Highway Safety Administration to Regulate Stopping Distances

he National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it planned in April to issue its long-awaited stopping-distance rule for trucks, a regulation that could have major ramifications for trucking, especially if it necessitated significant design changes such as disc brakes, industry officials said.

NHTSA would set brake performance and maintenance standards but would not dictate any specific technology, said Claude Harris, director of the agency’s Office of Crash Avoidance Standards. He said NHTSA planned to put out an advance notice of rulemaking next month.

The stopping-distance standard could be disruptive if it required changing brake technology at the same time as the industry is grappling with the government’s exhaust emission regulations, some in the industry said.