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E-mail this ArticleBeginning Sept. 1, 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will require all new vehicles with an automatic transmission to be equipped with a brake interlock. The Specialty Equipment Market Association reports that the requirement is designed to protect children from causing vehicle rollaways by inadvertently shifting a vehicle into neutral, reverse or a forward gear. NHTSA provided no data to indicate how widespread the problem may be.
The interlock will require the brake pedal to be depressed before shifting a vehicle from park; it has been voluntarily installed on many vehicles for years. The new regulation applies to all cars and light trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or less.
