1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Overview
Ezana Wondimneh
Chief, International Policy & Harmonization Division

2. U.S. Department of Transportation Modes
Office of the Secretary (OST)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC)
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Surface Transportation Board (STB)
Maritime Administration (MARAD)

3. Director, Governmental
Administrator
NOA-010
Political Appointee
Deputy
Administrator
NOA-010
Career Position
Chief Counsel
NCC-110
Director, Governmental
Affairs, Policy and
Strategic Planning
NGA-110
Director,
Communications
NCR-001
Chief Safety
Scientist
NOA-001
Director,
Civil Rights
NCR-010
Executive Director
NOA-003
AA,
National Center
For Statistics
And Analysis
NSA-010
Chief Financial
Officer
CFO-010
Associate
Administrator,
Administration
NAD-010
Chief
Information
Officer
NPO-400
AA,
Communications &
Consumer
Information
NCO-010
AA,
Research &Program
Development
NPD-010
AA,
Regional Operations
& Program Delivery
NRO-010
AA,
Rulemaking
NRM-010
AA,
Enforcement
NEF-010
AA,
Vehicle Safety
Research
NSR-010

4. Key Divisions Vehicle Safety Rulemaking Enforcement Research
National Center for Statistics and Analysis
Behavioral Safety
Traffic Injury Control
Research & Program Development
10 Regional Program Offices

5. U.S. Road Traffic Safety U.S. top transportation priority
Public health priority
>60,000 deaths per year and rising in the 1960s
Currently ~35,092 deaths a year
NHTSA (within the U.S. Dept. of Transportation) is the lead U.S. agency on crash-related injury prevention

6. Congress authorizes, approves funding and provides oversight
Congressional Authorizations
Executive Branch
Congress
DOT
Congress authorizes, approves funding and provides oversight
NHTSA

7. Congressional Authorizations
Department of Transportation Act, establishes the Department of Transportation (DOT)
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966
Energy Policy and Conservation Act, requires NHTSA to establish and revise, as appropriate, fleet average fuel economy standards
1966
1975
CAFE
1970
Highway Safety Act, establishes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) within DOT

8. The NHTSA Approach This approach is: COMPREHENSIVE
NHTSA realizes its goals of increasing road and traffic safety by establishing and enforcing rules informed by a rigorous policy approach
This approach is:
COMPREHENSIVE
Human, Vehicle, Environment
All contributing factors are examined
PERFORMANCE-BASED
Regulating the performance rather
than the design of vehicles and their components
SCIENCE-BASED and DATA-DRIVEN
Pre-crash, crash, post-crash
Rulemakings are undertaken only when grounded in theory and backed by sound, empirical evidence

9. Haddon Matrix
Vehicle
Environment
Human
Pre-Crash
Crash
Post-Crash

10. Traffic Injury Control
NHTSA’s Traffic Injury Control programs address the human behavioral factors of road safety. The Research and Program Development division develops countermeasures targeting the following key areas:
Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection
Safety Programs
Enforcement and Criminal Justice Systems
Speed Management
Young Novice Drivers
Older Drivers
Pedestrians
Motorcycles
Behavioral Safety Research
Emergency Medical Services

11. Vehicle Safety Senior Leadership
AA, National Center for Statistics and Analysis
Data Acquisitions, Traffic Records and Analysis, National Driver Register, Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation
AA, Vehicle Safety Research
Vehicle Research Test Center, Vehicle Crashworthiness Research, Vehicle Crash Avoidance and Electronic Controls Research
AA, Rulemaking
Crashworthiness, Crash Avoidance, International Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs
AA, Enforcement
Defects Investigations, Compliance, Odometer Fraud

12. NVS Process and Organizational Relationship
Strategic
Planning
Research
Data
Enforcement
Rulemaking

13. NCSA Responsibilities
Collect and analyze data for use at national, state and local levels
Develop publications for consumer information
Support research, rulemaking and behavioral programs
Conduct regulatory impact analyses of proposed safety and fuel economy standards
Evaluate success of requirements and programs
Administer National Driver Register

14. Research Responsibilities
Develop and conduct research programs to advance understanding of safety issues and support development of enforceable regulations and consumer information
Conduct studies on vehicles and components to understand safety implications and countermeasure strategies
Research advanced technologies for potential to address safety problems and adoption into regulatory or consumer information programs
Study human-vehicle interactions to identify risk and mitigation strategies of new and existing technologies
Study human injury mechanisms to assess, prevent and mitigate injuries and enhance biomechanical fidelity of test devices

15. Rulemaking Responsibilities
Develop and update regulations for vehicles and equipment
Crashworthiness – ability of vehicle to withstand forces of crash with minimal impact to occupants and non-occupants (airbags, seat belts, etc.)
Crash Avoidance – devices on vehicles that prevent the crash from occurring (lights, tires, etc.)
Fuel Economy – set Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards
New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)
Ratings system to motivate vehicle and equipment manufacturers by generating market forces
Promote voluntarily design of safer vehicles without implementation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
International Policy & Harmonization
Develop global technical regulations under the UN 1998 Agreement
Coordinate agency-wide international activities and initiatives

16. Enforcement Responsibilities
Enforce compliance with FMVSS
Testing 100 vehicles & hundreds of equipment items to standards each year
Import compliance
Investigate possible safety defects and ensure recall of defective vehicles and equipment
Several hundred recalls occur each year
Investigate odometer fraud – criminal prosecutions
Collect CAFE penalties

17. Thank you