The Biden Administration outlined proposals to require that all new vehicles have automatic emergency braking (AEB) technology that can anticipate a collision, and automatically apply the brakes at speeds up to 62 miles per hour. The administration also outlined new performance standards for pedestrian protection AEB, including a requirement that the systems work at night.
This is one of the U.S. government’s most significant new vehicle safety actions in years. It also shows how slow the government regulatory machinery is compared to the pace set by automotive technology innovation.
Automatic braking technology has been on the market for years. The European Union mandated that all passenger vehicles have AEB as of last year.
Automakers in the United States agreed in 2016 to make AEB standard equipment as of 2023. Some moved rapidly to equip vehicles with automatic braking ahead of the deadline.
Others took more time. As of last year, about 27% of General Motors vehicles did not have AEB, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which tests vehicles and gives safety scores. Jaguar Land Rover, Maserati and Porsche had AEB installation rates between 70% and 75%.
GM said it is on track to have AEB on all its EVs and 98% of all models by the end of 2023.
Not all current automated braking and pedestrian protection systems may meet the new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) performance targets. But automakers will have three years from the time the rules are adopted to upgrade.
Bottom line: The IIHS/Highway Loss Data Institute estimates it will take until 2045 for 95% of the vehicles on the road to be equipped with collision-avoiding braking.
AEB is not novel technology. Nor are airbags – another technology that NHTSA is struggling with. The agency this week escalated an investigation into millions of airbags that could explode. The airbag maker, ARC Automotive, is resisting a recall order.
On Thursday, the Transportation Department’s inspector general said NHTSA routinely fails to meet its own deadlines for completing vehicle safety investigations.
Meanwhile, automotive technology keeps racing ahead. Automakers are deploying automated driving technology with no regulatory guidelines. Dashboard displays that can connect drivers and passengers to immersive videogames, Zoom meetings and AI enabled chat-bots are here, or just around the corner.
NHTSA has reacted to the tech tsunami on a case-by-case basis. The agency ended an investigation of Tesla after the company agreed not to allow passengers to access games while the vehicle is in motion. It continues to investigate Tesla’s Autopilot assisted driving technology after a series of accidents.
But comprehensive standards for automated or fully self-driving cars are still a work in progress – even as robo-taxi operators Cruise and Waymo and several robo-truck companies expand deployment.
