From MEMA Washington Insider

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has denied a petition for rulemaking from safety advocates, including Consumer Watchdog, Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen, which asked NHTSA to pursue rulemaking to mandate the installation of automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems on all light vehicles.

NHTSA indicated in its Federal Register notice that the denial was due in large part to actions taken in 2016: 1) adding AEB to its proposed expanded New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and 2) the voluntary agreement with car manufacturers to install AEB as standard equipment on most new light vehicles by MY 2022.

NHTSA indicated that the agency is watching OEMs’ efforts on AEB and may assess down the road “whether additional steps, including the possibility of a rulemaking to establish a new standard, might be needed in the future.” In other forums, NHTSA also has indicated its research team continues to research and evaluate AEB for heavy vehicles. MEMA continues to engage with the agency on AEB-related issues.