Major carmakers set to fix auto-braking systems by 2022

WASHINGTON: Major carmakers have agreed to install automatic emergency braking systems in nearly all US vehicles by September 2022, three sources briefed on the plans said.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced in September a deal in principle with 10 carmakers to eventually add the technology to prevent thousands of crashes a year. The final agreement includes additional carmakers and will be unveiled at a press conference in McLean, Virginia.

The final agreement includes carmakers representing more than 99 per cent of US light vehicle sales. Among those joining the deal are Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda Motor Co and Volkswagen AG.

Automatic emergency braking includes systems designed to prevent crashes in which drivers do not apply the brakes or fail to apply enough braking power to avoid a collision.

Under the agreement, carmakers will get slightly longer to add the technology to some vehicles with technical challenges, including some cars with manual transmissions.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind told Reuters in an interview last week that a voluntary agreement that could get the safety technology in vehicles before a legally binding rule was preferable. “We’re very excited about this,” Rosekind said, declining to confirm

Do the math.That’s five million crashes every year -- 20 per cent reduction means one million less.Those are big numbers.

Mark Rosekind, NHTSA Administrator

details.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group that helped reach the voluntary agreement with carmakers, has said as many as 20 per cent of crashes could be prevented by the technology. “Do the math. That’s five million crashes every year -- 20 per cent reduction means one million less. Those are big numbers,” Rosekind said in September.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Consumer Reports have both called for making the technology mandatory in all vehicles.

In 2012, rear-end crashes killed 1,705 Americans and injured 547,000 in the United States. About 87 per cent of those deaths and injuries might have been prevented or lessened if vehicles had a collision avoidance system. — Reuters

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group that helped reach the voluntary agreement with carmakers, has said as many as 20 per cent of crashes could be prevented by the technology.