The US will require all new cars to have advanced automatic braking systems by 2029

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just announced for cars. Those standards include a mandate for advanced automatic braking systems on all new cars, which manufacturers must comply with by 2029. That’s just five years away.

This applies to all cars and light trucks under 10,000 pounds. Automatic emergency braking systems must be able to bring a vehicle traveling at speeds up to 62 MPH to a complete stop while avoiding a collision. These systems will also need to detect oncoming pedestrians at speeds up to 45 MPH both during the day and at night.

Automatic emergency brakes use an array of sensors, lasers and cameras to detect collisions. When a crash is imminent, the system brakes on its own or applies brake assist to help the driver stop quickly and safely. It is worth noting that manufacturers already include these systems in 90 percent of new cars, according to , but many of these instruments do not meet the thresholds for MPH as mentioned above. NHTSA says most manufacturers should be able to meet these requirements with software updates.

The federal agency estimates that these new rules will prevent more than 360 road deaths annually and should reduce the severity of more than 24,000 injuries. It is also expected to save people a lot of money on property damage costs. Kathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, that the new rules are “a big win for all consumers and public safety.” There were over in the US in 2023 alone, and that’s actually down slightly from the previous year.

However, the actual auto industry is not so optimistic about the mandate. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobbying group that works on behalf of automakers, urged NHTSA to consider other options. One major suggestion is to lower the speed threshold in certain cases, as the group said “significant hardware and software changes will be required to achieve a level of performance that no production vehicle can achieve in the moment”.

To that end, tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that these systems for adequate fulfillment of the mandate. The research group says it tested crash avoidance systems on 10 small SUVs at speeds up to 43 MPH and very failed to stop in time to avoid crashing in the most difficult test scenarios. The Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V performed best for those in the market.

Heavy-duty vehicles, such as larger trucks, may get their own mandate in the near future. NHTSA is currently working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the truck safety agency, to develop similar standards for bulky vehicles.