The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) has announced that automatic emergency braking will be required to come standard in all new U.S. passenger vehicles in five years— a change the NHTSA says will hopefully save hundreds of lives and thousands of injuries every year.
“We’re living through a crisis in roadway deaths,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview. “So we need to do something about it.”
Right now, about 90% of new vehicles have automatic braking— but under a voluntary agreement with automakers. This means there are no standard performance requirements, so some systems might not be as effective.
Here's a look at rear-end crashes in 2019 by the numbers:
| Total | 2,200,000 |
| Injuries | 574,000 |
| Deaths | 1,798 |
| Injuries: speed limit <60mph | 419,020 |
| Deaths: speed limit <60mph | 1,078.8 |
In the same year, 76,000 were hurt, while 6,205 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes— or 1 person every 85 minutes.
2019 Pedestrians Traffic Safety Fact Sheet - NHTSA by WXMI on Scribd
The new regulation sets a nationwide standard requiring additional engineering to update software and hardware if needed.
Going forward, new U.S. passenger vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less must have forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and pedestrian detection braking.
The standards will also require vehicles to stop and avoid hitting a vehicle in front of them at speeds up to 62mph and apply the brakes automatically at up to 90mph if a collision with a vehicle ahead is imminent.
When it comes to pedestrian safety, auto-braking systems are now required to activate at 31mph to 40mph depending on the pedestrian's location and movement according to the NHTSA.
The NHTSA said these new regulations and standards will help prevent crashes.
“By and large, it's better to have AEB than not have AEB,” Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety explained most consumers are unaware that there are no requirements in place now.
"So once the AEB rule is put into place, once again the federal government will be doing its job and protecting consumers,” Chase said.
Chase hopes the new standards will make it clear to car buyers that AEB will work properly.
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