Federal safety regulators, the insurance industry and a coalition of the world’s largest automakers announced an agreement Friday to make automatic emergency-braking a standard feature in future car models sold in the U.S.
Such systems, which alert a driver to a potential forward collision and robotically trigger the brakes, have proved successful in reducing crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but they are typically an expensive option.
“We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focused on preventing crashes from ever occurring, rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.