(CBS DETROIT) – U.S. automakers are pushing back against a federal safety ruling affecting automatic emergency braking technology in new cars. The technology will automatically stop your vehicle if it detects you hitting another car or pedestrian.
Most cars sold today have a similar system for low-speed travel, from zero to 55 km/h.
In April, the federal government imposed a new requirement that all new cars sold from 2029 must have an automatic emergency braking system at speeds higher than 100 kilometers per hour. According to car manufacturers, speeds are virtually impossible and could increase the number of accidents.
The National Highway Safety Administration has issued new requirements in an effort to reduce the number of car-related deaths.
“If we go back three or four years, they came to 40,000,” said Patrick Olsen, editor and head of Carfax.
Olsen said that despite good intentions, automakers want the government to reconsider the requirements. The Automotive Alliance for Innovation, which represents nearly all manufacturers selling cars in the U.S., sent a letter to government officials outlining their concerns.
They said the requirement could lead to more collisions and disorienting drivers, and that the required technology is highly advanced.
“If you’re driving 60 miles per hour, your car is going 80 feet per second. So if you can imagine that your computer system has to catch up to you another 80 feet every second, it’s going to take a while. It takes a lot of computing power. And there’s “It takes a very sophisticated system to distinguish parked cars from emergency vehicles, from pedestrians, and stop only when necessary,” Olsen said.
He said this will also mean additional costs for consumers, as we have seen with other new vehicle technology.
“Blind spot warning, automatic braking, rear cross-traffic alerts. Although these systems work well, they add more and more costs to cars.”
He said new cars already cost about $48,000 on average, which is much more than just a few years ago. As for the next steps, he said the automakers have a lot of power so the government could negotiate with them by adjusting the timeline or the requirements, though they could stick to the requirements. He said his biggest fear with safety equipment is that drivers become disengaged and involved.
He said his biggest fear with safety equipment is that drivers become disengaged and involved.
“I think it’s also important that as we see more and more safety equipment in cars, we don’t allow the devices meant to idiot-proof our cars to turn us into idiots,” Olsen said.
