WASHINGTON—The White House said on Monday that President Joe Biden will nominate the acting director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the highest office.
Ann Carlson, the agency’s chief attorney, was named NHTSA’s acting director in September. She has overseen Tesla’s safety research and efforts to reduce road fatalities and significantly increase vehicle fuel efficiency requirements.
For the past six years, NHTSA has not had a Senate-approved administrator. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, US road traffic deaths have increased exponentially. Traffic deaths will rise 10.5% to 42,915 in 2021, making him the highest number of road fatalities in a year since 2005.
In January, Carlson said the agency was investigating the impact of vehicle size on road safety and was “extremely concerned” about “the extent to which the heavier the vehicle, the higher the fatality rate.” rice field.
The company is “investing a lot of resources” into the Tesla investigation, Carlson said in January, refusing to commit to a timeframe for resolving the investigation. We are moving quickly, but we also want to be careful and make sure we have all the information we need.”
In June, NHTSA upgraded its defect investigation of 830,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with the driver assistance system Autopilot and involved in collisions with parked emergency vehicles.
NHTSA is investigating whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure driver attention.
NHTSA is set to propose new fuel economy standards for model year 2027 and beyond in April, which could dramatically change the shape of new cars on American roads, Carlson said.
In March 2020, the Republican administration of former President Donald Trump lowered the bar to just 1.5% annual efficiency growth through 2026. The 2021 Biden administration reversed Trump’s actions and directed NHTSA and the Environmental Protection Agency to work on the next tougher rules.
