The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has finalised a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that will make automatic emergency braking for vehicles and pedestrians standard on all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029.
The new standard requires all cars to be capable of stopping and avoiding contact with a vehicle in front of them while travelling at up to 62 mph (100 km/h), and the systems must detect pedestrians in daylight and darkness. Additionally, the systems must apply the brakes automatically up to 90 mph (145 km/h) when a collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph (72.5 km/h) when a pedestrian is detected.
The NHTSA projects that the standard will save at least 360 lives a year and prevent 24,000 injuries annually.
“Automatic emergency braking is proven to save lives and reduce serious injuries from frontal crashes, and this technology is now mature enough to require it in all new cars and light trucks,” said Sophie Shulman, Deputy Administrator of the NHTSA. “In fact, this technology is now so advanced that we’re requiring these systems to be even more effective at higher speeds and to detect pedestrians.
“Most new vehicles already come with AEB, and we expect that many cars and light trucks will be able to meet this standard ahead of the deadline, meaning even more lives will be saved thanks to this technology.”
The standard fulfills a provision in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to establish minimum performance standards requiring that all passenger vehicles be equipped with AEB. The standard also advances the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, launched in January 2022, to address the national crisis in traffic fatalities and serious injuries.