Two federal safety agencies intend to issue a joint proposal to require automatic emergency braking systems on heavy-duty trucks.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plan to publish the notice of proposed rulemaking in March, according to the federal regulatory agenda. The 2021 infrastructure law called for commercial vehicles to be equipped with the safety technology within two years.
See also: Intellistop pulsating brake lamp exemptions flood Federal Register“The rulemaking is expected to propose performance standards and motor carrier maintenance requirements for AEB systems on heavy trucks and accompanying test procedures for measuring the performance of the AEB systems in NHTSA compliance testing,” according to the regulatory agenda.
FMCSA and NHTSA will seek comments on a proposal to require or standardize equipment performance for AEB systems on heavy-duty vehicles.
American Trucking Associations, in 2015, called on truck manufacturers to make AEB standard on commercial vehicles and offered initial support for potential regulation. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has previously come out against any AEB mandate. OOIDA said the technology needs to be perfected before it is required.
In a 2022 study, NHTSA found that vehicles equipped with AEB and forward-collision warning technologies cut crash frequency in half.
Many new commercial vehicles already have AEB technology, which is now standard on new passenger vehicles. During the Obama administration, the U.S.’s top 20 automakers agreed—before federal regulators could make it compulsory—to make AEB standard by 2022.
