Reuters reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is delaying the implementation of a Biden-era mandate for nearly all new cars in the U.S. to have automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems by 2029. The effective date has been moved to March 20th to give the new Trump administration time to review the regulation.
The mandate in question would require all new passenger vehicles to feature automatic emergency braking as standard equipment by September 2029. While many new cars already come standard with some form of AEB, the NHTSA’s proposed mandate has high standards.
It requires such systems to avoid collisions at speeds of up to 62 mph and apply brakes up to 90 mph for vehicle detection and 45 mph for pedestrian detection. The NHTSA estimates that the rule will have prevented at least 24,000 injuries and 360 fatalities annually in traffic accidents.
This news comes shortly following a lawsuit filed against the NHTSA by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which comprises GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and others. The lawsuit states that the regulation is “practically impossible with available technology.” AAI CEO John Bozzella has called the regulation “wrong on the merits. Wrong on the science. Really a disastrous decision.”
The AAI petitioned the NHTSA to reconsider this rule in June 2024, and the administration officially denied the petition in November. Now, just two months later, Trump’s inauguration has prompted an about-face from the NHTSA on this particular mandate. President Trump has expressed enthusiasm for deregulation, and this regulation from the NHTSA could be one of his new administration’s first targets as it relates to federal traffic safety regulation.
In 2016, 20 automakers pledged to voluntarily make AEB standard on most USDM vehicles by 2022. According to Reuters, those 20 equipped 95 percent or more of their vehicles with AEB systems, with some of the outliers being commercial vehicles like the Chevy Express and GMC Savana. However, critics say the effectiveness of these systems can’t be ensured without government regulation.
