Hydrogen.gov

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Motor Vehicle Safety: research, standards and compliance; defects, recall, and enforcement (49 USC 30101 et seq., 49 CFR 501-596). NHTSA regulates the safety of all motor vehicles (passenger vehicles, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses), and to that end, conducts basic research, develops and issues motor vehicle safety standards and regulations, issues interpretations of an exemptions to the standards based on technical knowledge, enforces compliance with the standards, makes determinations regarding safety related defects in vehicles and equipment, and mandates safety recalls of non-compliant and defective vehicles and equipment.

Note: 49 CFR Part 555 provides provisions for temporary exemptions from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), including the development of new motor vehicle safety standards. Manufacturers are required to file a petition for exemption under Part 555 in the event other applicable standards cannot be met.

NHTSA under 49 USC 32301 et seq., generates and provides consumer information to the public regarding the crashworthiness and safety characteristics of vehicles in order to assist consumers in making sound decisions regarding the purchase of safe vehicles.
NHTSA under 49 USC 32901 et seq., and 49 CFR 523-538, has the authority to regulate fuel economy of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Hydrogen is an alternative fuel for the purposes of the Corporate average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) program. Vehicles that use hydrogen as their only source of fuel (dedicated vehicles) or can alternately use hydrogen and petroleum fuel (dual-fuel vehicles) qualify for special calculation of their fuel economy performance under regulations administered by NHTSA. These special calculation procedures provide manufacturers with powerful incentives to develop and produce these vehicles, which could contribute to our efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign energy supplies.