As a Federal agency, NHTSA regulates the safety of motor vehicles and related equipment.
POLICY & GUIDANCE
Guidance DocumentsREPORTS TO CONGRESS
Evaluation & UpdatesPart 583 AALA Reports
American Automobile Labeling Act ReportsLETTER OF INTERPRETATION
Letters from NHTSA's Chief CounselSettlement Amounts since FY-1999
Civil Penalty Settlement AmountsRegulations
NHTSA issues Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to implement laws from Congress. These regulations allow us to fulfill our mission to prevent and reduce vehicle crashes.
FMVSS Number | Part | Subject | Actions |
---|---|---|---|
208 |
49 CFR Part 595 |
Air Bag Deactivation | Notice of proposed rulemaking |
121 | 49 CFR Part 571 | Air Brake Systems Amends the FMVSS on air brake systems to improve the stopping distance performance of truck tractors. The rule requires the vast majority of new heavy truck tractors to achieve a 30 percent reduction in stopping distance compared to currently required levels. For these heavy truck tractors (approximately 99 percent of the fleet), the amended standard requires those vehicles to stop in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and tested at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph). For a small number of very heavy severe service tractors, the stopping distance requirement will be 310 feet under these same conditions. In addition, this final rule requires that all heavy truck tractors must stop within 235 feet when loaded to their “lightly loaded vehicle weight” (LLVW). |
Final Rule: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems, Final Rule - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems |
121 | 49 CFR Part 571 | Air Brake Systems Amends the FMVSS on air brake systems to improve the stopping distance performance of truck tractors. The rule requires the vast majority of new heavy truck tractors to achieve a 30 percent reduction in stopping distance compared to currently required levels. For these heavy truck tractors (approximately 99 percent of the fleet), the amended standard requires those vehicles to stop in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and tested at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph). For a small number of very heavy severe service tractors, the stopping distance requirement will be 310 feet under these same conditions. In addition, this final rule requires that all heavy truck tractors must stop within 235 feet when loaded to their “lightly loaded vehicle weight” (LLVW). |
Final Rule: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems , Final Rule - partial response to petitions for reconsideration.: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Air Brake Systems |
49 CFR Part 538 |
Automobile Fuel Economy Manufacturing Incentives for Alternative Fueled Vehicles This final rule extends the incentive created by the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (AMFA) to encourage the continued production of motor vehicles capable of operating on alternative fuels for four additional model years covering model years (MY) 2005 to MY 2008. Under the special procedures for calculating the fuel economy of those vehicles contained in AMFA, alternative and dual fueled vehicles are assigned a higher fuel economy value for CAFE purposes, which can result in manufacturers earning credits for their fleets. The final rule limits the maximum amount of credit that may be applied to any manufacturers' fleet to 0.9 mpg per fleet during MY 2005 - MY 2008. |
Final Rule | |
49 CFR Parts 523, 531, 533, 534, 536 and 537 | Average Fuel Economy Standards, Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, Model Year 2011 NHTSA estimates that the MY 2011 standards will raise the industry-wide combined average to 27.3 mpg, save 887 million gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the MY 2011 cars and light trucks, and reduce CO2 emissions by 8.3 million metric tons during that period. |
Final Regulatory Impact Analysis: Corporate Average Fuel Economy for MY 2011 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks , Final Rule, Record of Decision: Average Fuel Economy Standards Passenger Cars and Light Trucks Model Year 2011 | |
49 CFR Parts 523, 531, 534, 536, 537 | Average Fuel Economy Standards, Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, Model Years 2011-2015 Proposes substantial increases in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light trucks that would enhance energy security by improving fuel economy. Since the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from the tailpipes of new motor vehicles is the natural by-product of the combustion of fuel, the increased standards would also address climate change by reducing tailpipe emissions of CO2. Those emissions represent 97 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. Implementation of the new standards would dramatically add to the billions of barrels of fuel already saved since the beginning of the CAFE program in 1975. |
Supplemental Notice of Public Scoping for an Environmental Impact Statement for New Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix C, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix B - Air Quality and Climate Modeling Data, Request for Product Plan Information: Passenger Car Average Fuel Economy Standards--Model Years 2008-2020 and Light Truck Average Fuel Economy Standards--Model Years 2008-2020, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix A: Sources Identified in Scoping Comments, Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, Model Years 2011-2015 , Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis: Corporate Average Fuel Economy for MY 2011-2015 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): Average Fuel Economy Standards Passenger Cars and Light Trucks | |
49 CFR Part 571 |
Child Restraint Anchorage Systems | Final rule, response to petitions for reconsideration, Final rule; Response to Petitions for Reconsideration | |
49 CFR Part 213 |
Child Restraint Anchorage Systems | Final Economic Assessment, Proposed Amendment, Preliminary Regulatory Evaluation, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Preliminary Regulatory Evaluation | |
49 CFR Parts 571 | Child Restraint System - Anton's Law - FY 2005 This document responds to Section 4(b) and Section 3(b)(2) of Anton’s Law, which directed NHTSA to initiate rulemaking on child restraint system safety, with a specific focus on booster seats and restraints for children who weigh more than 50 pounds (lb). After the enactment of Anton’s Law, this agency increased the applicability of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child restraint systems, from restraints recommended for children up to 50 lb to restraints recommended for children up to 65 lb. Today’s document proposes a further expansion, to restraints recommended for children up to 80 lb. It also proposes to require booster seats and other restraints to meet performance criteria when tested with a crash test dummy representative of a 10-year-old child. Section 4(a) and all other provisions of Section 3 were addressed in rulemaking documents issued previously by NHTSA. |
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Child Restraint Systems | |
49 CFR Part 571 |
Child Restraint Systems | Final Rule | |
49 CFR Part 213, 225 |
Child Restraint Systems Child restraint systems are the most effective way to protect young children involved in motor vehicle crashes. |
Final Economic Assessment | |
49 CFR Part 571 |
Child Restraint Systems; Child Restraint Anchorage Systems | Final rule, response to petitions for reconsideration, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Final Rule, Advance notice of proposed rulemaking | |
Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 (CARS Program) The Act establishes a new program under which the government will provide $3,500 or $4,500 to help consumers purchase or lease a new, more fuel efficient car, van, sport utility vehicle or pickup truck from a participating dealer when they trade in an old, less fuel efficient vehicle. |
Summary of the CARS Act of 2009 and Notice of Upcoming Rulemaking Proceeding, Amendment to Final Rule: Requirements and Procedures for Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program, Final Rule: Requirements and Procedures for Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program, Final Regulatory Impact Analysis: Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 | ||
49 CFR Part 575 |
Consumer Information Regulations; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rollover Resistance | Response to Comments, Notice of Final Decision | |
49 CFR Part 575 |
Consumer Information; New Car Assessment Program; Rollover Resistance | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rollover ResistanceFinal Policy Statement, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
NHTSA on the Federal Register
View notices, proposed rules and final rules NHTSA administers. Also respond to requests for comment.