April 24, 2024

On August 8, 2017 NHTSA Published a Request for Comments Related to the Paperwork Reduction Act on a New Information Collection Regarding the Use of Crash Avoidance Systems on Commercial Vehicles.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by October 10, 2017

Background: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is assessing the benefits of crash avoidance technologies for heavy trucks that include Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) to prevent fatalities, injuries, and property damage in crashes involving heavy vehicles.  Previous studies have investigated crash problem size, economic cost, and preliminary safety benefits concerning these systems. The underlying methods of these studies have included test track evaluations, objective test procedures, technology field demonstrations, and ‘‘naturalistic’’ studies. As both of the major AEB system suppliers are scheduled to release new products in the second half of 2016, NHTSA is interested in the real world performance of these new systems, which are designed to address the shortcomings of the previous generation of AEB systems. These systems have been designed to offer improved threat detection and new features such as stationary object braking. Additionally, a new product called Detroit AssuranceTM was released in 2015 for Freightliner trucks by Detroit Diesel Corporation. This system shares many features with the OnGuard and Wingman® products including advanced emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warnings (FCW), and adaptive cruise control (ACC).

 Respondents: Commercial vehicle drivers who are assigned a single, specific commercial vehicle that is equipped with the eligible technologies. Trucking fleets (approximately 7–10) will be contacted first to see if they have trucks equipped with the technologies and would be willing to have their drivers participate in the study.

Each participating driver will have a data acquisition system installed in their vehicle for three months while they perform their normal work duties. This system will collect video of the driver and forward roadway, telemetry and vehicle network data related to driving, and activations of the vehicle’s Crash Avoidance System (CAS).