The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to add two automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems to its list of recommended advanced safety features for its New Car Assessment Program. The two systems include crash-imminent braking and dynamic brake support.

Three recommended advanced technology features – also which help drivers avoid or mitigate crashes — have already been identified by NCAP: forward collision warning, lane departure warning and rearview video systems.

“Today marks an enormous leap in the evolution of auto safety by encouraging adoption of new technologies to keep drivers and their passengers safe on our roads, “ said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “I want this Department, the entire automotive industry and other innovators to keep raising the bar on safety like we are doing now.”

The agency made the announcement while unveiling results of a NHTSA study that shows safety innovations have saved more than 600,000 lives since 1960. 

 NHTSA reports that AEB systems – along with other promising innovations such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications and automated vehicle technologies – hold great promise to save even more lives and prevent more crashes. They build upon the successes of crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies currently available in vehicles today.