Mandated Automated Emergency Braking System Draws Opposition From Auto Industry Group

A Waymo autonomous vehicle in San Francisco on Nov. 17, 2023. (Jason Henry/AFP via Getty Images)

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobbying group for the U.S. auto industry, has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider its recent final rule mandating automated emergency braking (AEB) systems in vehicles.

Meeting the standards set out in the rules is “practically impossible with available technology,” the alliance wrote in a letter to Congress sent on June 24. “NHTSA’s own data shows only one tested vehicle met the stopping distance requirements in the final rule.”

John Bozzella, president and CEO of the alliance, warned that if AEB-equipped vehicles were on the road in the United States in compliance with NHTSA’s new standards, driving would become “unpredictable, erratic“ and the new system would ”frustrate or flummox drivers.”

In late April, the NHTSA finalized the new standard that requires all passenger cars and light trucks to have AEB, including pedestrian AEB (PAEB), by September 2029.

AEB systems use sensors to detect when a vehicle comes close to another vehicle or pedestrian and automatically applies brakes if the driver has not. Meanwhile, the PAEB tech enables detection of pedestrians in daylight and nighttime to avoid collisions.

NHTSA’s final rule sets performance criteria for AEB and PAEB tests, including “no-contact” rules.

Under no-contact, the AEB vehicle being tested should avoid full collision with the lead vehicle, or the vehicle in front. For the PAEB test, the no-contact rules require the vehicle to “completely avoid a collision with a pedestrian test mannequin during specific test-track scenarios.”

In its letter to the NHTSA, the alliance asked the agency to reconsider the AEB rule. It specifically requested reviewing the “no contact” AEB and PAEB performance requirements, criticizing the “impracticability” of the tests.

The NHTSA justified the “no contact” performance requirements in its final rule, claiming it provides “maximum safety benefits.”

“The no-contact requirement is consistent with the need for safety and should be mandated to obtain the best possible safety outcome,” the agency said.

NHTSA also countered claims that the rule is impracticable. The agency conducted the tests with six 2023 model-year vehicles from six manufacturers and found that one vehicle was able to meet the no-contact AEB requirements.

“Thus, the technologies needed to make the AEB systems which can meet the no-contact requirement and other performance requirements of this final rule are currently available,” NHTSA stated.

In its letter, the alliance also criticized the agency for not taking into consideration the costs of the new requirements as well as the likely disadvantages created by these standards.

The alliance asked the NHTSA to reduce the maximum test speed for AEB and PAEB tests. It requested the agency to take into account “more realistic assessments of the hardware additions and other changes” resulting from the rule as part of its cost assessment.

‘Practically Impossible’ Standards

The letter to Congress was directed to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, detailing their grievances regarding the NHTSA rules.

The new standard mandates that all cars be able to brake and avoid contact with a vehicle in front at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour. When a collision with a lead vehicle is imminent, the standard requires the system to apply brakes automatically at speeds of up to 90 mph. When a pedestrian is detected, the braking has to be triggered at speeds of up to 45 mph.

The group recommended that NHTSA adopt a standard already implemented in Europe that detects a potential forward collision, warns the driver, and automatically engages the braking system “to avoid a collision or mitigate its severity” through existing technologies.

The alliance warned that the NHTSA’s requirement for applying AEB at high driving speeds could result in brakes being applied far in advance of what a driver or other people on the road expect.

“This will likely contribute to an increase in the number of rear-end collisions,” it stated.

While announcing the NHTSA’s new rules, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the measures would “save hundreds of lives and prevent tens of thousands of injuries every year.”

NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman claimed that automatic emergency braking has now matured enough to be implemented.

“Most new vehicles already come with AEB, and we expect that many cars and light trucks will be able to meet this standard ahead of the deadline, meaning even more lives will be saved thanks to this technology,” she said.