Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is slowly becoming the standard on more and more vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that four our of 20 automakers reported AEB being standard on more than half of their 2017 model year vehicles. Another five automakers said that more than 30 percent of vehicles they produced in 2017 were equipped with AEB, the report said.
“The growing number of vehicles offering automated emergency braking is good news for America’s motorists and passengers,” says U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “With each model year, manufacturers will increasingly utilize technology to allow vehicles to ‘see’ the world around them and navigate it more safely.”
Twenty automakers have pledged to voluntarily equip almost all new passenger vehicles with a low-speed AEB system by Sept. 1, 2022. Those systems include forward collision warning (FCW), which is used to prevent and mitigate front-to-rear crashes.
By 2025, the commitment is poised to prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries, IIHS estimates.
The report says Toyota has become the frontrunner in honoring the commitment with the largest number of 2017 vehicles with standard AEB. Toyota has 56 percent of its 2017 vehicles with AEB. General Motors, with 20 percent of its 2017 makes, and Honda, with 30 percent of its 2017 vehicles, follow.
But the report said luxury car makers are leading the way with the percentage of vehicles equipped with AEB including Tesla, which has AEB on nearly all vehicles, and Mercedes-Benz and Audi following slightly behind. .
Automakers who made the commitment include Audi, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. These companies represent more than 99 percent of the automobiles in the U.S. market.
