Much to the dismay of industry watchdogs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has delayed its new roof crush standard and has gone back to the drawing board.
The NHTSA has not updated its roof crush standards in 35 years, and a study released earlier this year that found that there is a lower risk of injury to vehicle occupants when the roof of the vehicle is stronger has spurred their revision.
Watchdog groups say most American cars barely meet the new standard and, even so, it is to blame for nearly 10,000 deaths from car and truck rollovers each year.
Currently, a vehicle’s roof only has to support 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight. The proposed update would require roofs to support 2.5 the weight of the entire vehicle, but Congress and consumer advocate groups say the 2.5 standard isn’t strong enough. They claim that most new vehicles already conform to a 2.5 standard and that the proposed standard should be raised to 3.5.
Watchdog groups also object to a provision in the proposed rules that would prevent consumers from suing manufactures after death or injury in a rollover.