Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should document an evaluation plan for the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network pedestrian pilot program that includes criteria for determining whether and how to scale the pilot program to ensure that the piloted data-collection and analysis procedures will address NHTSA's data needs related to pedestrian injuries and vehicle characteristics. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, NHTSA reported that it plans to develop an evaluation plan for the CIREN pedestrian pilot program by April 30, 2021 to inform decisions about further investigative pedestrian crash studies. According to NHTSA this plan will address research needs categorized as either crash worthiness, crash avoidance, or behavioral in nature, and will include criteria for investigative study elements and the scope or scalability of those studies. NHTSA also reported that in developing the evaluation plan it will consider input from stakeholders, including the first-hand experience from the CIREN pilot study sites. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should document the overall process for making changes to NCAP, including established criteria and milestones for decisions, and share this process with external stakeholders. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2020, NHTSA reported that it is developing proposed updates to NCAP, which it plans to publish in a notice in the Federal Register by the end of 2020. According to NHTSA this notice will clarify the process by which NHTSA updates NCAP, and after receiving and responding to comments, NHTSA plans to update its website to provide information to stakeholders on how the agency considers and finalizes changes to NCAP. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should decide whether to include pedestrian safety tests in NCAP and NHTSA should communicate this decision and rationale to relevant stakeholders and the public. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2020, NHTSA reported that it is developing its proposal on planned changes to NCAP, which is expected to include pedestrian safety tests, and is working to publish a notice to the Federal Register by the end of 2020. According to NHTSA, this process will include receiving public comment on the proposal, which the agency will consider in deciding and communicating NHTSA's next stages. As stated in GAO's report, in the absence of a decision on whether to include pedestrian safety testing in NCAP, and the rationale for that decision, stakeholders lack clarity on whether NHTSA is using all of the policy tools at its disposal to address emerging safety risks and to achieve its strategic objectives. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's efforts to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should recommend to the expert panel of the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria to update the Criteria to provide a standardized definition of underride crashes and to include underride as a recommended data field. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT also noted that NHTSA will recommend a crash underride data element for inclusion in the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria 6th Edition, tentatively scheduled for issuance in the summer of 2020.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should provide information to state and local police departments on how to identify and record underride crashes. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT also noted that NHTSA--as well as FMCSA--will develop informational materials for state and local police departments that educate end users, such as police officers, on how to identify and record underride crashes. DOT plans to post the training materials on NHTSA's and FMCSA's public websites by the fall of 2021.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should revise Appendix G of the agency's regulations to require that rear guards are inspected during commercial vehicle annual inspections. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT noted that FMCSA initiated a rulemaking to include rear impact guards on the list of items that must be examined as part of the required annual inspection of commercial motor vehicles. DOT added that the rulemaking would ensure that vehicles with missing or damaged rear guards would not satisfy the annual inspection criteria. FMCSA expects to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in February 2020.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should conduct additional research on side underride guards to better understand the overall effectiveness and cost associated with these guards and, if warranted, develop standards for their implementation. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT noted that NHTSA is conducting a review of police accident reports of light vehicle crashes into the side of trailers in order to (1) estimate the number of fatalities from side underride crashes and (2) understand the effectiveness of side underride guards in preventing and mitigating the severity of side underride crashes. NHTSA then plans to conduct an analysis of the impacts of requiring side underride guards on trucks and trailers. NHTSA plans to complete these analyses by September 2020.

Recommendation: Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should develop specific program goals and performance measures related to NG911 implementation. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) indicated that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working to implement the recommendation and plans to complete implementation in July 2020. When we confirm what actions NHTSA has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should, in collaboration with the appropriate federal agencies, determine roles and responsibilities of federal agencies participating in the National NG911 Roadmap initiative in order to carry out the national-level tasks over which each agency has jurisdiction. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) indicated that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working to implement the recommendation and plans to complete implementation in July 2020. When we confirm what actions NHTSA has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: Regarding the National 911 Program, the Administrator of NHTSA should develop an implementation plan to support the completion of the National NG911 Roadmap's national-level tasks. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) indicated that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working to implement the recommendation and plans to complete implementation in July 2020. When we confirm what actions NHTSA has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to provide additional guidance to crash test labs and accreditation bodies to ensure that labs have a clear separation between device development and testing in cases where lab employees test devices that were developed within their parent organization.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA has not determined what actions, if any, it plans to take to address this recommendation. During 2019, FHWA officials stated that the agency was planning, in consultation with state departments of transportation, to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results from crash-test labs. The initial plan was to work with an outside organization that would assume responsibility for third party verification by mid to late 2020. This outside organization was to be responsible for developing guidelines with respect to lab independence and dealing with cases where a testing lab and a hardware developer are owned by the same parent company. According to FHWA officials, while the agency engaged with two outside organizations, it has not been able to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results through an outside organization and is considering additional options. As a result, FHWA is re-evaluating actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to develop a process for third-party verification of results from crash-test labs.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA has not determined what actions, if any, it plans to take to address this recommendation. During 2019, FHWA officials stated that the agency was planning, in consultation with state departments of transportation, to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results from crash-test labs. The initial plan was to work with an outside organization that would assume responsibility for third party verification by mid to late 2020. According to FHWA officials, while the agency engaged with two outside organizations, it has not been able to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results through an outside organization and is considering additional options. As a result, FHWA is re-evaluating actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to support additional research and disseminate results on roadside safety hardware's in-service performance, either as part of future phases of FHWA's current pilot study on guardrail end terminals' performance or as part of FHWA's broader research portfolio.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA officials stated that the agency expects the pilot program report to be issued in December 2020, but it will not report results because the sample sizes were too small. In addition, officials told us that no further research into in-service performance evaluations are planned.