Statement on the Lawsuit to Review the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Rule for Light Vehicles

  • January 17, 2025
150 150 Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Contact: Shane Austin

[email protected]

202.425.2776

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement by Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, on the Lawsuit to Review the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Rule for Light Vehicles

 

(Washington, D.C. | January 17, 2025) Today, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Alliance) filed a lawsuit to review the Final Rule requiring AEB on all new light vehicles by 2029. In November 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a formal response to several Petitions for Reconsideration, one of which was filed by the Alliance, which granted parts of the petitions and denied others.

According to NHTSA, requiring AEB on light vehicles will save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of injuries annually at a time when the carnage and expense borne from crashes on our roadways are at historic highs. On average, 116 people were killed every day on roads in the U.S. in 2022, totaling just over 42,500 fatalities. This represents a 26 percent increase in deaths in just a decade. An additional 2.38 million people were injured. Early projections for 2023 and early estimates for the first half of 2024 while slightly lower, remain catastrophic.

The AEB Rule is the most impactful regulation for roadway safety issued in years. Considering that automaking is America’s largest manufacturing sector, employs 10 million Americans, generates five percent of the U.S. GDP and drives $1 trillion into the economy annually, it is remarkable that it would be unable to meet the requirements in the AEB Rule by September 2029. Moreover, autonomous vehicle (AV) operations are active across the U.S. including in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan and Texas. With no human driver behind the wheel, AVs must be able to brake for all road users, at all speeds and in all types of lighting and driving conditions within their operational design domains.

According to NHTSA, over 860,000 lives have been saved and 49 million nonfatal injuries were prevented from 1968-2019 by federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). Once taken effect, the new AEB FMVSS undoubtedly will increase these lifesaving and injury-preventing sums.

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Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America’s roads safer. Advocates’ mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.