U.S. Proposes Requiring New Cars to Have Automatic Braking Systems

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By Neal E. Boudette

The top federal auto safety regulator on Wednesday proposed requiring all new cars and trucks to have automatic braking systems that can prevent collisions, after traffic fatalities have soared in recent years.

The plan, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, would require car companies to expand the use of more advanced systems than those commonly in use now. The agency is proposing that all light vehicles, including cars, large pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, be equipped to automatically stop and avoid hitting pedestrians at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour.

Vehicles would also have to brake and stop to avoid hitting stopped or slow-moving vehicles at speeds of up to 62 m.p.h. And the systems would have to perform well at night.

"We hope this will avoid many crashes," Polly Trottenberg, a deputy transportation secretary, said at a news conference. "We know this is going to save lives."

About 90 percent of the new vehicles on sale now have some form of automatic emergency braking, but not all meet the standards the safety agency is proposing.

Ms. Trottenberg acknowledged that the rule would impose costs on automakers, which have often resisted new regulations. "I know we’re throwing a challenge out here, but we also know this technology is pretty well developed," she said. "This is the time to take things to the next level."

Auto safety experts have pointed to several factors in the rise in traffic deaths, including the larger size and heavier weight of cars and trucks and greater distraction because drivers and pedestrians are increasingly using electronic devices. In some places, roads have been designed and lighted to keep traffic moving rather than to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Jonathan Adkins, chief executive of the Governors Highway Safety Association, welcomed the proposal. "We certainly want to see it implemented as soon as possible," he said.

Traffic fatalities are one of the most persistent causes of death in the United States, and they are increasing despite advances such as warning and crash avoidance systems, and increasing airbag use. Nearly 43,000 people died in auto crashes in 2022. That was down slightly from 2021, but 31 percent higher than in 2014.

Traffic deaths had been declining until about a decade ago, when they began rising rapidly. The rise has been driven by a spike in pedestrian deaths. An estimated 3,500 pedestrians were killed in the first half of 2022, the most recent period for which data is available. That is the highest number in 40 years.

The toll goes beyond fatalities. In 2019, the economic cost of auto crashes totaled $340 billion, according to the safety agency. In that year, 36,500 people died in auto accidents, 4.5 million were injured and 23 million vehicles were damaged.

Government officials said the automatic-braking proposal could save at least 360 lives a year and reduce injuries by about 24,000 a year. Even when automatic braking doesn't prevent crashes, it can make accidents less severe by slowing down cars.

Automatic emergency braking systems typically use cameras, radar or both to spot vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other obstacles. By comparing a vehicle's speed and direction with those of other vehicles or people, these systems can determine that a collision is imminent, alert the driver through an alarm and activate the brakes if the driver fails to do so.

The first such systems were introduced in 2011. Five years later, automakers voluntarily agreed to make automatic emergency braking technology standard in all new cars and trucks by 2022. The agency said its proposed rule would impose higher standards than the technology that automakers had agreed to use.

In a statement, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry's main lobbying group, did not endorse or oppose the proposed rule, calling automatic braking a "breakthrough technology" that automakers "have already deployed."

Automatic braking is one component of advanced driver-assistance systems that are found in some new cars. These systems are capable of steering without human intervention and, in some cases, changing lanes and allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel on highways. These systems include Tesla's Autopilot, Super Cruise by General Motors and BlueCruise from Ford Motor.

The federal safety agency has been investigating Tesla's system after it appears to have failed to identify and spot other vehicles in some situations. The agency is looking at 43 crashes, including 14 in which 18 people were killed, that occurred while Autopilot or another system that the company calls Full Self-Driving were activated.

The safety agency will take comments on the rule from automakers, safety groups and the public before making it final — a process that can take a year or more. The rule will go into effect three years after it is adopted.

On Tuesday, President Biden withdrew the nomination of Ann E. Carlson to lead the agency. Some Republican senators had opposed her appointment because of her past work on environmental policy. Previously a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Ms. Carlson has been the agency's acting administrator since September.

Neal E. Boudette is based in Michigan and has been covering the auto industry for two decades. He joined The New York Times in 2016 after more than 15 years at The Wall Street Journal. @nealboudette

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