The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called for automatic emergency braking and pedestrian AEB systems to be a requirement on new cars and light trucks.
Announcing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the NHTSA said the change could reduce crashes associated with pedestrians and rear-end crashes as well as saving at least 360 lives a year, and reduce injuries by at least 24,000 annually.
“Today, we take an important step forward to save lives and make our roadways safer for all Americans,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
“Just as lifesaving innovations from previous generations like seat belts and air bags have helped improve safety, requiring automatic emergency braking on cars and trucks would keep all of us safer on our roads.”
The proposed rule is a key component of the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, which was launched in January 2022 to address the national crisis in traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
The NRSS adopts the safe system approach and builds multiple layers of protection with safer roads, safer people, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-crash care. As part of the safe system approach, the rule highlights safer vehicles and USDOT’s effort to expand vehicle systems and features that help to prevent crashes.
If adopted as proposed, nearly all US light vehicles (gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less) would be required to have AEB technology three years after the publication of a final rule.
