First-Of-Its-Kind” Final Crashworthiness Rule for Automated Vehicles
Congress Proposes Booster Seat Safety Act—What to Know
Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Katie Porter, D-Calif. recently announced that they will be introducing the Booster Seat Safety Act to implement sweeping changes to regulations governing child booster seat safety.
The legislation follows a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which follows a ProPublica report, which was prompted by a class action and another class action, both of which were prompted by a prior products liability lawsuit.
The Act seeks to introduce a number of mandatory reforms. Per the Subcommittee press release:Continue Reading Congress Proposes Booster Seat Safety Act—What to Know