A new regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires automatic emergency braking (AEB) on all new passenger vehicles by September 2029.

The final rule is a step forward for safety, though the long runway provided for compliance is unnecessary, according to David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHS-HLDI).

The final rule announced April 29 came in response to a mandate from Congress that was included in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

“We applaud the new regulation, which will ensure that all passenger vehicles come with robust AEB systems that can operate at high speeds and detect pedestrians in both daylight and dark conditions. That’s something we specifically asked NHTSA to require after our research showed that existing pedestrian AEB systems weren’t performing well in the dark,” Harkey said.

However, the IIHS said it was disappointed that NHTSA has given the industry five years from now to meet the new requirement. The IIHS believes it would be feasible for manufacturers to comply far sooner. In the interim, IIHS will continue working to ensure these systems recognize motorcycles, heavy trucks, and bicycles in addition to passenger vehicles and pedestrians, which could save an estimated additional 1,000 lives each year.

AEB is not new. A significant percentage of new vehicles already come with this safety feature. However, some of the earlier versions of AEB were designed for lower speeds than the newer versions, and some did not do well detecting pedestrians and bicyclists in darkness.