U.S. Adds Automatic Braking to Recommended Car Safety Features

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to add what it considers two “cutting-edge” automatic emergency braking systems to the recommended safety features included under its rating system for consumers.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said it is recommending two automatic emergency braking systems – crash imminent braking (CIB) and dynamic brake support (DBS) be included in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

Crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support systems intervene by automatically applying the vehicle’s brakes or supplementing the driver’s braking effort to avoid or mitigate the severity of a crash. According to NHTSA data, one-third of all police-reported crashes in 2013 involved a rear-end collision with another vehicle at the start of the crash. The agency also found that a large number of drivers involved in rear-end crashes either did not apply the brakes at all or did not apply the brakes fully prior to the crash.

“Adding AEB to our list of recommended features will encourage consumers to consider AEB as a factor in their new car purchase and encourage automakers to make this important innovation more widely available,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind.

NCAP provides consumers with a checklist of advanced technology features demonstrated to improve safety. NCAP currently recommends three features: forward collision warning, lane departure warning and rear-view video systems.

These AEB systems, along with other innovations such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) and automated vehicle technologies hold great promise to save even more lives and prevent even more crashes, according to the NHTSA.

NHTSA says a half-century of safety innovations have saved more than 600,000 lives.