NHTSA to Include Automatic-Emergency Braking in 5-Star Review

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is updating its 5-Star Rating System to include automatic-emergency braking (AEB) in 2018.

“We are adding automatic-emergency braking features to the 5-Star Rating System because crash-avoidance technologies can save lives and should be widely accessible,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “AEB can substantially enhance safety, especially with the number of distracted drivers on the road.”

AEB systems combine data from forward-looking radar and/or camera sensors and driver input to determine if a rear-end crash is likely to happen. The technology features two systems—crash imminent braking (CIB), which applies the brakes in cases where a rear-end crash is imminent and the driver isn’t taking any action to avoid the crash, and dynamic brake support (DBS), which supplements the driver’s braking input if the driver isn’t applying sufficient braking to avoid a rear-end crash.

“We’re putting the brakes on rear-end crashes,” says Mark Rosekind, NHTSA administrator. “Wherever possible, NHTSA will encourage and accelerate technological innovations that save lives.”

In September, NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced that 10 major vehicle manufacturers have committed to making AEB a standard feature on all new vehicles.