The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing a new rule that would require automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection on nearly all U.S. passenger cars and light trucks. The proposed rule would require more effective, advanced systems that include things like pedestrian AEB capable of recognizing pedestrians at night and also ensure systems work at higher speeds.
The agency says the proposed rule is expected to dramatically reduce crashes associated with pedestrians and rear-end crashes. The NHTSA projects the proposed rule would save at least 360 lives a year and reduce injuries by at least 24,000 annually. The NHTSA also says these AEB systems would significantly reduce property damage caused by rear-end crashes. Many crashes would be avoided altogether, while others would be less destructive.
“Today, we take an important step forward to save lives and make our roadways safer for all Americans,” U.S. 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.”
An AEB system uses various sensor technologies and sub-systems that work together to detect when the vehicle is close to crashing, and then automatically applies the vehicle brakes if the driver has not done so or applies more braking force to supplement the driver’s braking as necessary to avoid or mitigate the severity of the crash.
“We’ve seen the benefits of the AEB system in some passenger vehicles already even at lower speeds, and we want to expand the use of the technology to save even more lives. That’s why our proposed rule would require all cars to be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. And the proposal would require pedestrian AEB, including requiring that AEB recognize and avoid pedestrians at night,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Ann Carlson said. “This proposed rule is a major safety advancement.”
If adopted as proposed, nearly all U.S. light vehicles (gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less) will be required to have AEB technology three years after the publication of a final rule.
The proposal has a 60-day public comment period.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) calls the NHTSA's proposed rule an important step for safety.
In 2016, the insurance industry financed auto safety group worked with NHTSA to broker a 2016 commitment by 20 manufacturers to equip virtually all their light-duty cars and trucks with AEB that prevents front-into-rear collisions with other vehicles by the production year that began on Sept. 1, 2022. Now, the IIHS says nearly every new vehicle sold includes AEB as standard equipment. While IIHS tests AEB systems at 12 and 25 mph, the group says the NHTSA proposal will ensure that the systems also work at higher speeds.
IIHS says the NHTSA's proposed rule will "help ensure that important improvements in automatic emergency braking (AEB) technology, including systems to protect pedestrians, spread through the vehicle fleet as quickly as possible."
In March 2022, IIHS and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) collectively petitioned federal regulators to require manufacturers to equip all new passenger vehicles with AEB systems that work in the dark.
IIHS started evaluating vehicle-to-vehicle AEB systems back in 2013. A pedestrian AEB test was added in 2019, followed by a nighttime test in 2022. This year, the IIHS says the the nighttime pedestrian test was included in the requirements automakers must meet to earn the highest IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ safety award.
Federal safety regulators say the proposed rule is a key part of the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), 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, this rule highlights safer vehicles and USDOT’s effort to expand vehicle systems and features that help to prevent crashes. The NRSS is complemented by unprecedented safety funding included in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and in February, the Department announced more than $800 million in grants to help communities carry out projects that can address high-crash areas. DOT also launched the next phase of the NRSS, its Call to Action campaign, and released a one-year progress report and accompanying data visualizations that highlight the extent and magnitude of the U.S. roadway safety problem.
The Department’s other roadway safety actions include:
To read the full NHTSA proposed rule notice click here.
Photo: IIHS.