US mandates new cars to come with emergency braking systems by 2029

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a bid to increase road safety, has made it mandatory for nearly all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the country to have automatic emergency braking systems by September 2029. The new rule aims to save at least 360 lives annually and prevent at least 24,000 injuries on US roads. It intends to curb the rising number of traffic deaths following the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The US Congress had directed the NHTSA in the 2021 infrastructure law to create a rule that would establish the minimum performance standards required for the automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems in vehicles. AEB systems function by making use of cameras and radars to detect when a vehicle is close to crashing. They then automatically apply brakes if the driver fails to do so in time.

As per the rule established by the NHTSA, the AEB systems need to detect pedestrians in both daylight and at night. Initially, the US safety agency had proposed requiring nearly all vehicles to comply with the rule within three years after publication, but now the automakers are being given five years. However, the rule is flexible for some low-volume manufacturers, giving them an extension of one year to comply.

Further, the rule requires all cars and trucks be able to stop and avoid striking vehicles in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. The AEB system should be able to apply brakes automatically up to 90 mph when collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph when it detects a pedestrian.

US is making significant progress in increasing road safety features in its vehicles. In 2016, 20 automakers voluntarily agreed to make automatic emergency braking feature standard on nearly all US vehicles by 2022. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, all these automakers had equipped at least 95% of their vehicles with AEB as of December 2023.

Further, traffic deaths in the country fell by 3.6% last year, marking the second straight year of decline in fatalities. However, they still remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels and thus the government and automakers are putting in advanced efforts to curb traffic deaths.

(with inputs from Reuters)