Automatic brakes to become standard on U.S. cars

Mar 18, 2016

Toyota Motor Corp. demonstrates its automatic braking system in Tokyo in 2013.

Nearly all auto makers have pledged to make automatic emergency braking standard on vehicles within six years, said people familiar with the matter, adding to safety breakthroughs, such as air bags, that have become mainstays on cars and trucks.

Auto makers representing 99% of U.S. light-vehicle sales will pledge to car-safety regulators and the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on Thursday that the technology will be on nearly all their cars and trucks by September 2022, the people said.

General Motors Co. GM, +0.85%  , Ford Motor Co. F, -0.22%  , Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV FCAU, +0.00%  , Toyota Motor Corp. TM, +0.36%  , Honda Motor Co. HMC, +0.99%   and Volkswagen AG VW, -0.99%   are among the car makers making the pledge, the person said. Others doing so include luxury car manufacturers BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen’s Audi, the person said.

Automatic emergency-braking systems use vehicle sensors including cameras, radars and lasers to detect imminent crashes. The systems then warn motorists before engaging brakes automatically if the driver doesn’t react quickly enough.

Regulators have been pushing car makers to put the technology on more vehicles to help cut down on traffic fatalities. Other automated technologies popping up on vehicles include lane-departure warnings, collision warnings and systems designed to steer cars back when they veer out of lanes on roadways.

Source: MarketWatch