Your Uber ride is going to become a lot safer some day. At least, if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gets its way.
That’s because regulators are about to start extensive testing with crash-test dummies on passengers riding in the back seat. Historically, testing has been done for drivers and front-seat passengers. However, with the prominence of ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, it’s becoming more important to ensure new vehicles are safe enough for all passengers.
The new phase of testing comes as part of the NHTSA’s new 5-Star Safety Ratings Program, with new car models being tested for backseat passengers beginning in 2019, according to Bloomberg. An initial version of the program began in 1978.
“People assume a 5-star rating extends to all seating locations, but it doesn’t,” said Kristy Arbogast, engineering director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in an interview with Bloomberg. “The back seat hasn’t kept up.”
To that effect, regulators could call for the use of air bags in back seats as well as improvements to seat belts.
Coins2Day has reached out to the NHTSA for comment and will update this story if we hear back.