NHTSA planning to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the top federal roadway safety agency, proposed a rule Wednesday to require all new vehicles to include automatic emergency brakes. 

The agency said in a release Wednesday that the proposed rule would “dramatically” reduce the number of crashes with pedestrians and rear-end collisions. It projects that the rule would save 360 lives and reduce injuries by 24,000 every year. 

“Today, we take an important step forward to save lives and make our roadways safer for all Americans,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. “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.” 

The Transportation Department (DOT) aruges that the rule would prevent many crashes from occurring at all and make those that happen less destructive. 

The rule is part of the department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, which the administration launched in January 2022 to address traffic fatalities and injuries. 

The agency noted that it has received “unprecedented” funding from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law from 2021, and the department announced more than $800 million in grants for communities in high-crash areas. 

A provision of the infrastructure law required DOT to issue a rule ensuring all vehicles manufactured in the U.S. have an automatic emergency braking system. 

NHTSA chief counsel Ann Carlson said 90 percent of new vehicles already include the emergency braking through a voluntary program. But she said the agency wants to have the brakes become more effective at higher speeds and better at avoiding pedestrians. 

She said the rule would require all vehicles to be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. 

“With this proposal, we could change a high-speed crash from a deadly one to a lower-speed crash with minor injuries or just property damage,” she said. 

Members of the public will have a 60-day period to submit comments before the agency finalizes the rule. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.