Contact:	Bob Redding (202) 543-1440
For Release:	Immediate News Bulletin 99.96 December 14, 1999

NHTSA Releases Braking Information Report

Washington, D.C., Dec.14, 1999 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a final report entitled, Consumer Braking Information.

The report, over 170 pages long, tells of federal regulators' plans to develop a broad new system of safety ratings for vehicles that could include testing the performance of brakes and lights of new cars, sport utility vehicles and pickups.

Bob Redding, ASA's Washington, D.C., representative sent Rosalyn Milman, NHTSA's Acting Administrator, a letter expressing concern of what the report did not address. In the letter, Redding said, "While it is the goal of the report to make the public aware of the agency's investigation of brake performance of vehicles for the New Car Assessment Program, it also helps to highlight the lack of agency interest in vehicles that have already left the showroom."

Redding also stated, "As for the Agency's safety inspection advocacy efforts, we are aware of little other than an occasional letter to state legislatures supporting safety inspection. Thus, we are left with less than half the states in this country inspecting vehicles. We believe that the agency should be on the front lines defending these state programs as well as advocating new programs in states that do not presently have vehicle inspection laws."

Officials at NHTSA said that they hope to have a rating system in place as early as next fall that tells consumers how quickly new cars and light trucks stop.

The report includes results from stopping tests on 10 vehicles - five cars, two minivans, a cargo van, a sport utility vehicle, and a pickup truck. All the vehicles chosen were 1998 or newer models. The results show that cars, which are lighter, stopped more quickly than the light trucks. All of the vehicles stopped within the distance federal law requires.

Agency officials said they would continue doing more testing of brakes as they continue to evaluate potential rating systems. NHTSA already rates vehicles in front- and side-impact crashes by giving them one to five stars, with five stars as the highest rating.

The Automotive Service Association is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind, serving more than 13,000 businesses and approximately 70,000 professionals from all segments of the automotive service industry. ASA's headquarters is in Bedford, Texas.

ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representation and member services. Additional information about ASA, including past news releases, is available on the ASA Web Site on the Internet (http://www.asashop.org).