By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it will not reconsider a landmark rule finalized in April requiring nearly all new cars and trucks by 2029 to have advanced automatic emergency braking systems.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and other automakers, had said the requirement that all cars and trucks must be able to stop and avoid striking vehicles in front of them at up to 62 miles per hour (100 kph) is “practically impossible with available technology” and had asked the agency to reconsider it.
NHTSA on Monday rejected the request but said it was clarifying some technical requirements and correcting an error in the test scenario for an obstructed pedestrian crossing the road.
The new safety rule is one of the most far-reaching U.S. auto safety regulations in recent years. NHTSA said in April the rule will save at least 360 lives annually and prevent at least 24,000 injuries as traffic deaths spiked after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, alliance CEO John Bozzella wrote President-elect Donald Trump raising a number of issues, including the automatic emergency braking rule, saying it is inconsistent with other countries’ regulations and was “likely to result in aggressive and unpredictable braking that will frustrate drivers.” The group did not immediately comment Monday.
Congress directed NHTSA in the 2021 infrastructure law to create a rule to establish minimum performance standards for automatic emergency braking systems, which use sensors like cameras and radar to detect when a vehicle is close to crashing and then automatically applies brakes if the driver has not done so.
In 2016, 20 automakers voluntarily agreed to make automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all U.S. vehicles by 2022 and by December all 20 had equipped at least 95% of vehicles with AEB, but critics say there is no way to ensure effectiveness without government regulations.
NHTSA in March 2023 proposed requiring vehicles comply in three years, but automakers are now getting five years.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates)
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