The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the compliance timeline for its updated Event Data Recorder (EDR) requirements. EDRs can capture pre- and post-crash data, driver inputs, and restraint usage.
The agency’s December 18, 2024, final rule expanded pre-crash data capture, increasing recording duration and sample rate from 5 seconds at 2 Hz to 20 seconds at 10 Hz. According to the NPRM, “This collection would require manufacturers of passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 lbs.”
After receiving three petitions for reconsideration from major industry groups, NHTSA now proposes delaying the compliance date by one year, from Sept. 1, 2027, to Sept. 1, 2028, and implementing a phased-in period for EDRs to meet the new requirements.
Under the proposal, 25% of applicable vehicles would need to comply starting Sept. 1, 2027, rising to 50% in 2028, 75% in 2029, and 100% by Sept. 1, 2030. Multi-stage/altered vehicles would not be required to comply right away.
According to the NPRM, “As proposed, the requirements would apply beginning September 1, 2032, to small-volume manufacturers or limited-line manufacturers and September 1, 2033, for vehicles manufactured by manufacturers producing altered vehicles or vehicles in two or more stages."
Comments on this NPRM must be received by December 29, 2025.
