WASHINGTON (April 30, 2024) – NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy released the following statement in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s announcement on Monday of a new federal motor vehicle safety standard requiring all new passenger cars and light trucks to have automatic emergency braking (AEB) and pedestrian AEB (PAEB) systems: “This new vehicle safety standard is a critical moment in highway safety, and we commend NHTSA on this important step forward. Countless NTSB research studies and crash investigations show that automatic emergency braking can save lives,” Homendy said. “That’s why, for nearly three decades, the NTSB has advocated for collision avoidance technologies to be mandatory in all vehicles.”
“While this new standard will not go into effect until 2029, we encourage manufacturers not to wait; they should meet these life-saving requirements now.”
“We will continue to advocate for the expansion of AEB capability requirements to also detect and respond to motorcyclists, bicyclists and roadside hazards, and for NHTSA to finalize their rule with FMCSA on AEB in commercial vehicles,” Homendy said. “Without these steps, we cannot keep all road users safe from harm.”
The NTSB is evaluating NHTSA’s final rule to determine which of its recommendations might be satisfied by this action. The NTSB first recommended collision avoidance technology—specifically forward collision warning systems—as a possible solution to rear-end crashes in 1995. The NTSB also published two special investigative reports on rear-end crashes in 2001 and in 2015.
To report an incident/accident or if you are a public safety agency, please call 1-844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290 to speak to a Watch Officer at the NTSB Response Operations Center (ROC) in Washington, DC (24/7).
