This bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to update vehicle crash test rules and the tests used under the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). For frontal crashes, it requires adding a 50th percentile adult male THOR testing device and a 5th percentile adult female THOR testing device to the regulations, sets deadlines for proposed and final rules, and requires updated injury criteria (head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper leg, lower leg) based on real-world injuries. The bill also requires that female test devices be used in all front seating positions that are tested for adult male occupants. For side crashes, it requires adding 50th percentile adult male and 5th percentile adult female Worldwide Harmonized Side Impact Dummy devices to the regulations, sets deadlines for proposed and final rules, and requires updated injury criteria (head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper leg) and female testing in front seating positions. The bill directs the Secretary to update NCAP testing procedures to use the new devices and includes timing rules for when NCAP updates must be published. The bill also requires a Testing Devices Roadmap: an initial report within 1 year to Congressional committees identifying timelines for other testing devices being researched, comparing devices used in other countries, and describing a process to update U.S. testing devices. If no updates are needed, the initial report must explain why. A follow-up report is required 5 years after the initial report to describe progress and any new advanced devices used abroad.
The bill would change which crash test dummies and test procedures regulators use to assess passenger vehicle crashworthiness. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be asked to use specific male and female test devices in frontal and side crash tests and to update injury measures based on real-world injury data. The New Car Assessment Program’s testing procedures would be updated to include these devices. The bill also requires agency reports to Congress about other testing devices and possible future updates.
No publicly available information.
The text of the bill requires regulators to add specific male and female testing devices, to set injury criteria based on real-world injuries, and to align NCAP testing with those devices. It also calls for reports on other devices being researched and on devices used in other countries. These provisions show the sponsors’ intent to revise testing procedures and include female test devices in standard crash testing.
No publicly available information.