Source: Gasgoo
At the end of April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicated that by September 2029, almost all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the United States must have an Automatic Emergency Braking system (AEB). Once the new rules take effect, that will save at least 360 lives and prevent at least 24,000 injuries each year.
In the 2021 Infrastructure Act, Congress directed NHTSA to develop a rule to establish minimum performance standards for automatic emergency braking systems. Such systems use sensors such as cameras and radar to detect the possibility of a collision and automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not brake.
Image source: Tesla
The new rule requires automatic emergency braking systems to detect pedestrians during the day and night. However, some manufacturers with smaller volumes will be allowed to equip the system until September 2030.
In 2023, NHTSA had proposed requiring nearly all vehicles to comply with the rule within three years after it was published, but now it gives automakers five years. According to NHTSA, all passenger cars and trucks traveling at 62 miles per hour can stop and avoid hitting the vehicle in front of them. When there is an imminent collision with the car in front and the car is traveling at 90 miles per hour or less, the braking system needs to brake automatically. When a pedestrian is detected, the system can be activated within 45 miles per hour.
Traffic deaths in the US fell 3.6 percent in 2023, and its the second consecutive year of decline. However, the number still well above pre-pandemic levels and higher than any year between 2008 to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, pedestrian deaths rose 0.7 percent to 7,522, which is the highest figure since 1981.
In 2016, 20 automakers voluntarily agreed to set automatic emergency braking standards for nearly all U.S. vehicles by 2022. In December 2023, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said the 20 automakers had equipped at least 95 percent of their vehicles with AEB systems.
