Automatic Emergency Braking With Pedestrian Detection to Become Mandatory on All New Cars

The new rule will save hundreds of lives and prevent tens of thousands of injuries each year, according to federal regulators

By Keith Barry

Updated April 30, 2024

GM Active Safety test with a Chevrolet Malibu and pedestrian — Testing AEB with pedestrian detection.

In an effort to address rising roadway injuries and fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that all new cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks must come with effective automatic emergency braking (AEB) technology by 2029. It’s a move that Consumer Reports has been advocating for years and that NHTSA estimates will save at least 360 lives and prevent at least 24,000 injuries each year.

NHTSA finalized a new federal motor vehicle safety standard at the end of April that will require new passenger vehicles to be able to fully avoid a crash with a vehicle in front of them by September 2029. According to the new standard, vehicles must be able to avoid a crash at speeds of up to 62 mph and brake at speeds of up to 90 mph when a crash is imminent. It also requires vehicles to avoid a crash with a pedestrian at speeds of up to 45 mph, including in darkness.

“These requirements are strong, but they’re also clearly feasible for automakers to meet, so we urge automakers to step up and meet this rule’s minimum standards without delay,” says William Wallace, associate director for safety policy at Consumer Reports.

Based on its initial testing, NHTSA says that automakers will be able to meet the new requirements with existing technology. In most cases, vehicles will only require new software. In 2023 CR submitted a petition signed by more than 24,000 consumers supporting NHTSA’s plans and urging the agency to finalize the strongest possible requirements.

Most new vehicles already have AEB, thanks in part to a 2016 voluntary agreement involving automakers, NHTSA, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and CR. But the new rule goes even further. The voluntary agreement didn’t call for pedestrian detection, nor did it specify how well an AEB system must perform—an important distinction that can cut down on growing pedestrian and crash fatalities, especially since the effectiveness of most current AEB systems varies widely.

Jake Fisher, senior director of CR’s Auto Test Center, says that CR has been instrumental in getting automakers to adopt pedestrian detection. For a vehicle to be named one of Consumer Reports’ Top Picks, it has to come with standard AEB with pedestrian detection.

“In 2019 CR told automakers that having AEB with pedestrian detection standard would affect the score of models, and we gave them a full year’s notice before making it a requirement to be a Top Pick. Today, about 90 percent of models have this feature standard,” Fisher says. “The fact that so many vehicles already come standard with this important safety feature undoubtedly cut back on opposition to the regulation.”

NHTSA’s new rule goes even further, setting requirements for how well an AEB system must work. Today’s AEB systems engage at different speeds depending on the vehicle; some make higher-speed AEB optional. That’s why establishing performance standards is a major benefit for consumers, says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center.

“This rule marks an important shift from manufacturers voluntarily including these technologies to a requirement,” she says. “It means one less critical safety feature that consumers will have to shop for. Instead, this rule ensures that all new-car buyers will get this feature and that it will meet minimum performance standards.”

Making a Lifesaving Technology Even Better

Data from IIHS shows that today’s AEB systems can cut rear-end collisions by 50 percent. But many current AEB systems only work at low speeds, and testing from IIHS and AAA shows that pedestrian AEB often fails to prevent crashes at night, even though most fatal crashes take place at higher speeds and many pedestrian crashes happen after dark. When the new rules go into effect, AEB will be tested in a variety of scenarios designed to represent common real-world crashes, including hitting both stopped and moving vehicles, to ensure compliance.

“Automatic emergency braking is proven to save lives and reduce serious injuries from frontal crashes, and this technology is now mature enough to require it in all new cars and light trucks,” NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator, Sophie Shulman, said in a statement. “In fact, this technology is now so advanced that we’re requiring these systems to be even more effective at higher speeds and to detect pedestrians.”

But new technology is just one part of the safety equation, according to David Harkey, president of IIHS.

“With people keeping their cars longer, it will be several decades before at least 90 percent of vehicles on the road are equipped with pedestrian AEB,” he said in 2023 before the new rule was finalized. “We also need states and local jurisdictions to act quickly to improve pedestrian infrastructure and lower vehicle speeds, which can pay safety dividends much faster.”

Keith Barry

Keith Barry has been an auto reporter at Consumer Reports since 2018. He focuses on safety, technology, and the environmental impact of cars. Previously, he led home and appliance coverage at Reviewed; reported on cars for USA Today, Wired, and Car & Driver; and wrote for other publications as well. Keith earned a master’s degree in public health from Tufts University. Follow him on Twitter @itskeithbarry.