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Automaker Alliance Challenges New Emergency Braking Rule
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A coalition representing key players in the automotive industry has initiated legal proceedings to contest a significant regulation mandated by President Joe Biden’s administration. This regulation requires that nearly all newly manufactured cars and trucks be equipped with advanced automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems by the year 2029.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which includes major manufacturers such as General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen, has characterized the regulation, finalized in April by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as “practically impossible” to achieve using currently available technology. The group has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to invalidate the rule.
NHTSA has refrained from commenting on the lawsuit. According to the alliance, the requirement that vehicles must be able to halt and prevent collisions with objects ahead while traveling at speeds up to 62 miles per hour (100 km/h) is overly ambitious. The organization had previously requested NHTSA to reassess the rule but met with no success.
This new safety regulation is considered one of the most comprehensive auto safety measures introduced in recent times. NHTSA asserted in April that it anticipates the rule will save a minimum of 360 lives each year and prevent at least 24,000 injuries—a response to a worrying rise in traffic fatalities observed post-pandemic.
John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, has criticized the decision as “wrong on the merits, wrong on the science, and really a disastrous decision.” In a letter to then-President-elect Donald Trump in November, Bozzella urged a reevaluation of the regulation.
As part of the 2021 infrastructure legislation, Congress instructed NHTSA to set minimum performance standards for automatic emergency braking systems, which utilize sensors like cameras and radar to identify potential collisions and autonomously engage the brakes when necessary.
In 2016, a group of 20 automakers voluntarily committed to establishing automatic emergency braking as a standard feature in nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2022. By the end of 2023, all 20 companies had equipped at least 95% of their fleets with AEB technology. However, some critics argue that without enforced government standards, the efficacy of these systems cannot be guaranteed.
In May 2023, NHTSA proposed that vehicles meet the new specifications within three years; however, the current timeline has been extended to five years for automakers. This extension is expected to provide manufacturers with additional time to adapt to the regulations and implement the required technology effectively.
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