A new rule for vehicles to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) has been introduced in the United States to reduce collision fatalities and prevent non-compliance.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has introduced the rule for all new passenger cars and light truck vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds.
NHTSA’s new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, FMVSS 127, will require AEB and pedestrian AEB to come standard by September 2029.
All cars will be required to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. The systems must also detect pedestrians in daylight and at night.
The standard requires that the AEB system apply the brakes automatically up to 90 mph when a collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, and up to 45 mph when a pedestrian is detected.
NHTSA expects the FMVSS No. 127 will significantly reduce rear-end and pedestrian crashes, saving at least 360 lives and preventing at least 24,000 injuries every year.
NHTSA also says AEB and pedestrian AEB will significantly reduce crash-related property damage and associated costs.
SEMA says in a news release that it provided extensive comments to NHTSA in response to the agency’s proposed rulemaking in August 2023.
“Although the final rulemaking focuses on vehicle manufacturers, NHTSA concluded that alterers and repair businesses are obligated to prevent non-compliance with FMVSS 127 created by this final rule,” the release said.
“The rule provides some flexibility in terms of compliance for law enforcement vehicles.”
The rule distinguishes differences in the applicability of FMVSS’ according to the Safety Act. Repair businesses are prohibited from knowingly making any part of a device or element of design installed in or on a motor vehicle inoperative that complies with an applicable FMVSS, NHTSA wrote in the rule.
This means that if safety systems were operable and properly calibrated before a collision, the rule intends for repairers to return the vehicle to the same working order.
This likely will be necessary knowledge to keep in mind when restoring future safety systems post-loss.
Alterers are to ensure that altered vehicles conform to FMVSSs affected by the alteration(s) and place a permanent label on the altered vehicle identifying the alterer and the date of alteration.
The final rule didn’t include SEMA’s recommendation that automakers be required to share specific information, such as diagnostic codes, with consumers, according to the release.
SEMA Garage and Government Affairs staff are reviewing the final rule to better understand how it will impact its members.
In 2022, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) petitioned federal regulators to require pedestrian AEB on passenger vehicles that work well in the dark.
The standard advances USDOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) to address the national crisis in traffic fatalities and serious injuries.