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Emergency Braking Will Save Lives. Automakers Want to Charge Extra for It

The tech exists, and vehicles on the road already have it, yet a consortium of carmakers doesn’t want to make this lifesaving equipment standard. The reason is as old as the hills—money.

Mandating advanced AEB systems would “address a clear and growing safety problem,” states NHTSA, asserting that “to wait for market-driven adoption … would lead to deaths and injuries that could be avoided if the technology were required.” “Considering that automaking is America’s largest manufacturing sector, employs 10 million Americans, generates 5 percent of the US GDP, and drives $1 trillion into the economy annually,” says Chase, “it is remarkable that [the auto industry] would be unable to meet the requirements in the AEB rule by September 2029.” It’s unclear what President Trump, the DOT, or DOGE will do with FMVSS 127, but, says Norton, author also of a book on autonomous driving, “if we can’t get automakers to accept vehicle automation for safety, then we can’t expect them to be serious about fully robotic cars.”

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