Automatic Emergency Braking to become a standard feature on most new vehicles

Ten of the major vehicle manufacturers accounting for 57% of light-duty vehicle sales across North America have recently announced plans to make Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) a standard feature available on all new vehicles, according to the US-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for the Highway Safety (IIHS).

While this decision signifies a new era of setting even higher standards for vehicle safety, with the focus being more on preventing crashes rather than just protecting drivers and passengers in the event of a collision, officials are saying it will likely take several years before all the manufacturers have fully incorporated the availability of this preventative safety feature into production. 

AEB is currently available as an option on a few select models of luxury vehicles, so this pledge from automakers represents a major step forward toward making the availability of crash prevention technologies accessible to a wider range of new-car buyers, with the IIHS encouraging other light-vehicle and trucking manufacturers to follow suit. 

AEB technology works with or without driver intervention, combining Electronic Stability Control & Advanced Driver Assist Systems to slow the vehicle down and potentially mitigate the severity of an impact if/when a collision is imminent. The technology essentially works to compensate for the mistakes drivers make in such circumstances, with the long-range and mid-range radar and video surveillance always on alert and monitoring the road ahead. 

Evidence already exists that AEB is making a difference to prevent crashes involving driver error, with a recent IIHS report stating it can reduce insurance injury claims by as much as 35%. To learn more about AEB and how it works, check out the video below:

The ten manufacturers on board with the initiative to make crash avoidance technology a standard availability on all their vehicles include:

• BMW AG.

• Ford Motor Co.

• General Motors Co.

• Mazda Motor Co.

• Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.

• Tesla Motors Inc.

• Toyota Motor Corp.

• Volkswagen AG.

• Volkswagen's Audi AG.

• Volvo

Timelines are currently in the process of being planned out to implement these changes in the manufacturer's design process. According to the IHS Inc., AEB is currently available as an option on roughly 4% of cars in North America.