Automatic Emergency Braking to Become Standard by 2022

Automatic emergency braking will become standard on nearly all new light-duty vehicles by 2022.

An industrywide agreement will bring the technology to new vehicles at least two years faster than a government mandate would have, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agreement was brokered by NHTSA and the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), that also includes vehicles to be outfitted with forward collision warning along with automatic emergency braking.

A recent IIHS study revealed that automatic emergency braking can reduce rear-end crashes by as much as 40 percent, but currently fewer than 10 percent of new cars offer automatic emergency braking as standard.

SEE ALSO: Ten Automakers Agree to Make Auto Emergency Braking Standard

Last September it was announced that 10 different automakers had agreed to make the technology standard in their vehicles. Since then, NHTSA, IIHS and automakers have been working out the details of the commitment.

The original group of automakers included Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota and Volvo. Since then, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche and Subaru have joined the pact. All those automakers combined account for about 99 percent of U.S. light-vehicle sales, said NHTSA.

The safety feature will be standard on nearly all new cars weighing 8,500 pounds or less by September 2022. Some light-duty vehicles, like those equipped with manual transmissions, will get extra time to incorporate automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning.

[Source: Automotive News]