Automatic emergency braking is a popular new auto technology—and it’s been shown to save lives. The the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that it could prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries each year if it was a standard feature on new vehicles. (ERIE recently visited the IIHS' state-of-the-art facility--see the video here.)

Soon, that stat will be reality. On March 17, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration, along with the IIHS, announced that 20 automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market will make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually every new car by Sept. 1, 2022. Participating automakers include Audi, BMW, FCA US LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car USA. 

The announcement has been called both unprecedented and lifesaving. To learn more about this important development, check out the source article at iihs.org.