NHTSA Chief Nicole Nason to Step Down in August

Nicole Nason, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told Transportation Secretary Mary Peters she plans to leave the agency in August, the Associated Press reported.

Nason has led NHTSA since May 2006. She promoted advanced safety technology and helped shape a proposal to increase gas mileage rules in response to an energy law requiring fleetwide averages of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, AP reported.

NHTSA under her watch also required automakers to install anti-rollover electronic stability controls on all new vehicles by the 2012 model year, and required vehicles to provide head protection in side-impact crashes, AP said.

The agency, which is part of the Department of Transportation, also recently upgraded its consumer crash test program for new cars and trucks, AP reported.

Nason, 37, is the mother of two daughters and gave birth to a boy in February. She was credited by auto industry officials with improving parents’ understanding of child car seats and pushing for new technology to reduce drunken driving, AP reported.