The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced a four-percent reduction to its workforce, aligning with broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the size of government agencies. Prior to the most recent round of layoffs, the agency employed around 800 personnel.
Despite this reduction, the NHTSA emphasizes that critical positions related to saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic losses from traffic crashes have been retained, ensuring its core mission remains intact, per a recent report from Reuters.
The NHTSA job cuts were announced amid several active investigations into Tesla’s advanced driver assistance technology systems. The agency launched an initial investigation in October of 2023, highlighting into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software following reports of four crashes, including one fatal accident.
Additionally, in January of 2024, the agency opened a separate probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles after multiple incidents linked to Tesla’s “Summon” remote vehicle movement feature. The inquiries follow a recall of more than two million vehicles in December of 2023 aimed at addressing issues concerning Tesla Autopilot engagement and driver attention monitoring.
NHTSA crash test vehicle
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is a senior adviser to President Trump and is leading the administration’s effort to shrink government via DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), created via executive order on January 20th, 2025.
Alongside its ongoing investigations, the NHTSA is also undergoing leadership changes. President Trump has nominated Jonathan Morrison, a former agency chief counsel during the first Trump administration and Apple attorney, to lead the agency.
Meanwhile, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has directed the NHTSA to reconsider fuel economy rules for new vehicles through the 2031 model year, undoing fuel efficiency standards previously established under President Biden. Secretary Duffy cites concerns that fuel economy rules are making new vehicles too expensive. However, the NHTSA states that the regulations would save 64 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce carbon emissions by 659 million metric tons, adding that long-term fuel savings would outweigh the initial costs.
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Even if you think government is too big, this is one of departments that is absolutely essential for your safety on the road.
Cutting funding is going to lead to more automaker cost-cutting and other bad practices that will lead to more serious injury and death on the roads. The Cybertruck will be the new standard.
And Musk will force the approval of his Robotaxi along with his FSD as level 5 on all other models and the deaths will significantly increase.
Apparently that’s what Trump supporters wanted.
GMC Fan, You mean president Musk.
In 2008, the NHTSA performed a study on the benefits of amber rear turn signals over red rear turn signals. The study showed that amber rear turn signals were significantly safer by preventing crashes by 28% more than red turn signals.
In 2015, they repeated the same survey showing amber rear turn signals were significantly safer by preventing crashes by 5.3% more than red turn signals. Basically, proving that amber turn signals are safer and should have been mandated like in every other developed country in the world.
And I can even say this from personal experience. One day I am driving in heavy traffic behind a Chevy Astro (which uses red brakelamp turn signals) with its hazards on effectively disabling its brakelamps. The only indication I had was a crappy LED center brake lamp which in this era of GM cars, the diodes would fail often, barely leaving half a center brake lamp left working as a warning indicator. The guy slammed on his brakes and I went from 6 car lengths to barely missing rear-ending him by probably 6 inches. Keep in mind, we were on a highway with heavy traffic (so I couldn’t clear away from him) and moving somewhat fast at the same time. Had the damn Astro had amber hazrds/turn signals keeping his brake lamps working (and of course, if he kept up with working bulbs), I wouldn’t have nearly hit him.
So why am I bringing this up? The NHTSA which is supposed to be a regulatory department has done this survey that has not only proven by themselves, but globally been proven amber turn signals to be more effective than red turn signal. But yet here we are in 2025 and we still have not mandated this rule in the US.
While yes there are many safety requirements we needed and have saved lives, like seatbelts and airbags, the NHTSA only enforces laws when convenient to them and not when it isn’t. They fail to enforce globally accepted practices like amber turn signals because it would cost auto manufactures an extra 5 cents a car to add an extra pair of wires and bulbs meanwhile we are required to have costly backup cameras.
Great point 85ZingoGTR,
Remember too how the US had inferior headlights to the rest of the world for a long time because NHTSA only allowed sealed beams. In that instance you could say they actually hindered auto safety.
More recently, NHTSA just issued an edict in 2024 to require automatic emergency braking by 2029. Most cars have had that for years. Twenty years ago, I bought a new BMW that had it. Every vehicle I’ve owned since then has had it too so they’re not exactly quick on the draw at NHTSA.
Rocket3,
Glass seal beam headlights were my favorite.
The glass would warm and keep ice and snow from sticking to them. You could brush and scrape the ice and snow off of them without any damage to them. They didn’t oxidize and turn cloudy. You could wash them with just about anything without having to worry about damaging the plastic. You could even use a damp Scotch Brite pad to scrape the bugs off them. For me they were no worry maintenance free, unless one burns out. They were never hard to replace.
I was led to believe that they stopped using glass seal beam headlights because the broken glass was more dangerous in an accident. I see many cars driving down the street with their plastic lenses so cloudy that the headlights barely shine 50 ft.
JohnZ,
Hard to argue with any of that. Also, if your headlight was damaged, it could be replaced cheaply and easily with a new one from any auto parts store. Just unscrew the old and screw in the new. Unfortunately they just didn’t perform their function as well as headlamps today. I wish todays headlamps used actual glass. I think that would return the easy-to-clean and heat-up functions you referenced.
Ehdit0r,
I’ve felt for a long time that NHTSA is largely useless as a driver of auto safety. They may still have some role to play but it’s greatly diminished compared to the agency’s early years. The real force behind safer cars today is the IIHS. The tests they perform and release to the public in the form of safety grades and, most importantly, the videos do more to push the automakers to build better cars than NHTSA’s edicts ever did. Those are usually slow to be released and watered down because of the automakers’ lobbyists.
When was the last time you actually saw a NHTSA crash test? I can’t remember any recent ones and the organization started allowing carmakers to self-certify a few years ago rather than them testing every product. I think that speaks to the reality that the IIHS is really doing the heavy lifting now.
A four percent cut is very modest so I can’t imagine that will result in less safe vehicles. I think much of NHTSA could actually be disbanded, a lot more than four percent. It is perhaps an agency that has outlived its usefulness. To be sure if IIHS ever stopped doing the excellent work it does it might be time to staff it back up. We need NHTSA to officially require certain safety features and perhaps force recalls but truly having the public watch a car crash into the offset barrier is a huge incentive to carmakers to build safer vehicles.
In the early 2000s the IIHS crash tested the Ford F150 and despite its ‘Built Ford Tough’ persona it performed horribly. The video was utterly shocking. NHTSA didn’t have to get involved at all. Ford launched a successor to that truck that was dramatically improved from a safety standpoint. No doubt extreme embarrassment at The Glass House in Dearborn was all the incentive needed.
Good point. If planes keep crashing like Value Jet, they would go out of business. Free Market forces would see to that. But, what about kids who ride in those early Ford ‘00s you reference? They don’t have a choice and can’t possibly do the research into safety. Same thing with me. We live in a complex world. A few years back, if Hans the buggy maker made crappy buggies in a small town, he would be immediately out of business. Research would be easy.
Rocket 3,
I really did like glass lenses on headlights. I can understand them not wanting to use glass anymore. I’m sure there is plastics out there that don’t yellow, get cloudy, or scratch easy. Automotive manufacturers probably didn’t want to spend the extra money on better plastic lenses. The lenses they use now hold up well through the warranty period. After that what do they care.
Some things aren’t all that well thought out. I live between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. Sometimes I think the automotive engineers have no clue that there is snow and ice in places in this country.
Here is a somewhat automotive related snafu that you may find humorous.
They went around and changed all of the traffic lights to LEDs. It was going to save them a lot of money on electricity and the LEDs would last much longer than what they were using. All looked good on paper. Only to find out that the new LEDs did not generate enough heat to melt away the snow and ice from the traffic lights. When you had blowing snow it would cover the lenses and you could not see what color the traffic lights were. I think they went back and added a small heating element. Engineers are atrocious for not wanting to give up on their bad ideas.
A four percent reduction. Who cares. People that are whining about this should do the math, and realize how miniscule a reduction this is…it’s a drop in the bucket.
Hilarious you think this is ending at 4%.
Isn’t this one of the depts that set absurd mpg requirements? If so, they can eff off.
… and EPA, catering to IIHS and climate groups, putting cars in an expensive corner.
Seat belts are an affront to my personal freedoms. Like the Fauci masks. My coal mine work buddies, who don’t collect welfare, can’t even have a few drinks after work without getting hassled by the big government. Trump will fix this. He has done more in three weeks than any President except Lincoln. And he is on his way.
All the country needs is Trump to head to Ford’s Theater.