Emerging technology cannot solve all of safety problems. And in some instances it just creates new ones. But Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) is one technology is that should improve far more than it complicates. Recently the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has introduced the new AEB standard. While it applies to the U.S., safety standards are essentially copied by Transport Canada and will equally affect the Canadian market.
The following summary is taken from the the introduction of the new standard.
SUMMARY: This final rule adopts a new
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
to require automatic emergency braking
(AEB), including pedestrian AEB
(PAEB), systems on light vehicles. An
AEB system uses various sensor
technologies and sub-systems that work
together to detect when the vehicle is in
a crash imminent situation, to
automatically apply the vehicle brakes if
the driver has not done so, or to apply
more braking force to supplement the
driver’s braking. This final rule specifies
that an AEB system must detect and
react to an imminent crash with both a
lead vehicle or a pedestrian. This final
rule fulfills a mandate under the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)
directing the Department to promulgate
a rule to require that all passenger
vehicles be equipped with an AEB
system. The purpose of this final rule is
to reduce the number of deaths and
injuries that result from crashes in
which drivers do not apply the brakes
or fail to apply sufficient braking power
to avoid or mitigate a crash, and to
reduce the consequences of such
crashes.
The standard applies to capabilities of avoiding impacts with other motor vehicles and pedestrians. Curiously, nothing appears to be mentioned about avoiding cyclists, although that may exist in the 110-page publication which has not be reviewed in detail at this time.
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