Automakers Want Feds to Pump the Brakes on New Self-Driving Rules

The Biden administration wants automakers to equip their vehicles with new emergency management systems that will reduce accidents and save lives. Automakers wouldn’t like it. So a lobbying group representing some of the biggest names in motoring is suing to stop the new law from taking effect.

The Alliance of Automotive Innovation—which represents automakers including Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Toyota, and Volkswagen among others—filed a lawsuit by the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to strike down new anti-brake regulations proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) before they are implemented starting in 2029.

So what is this law that is so complicated that these companies cannot comply even four years ahead?

Well, last year, the US Department of Transportation he finished A new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that would require all light vehicles including passenger cars, SUVs and pickups to install emergency brakes that can stop and avoid contact with other vehicles in front of them at speeds up to 62 miles per hour. It should also detonate automatically “up to 90 mph when a collision with the lead vehicle is imminent, up to 45 mph when a pedestrian is detected.” The system should also detect pedestrians during the day and at night.

Car manufacturers he protested when the new rules were questioned and they filed a complaint urging NHTSA to reconsider thinking that the technology currently available would not comply with the agency’s recommendations. (The group of car manufacturers is already there asked Trump The NHTSA didn’t budge on that request, actually to argue that their goal is to force companies to develop and use technology to meet new needs.

For what it’s worth, the AEB system is very effective in reducing accidents. A learning from AAA found that 2024 models of vehicles equipped with the latest safety features were able to avoid 100% of frontal collisions when tested at speeds up to 35 mph. NHTSA data shows that breaking the AEB requirement up to 62 mph will save 360 ​​lives a year and prevent more than 24,000 injuries, according to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. they believe technology can lead to “significant safety gains” that can help prevent more accidents.

Interestingly, the same group that believes they can’t achieve the technology needed for cars to shoot themselves at high speeds also. they are pushed to liberal rules which would allow the deployment of autonomous vehicles on roads across the country. Preparation first and safety second, obviously.