them mainly for younger riders and three states
have no requirement, the association said.
The NTSB also recommended that the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration evaluate a
car’s ability to avoid crashes with bicycles as part
of the agency’s planned update of its five-star
crash test ratings program. Collision avoidance
technology, such as automatic emergency
braking or pedestrian detection systems, could
be modified to detect bicycles, the NTSB wrote
in a report. The report said that delays by NHTSA
in updating the new car ratings program “have
likely slowed the development of important
safety systems for vulnerable road users and
their implementation into the vehicle fleet.”
NHTSA has said it plans a significant update to
its automobile crash test ratings next year, and
it will look at including new technology to make
roads safer. The agency said it would study new
test procedures and updates to its rating system
for automobiles, as well as technology that will
better protect pedestrians and bicyclists.
Also, slow progress by the Department of
Transportation in developing standards for
connected vehicle technology has delayed use
of potential life-saving devices, the NTSB wrote.
The NTSB report said that one-quarter of all fatal
collisions with bicycles happened as a motorist
was overtaking a bicyclist on stretches of roads
between intersections. Intersection crashes were
more frequent, but crashes outside intersections
often were fatal more often because vehicles
tend to be traveling faster, the agency wrote.
The NTSB investigates crashes and makes
recommendations in an effort to stop them
from happening again. It last issued a report on
bicycle safety in 1972.
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