Great news to share when it comes to vehicle safety technology. Almost all new vehicles in the U.S. are now equipped with automatic emergency braking. The update comes from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) which reports that all 20 participating automakers have fulfilled a voluntary autobrake pledge for light-duty vehicles - equipping nearly all the light vehicles they produce for the U.S. market with automatic emergency braking (AEB).
According to the IIHS, five new manufacturers installed AEB on more than 95 percent of the light vehicles they produced between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, meeting the agreement deadline. The IIHS further reports that General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Maserati and Porsche all dramatically increased the proportion of their vehicles equipped with the technology to meet the target. Kia, which was already close last year, also crossed the finish line.
“The successful completion of this milestone shows what can be achieved when automakers and safety advocates work together toward our common goal of eliminating as many crashes as possible,” IIHS President David Harkey said.
Other automakers that had already fulfilled the voluntary commitment in previous years include Audi, BMW, Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Acura, Hyundai/Genesis, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan/Infiniti, Stellantis, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota/Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo,.
The commitment, brokered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), dates back to 2016. In it, the automakers pledged to equip at least 95 percent of their cars and trucks up to 8,500 pounds with the technology by the production year that ended Aug. 31, 2023. The IIHS says Consumer Reports agreed to assist in monitoring the pledges.
“Car buyers today will find that almost any new vehicle they buy comes standard with a city-speed AEB system, typically with pedestrian detection. This is significant progress, and it sets the stage for the strong federal safety standards that have been proposed,” said William Wallace, associate director of safety policy for Consumer Reports.
AEB systems installed on vehicles must meet certain performance standards. Forward collision warning must also meet a subset of NHTSA’s current requirements on the timing of driver alerts. The AEB must either be able to slow the vehicle by at least 10 mph in one of two tests conducted at 12 and 25 mph or by 5 mph at both speeds — the level of performance needed for an advanced rating in the IIHS's original vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation.
“Thanks to this cooperation, automakers made this safety feature standard equipment years before there was a legal mandate requiring them to do so,” Harkey said. “Now that a regulation is on the horizon, the progress that we’ve made will be set in stone and expanded on to generate even bigger benefits.”
Last May, NHTSA unveiled a proposal that would require that all new passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less to have AEB capable of braking to fully avoid a crash with another vehicle at up to 50 mph. (There would be a four-year grace period from the date the eventual rule is adopted.) If adopted in its present form, the regulation would also require vehicles to be able to stop for pedestrians from speeds up to 40 mph. The IIHS says it petitioned for another requirement that pedestrian detection must also work in dark conditions.
Last June, the NHTSA additionally proposed a regulation that would mandate AEB capable of preventing crashes with other vehicles for trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.
IIHS Crash Tests
The IIHS says pedestrian detection has been part of its award criteria for several years running. As of 2023, a nighttime test was added to the battery of evaluations needed for a vehicle to earn a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating. This year, the IIHS says it plans to introduce a higher-speed vehicle-to-vehicle AEB test that involves motorcycle and large truck targets as well as passenger cars.
Consumer Reports Top Picks
The IIHS says Consumer Reports currently awards additional points to a vehicle’s Overall Score for models that have AEB with pedestrian detection as standard equipment and for AEB that operates at highway speeds. In order to be named a CR Top Pick, a vehicle must have both.
What's Next
Automakers are still finishing requirements for manual transmission vehicles as well as for heavier vehicles, but they're close. By the production year that begins Sept 1, 2024, automakers will need to equip 95 percent of their light vehicles- manual included - with AEB. By the production year beginning Sept. 1, 2025, they'll need to meet the threshold for their entire production volume including heavier vehicles that are 8,500 - 10,000 pounds.
- Manual Transmissions: More than three-quarters of the automakers already meet the 95 percent threshold with manual-transmission vehicles included in their production totals.
- Heavy Vehicles: Four of the five automakers that produce 8,500-10,000 pound vehicles for the U.S. market — Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan — already meet the threshold with those heavier vehicles included. Stellantis is closing in on the target.
The IIHS says that some manufacturers are reaching the overall benchmark while still leaving many of their 8,500-10,000 pound vehicles unequipped, however. So far, it says that only Mercedes-Benz and Nissan have equipped all of their 8,500-10,000 pound vehicles with AEB, while Ford has equipped 78 percent and General Motors just 6 percent. Stellantis, which has yet to reach the 2025 goal, has equipped 47 percent.
“We urge the automakers with heavier vehicles to make AEB standard right away,” said CR’s Wallace. “Whether you buy a small sedan or a large pickup, everyone should have the protection that AEB provides on the road.”
AEB Saves Lives
IIHS says it expects the voluntary commitment to prevent 42,000 crashes and 20,000 injuries by 2025. The estimate is based on IIHS research that found that front crash prevention systems with both forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking cut rear-end crashes by half.
For a list of participating automakers and their completion rate visit the IIHS website here.
Photo: Hyundai met a voluntary industry AEB commitment two years in advance of the deadline in 2020. Credit: Hyundai.
