Washington — The Government Accountability Office has agreed to look into how car design – together with that of huge business vehicles – might enhance security for pedestrians, bicyclists and different road customers.
The transfer is available in response to a request from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who despatched a letter to the company in May.
Raskin emphasised the necessity for options to protect pedestrians and bicyclists in “blind zones.” These embody the areas in entrance of or behind a business motorized vehicle that aren’t straight seen from the motive force’s seat.
In his letter, Raskin additionally known as on GAO to:
- Explore challenges automakers and federal regulators face in addressing pedestrian and bicycle owner security.
- Determine choices Congress and regulators ought to take into account to cut back the chance of demise associated to car design.
- Research actions of transportation security regulators in different international locations to decrease site visitors deaths.
“Traffic fatalities in the United States have persisted at alarming levels,” Raskin wrote to GAO, “with the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed annually reaching record highs.”
In a press launch from Raskin’s workplace, National Safety Council President and CEO Lorraine M. Martin applauds his request for options that “federal government leaders can implement to eliminate these preventable tragedies.”
The Together for Safer Roads coalition additionally welcomes the analysis.
“With tens of thousands of trucks traveling U.S. roads daily, we must enhance truck cab design to improve driver visibility,” TSR Executive Director Peter Goldwasser mentioned in a separate launch. “This step is vital for boosting safety outcomes, achieving safety goals, and increasing driver comfort and satisfaction.”
Goldwasser provides that London has noticed a 75% discount in deadly crashes and a 64% drop in crashes leading to extreme accidents since enacting a direct imaginative and prescient normal in 2019.
