NHTSA proposes ‘safety milestone’ rule requiring automatic emergency braking for new vehicles

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers in the U.S., was still reviewing the proposal but said many of its members already have developed and deployed the crash-avoidance technology, including pedestrian detection, on their vehicles.

“AEB is a breakthrough safety technology that uses radar, cameras and lasers to prevent crashes and save lives that the industry voluntarily committed to install in nearly all new vehicles by 2025,” the group said in a statement. “Several automakers are ahead of schedule on that commitment, and experts predict it could prevent 42,000 incidents and 20,000 injuries annually.”

For years, auto safety advocates have been urging NHTSA to require the technology on all new vehicles and set performance standards.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which urged federal regulators in March 2022 to require automakers to equip new passenger vehicles with automatic emergency braking technology that can detect and avoid pedestrians even in the dark, said NHTSA’s proposal will lead to improved systems that work properly under more conditions.

“Pedestrian AEB that works well at night is a game-changer for protecting the most vulnerable people on the road,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said in a statement. “This proven technology takes action when a driver doesn’t and can reduce the severity of a collision or prevent the collision from happening altogether.”

Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, applauded NHTSA’s action and urged it to finalize a rule “promptly.”

The agency is expected to finalize the rule by November, according to a government website.

“With the clock ticking down on the Biden administration and the number of preventable deaths piling up, there is no time to spare on bringing these rules over the finish line and these safety technologies onto production lines,” Chase said.

William Wallace, associate director of safety policy at Consumer Reports, said the proposal has been “a long time coming” and is “desperately needed.”

“We’ve seen an increase each year in the number of vehicles that offer the technology,” he said, “but ultimately these federal requirements would ensure every new car comes with this proven safety feature — without consumers being forced to pay extra for an expensive option package.”

Automatic emergency braking, part of advanced driver-assistance systems, has the potential to save lives and reduce injuries by stopping or slowing a vehicle to prevent a collision, but for some motorists, it has been problematic.

In 2022, NHTSA opened two separate investigations involving Tesla and Honda vehicles after receiving hundreds of complaints alleging unexpected activation of the automatic emergency braking system, characterized by some Tesla owners as “phantom braking.”