Major carmakers pledge auto-braking for US market

Ten major car makers have committed to making automatic emergency braking (AEB) a standard feature on all new vehicles, according to U.S. transportation officials.

Making the technology widely available is part of a new era in vehicle safety in which the focus is on preventing crashes rather than on protecting occupants from their effects, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Friday in a statement announcing the commitments. Although, the IIHS says it will be several years before it will be able to make it a standard feature on all new models. The timeline has yet to be determined.

The AEB system uses various sensors, radars, cameras and other features to ascertain the distance between two vehicles.

Automatic emergency braking includes a range of systems designed to address the large number of crashes, especially rear-end crashes, in which drivers do not apply the brakes or fail to apply sufficient braking power to avoid or mitigate a crash. “This technology can compensate for the mistakes every driver makes because the systems are always on alert, monitoring the road ahead and never getting tired or distracted”. Among the automotive technology suppliers that could benefit are Continental AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Delphi Automotive Plc, Denso Corp and Autoliv Inc. The 10 manufacturers committing to across-the-board AEB represented 57 percent of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales in 2014.

The Department and IIHS encourage all other light-vehicle and trucking manufacturers to bring automated vehicle technology to all vehicles on U.S. roadways as soon as possible.

A recent report from the IIHS shows that automatic emergency braking technology can cut insurance injury claims by as much as 35 percent.

“Only through the government rulemaking process will consumer groups have the opportunity “to raise the hard questions”, such as if a type of braking system is capable of stopping a car going 25 MPH, then why not 50 MPH, which is closer to highway speeds”, he said. Given that the organization recently made AEB mandatory for any vehicle hoping to earn a Top Safety Pick+ rating, it seems likely more manufacturers will be joining the ranks of this initial group at some point.

However, safety institutions in the US are keen to protect every citizen’s life and it would be interesting to note that automatic braking system will be a major requirement in all upcoming vehicles as per a new law. “Both technologies are available today on dozens of 2016 model Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models”. It provides IIHS with the capabilities needed to test evolving crash-avoidance technology.