By Steven Symes 
Many shoppers rely on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and its five-star safety rating system. But automakers weren’t such fans of a planned update to that system, which has now been pushed back by the federal regulatory agency.
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That means 2026 model year vehicles will be scored based on the old rating system we all know and love. It won’t be until the 2027 model year that the new rating system will be used, offering a bit of a reprieve to the industry.
Just like with many other rapidly increasing regulations under the Biden administration, this one riled automakers and we heard plenty about it before. They’ve found a listening ear with the Trump administration, but we imagine this makes certain safety advocates less than happy.
After all, even though cars are far safer than they were even a decade ago, some people think government regulations haven’t gone far enough until there are zero deaths on public roads. We don’t know if that goal is ever achievable, to be honest.
As Reuters points out, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which many automakers are party to, argued that NHTSA’s new safety standards were being rolled out too fast and with insufficient guidance, especially when it comes to pedestrian crash tests.
Like we’ve covered before, among the new standards is the inclusion of Advanced Emergency Braking on virtually all new cars. Automakers have contended that’s not financially feasible. And that’s the thing, this constant march to higher safety standards has help balloon the cost of new vehicles.
That in turn means people are keeping their cars longer, ironically keeping them in vehicles that are leagues apart from the new safety standards.
When it comes to pedestrian safety standards, some have arguably made new cars more dangerous around pedestrians and cyclists, like the taller hood heights to make space between it and the engine.
Image via NHTSA