Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) and Road Safe America (RSA) Commend NHTSA and FMCSA for Proposing Rule on Automatic Emergency Braking in Large Trucks

Washington, DC – The Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) and Road Safe America (RSA), two leading organizations committed to advancing truck safety, commend the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for their notice of proposed rulemaking requiring the implementation of automatic emergency braking (AEB) in large trucks. This groundbreaking step is a significant milestone in our collective efforts to reduce truck crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our roads.

Automatic emergency braking is a proven technology that holds immense potential in transforming safety throughout the trucking industry in the United States. By utilizing a combination of sensors and cameras, AEB systems can detect potential collisions and automatically apply the brakes to prevent or mitigate the severity of crashes. The introduction of this mandate will undoubtedly save lives and protect countless families from the devastating consequences of preventable truck-related crashes.

Harry Adler, Principal and Co-founder of the Institute for Safer Trucking, expressed his appreciation, saying, "We appreciate NHTSA and FMCSA for their unwavering commitment to improve truck safety through the proposed rulemaking on automatic emergency braking. This technology is a game-changer, capable of significantly reducing truck crashes, injuries, and fatalities.”

Steve Owings, Co-founder of Road Safe America, added, "This proposed rule sets a new standard for road safety and demonstrates the agencies' dedication to saving lives. AEB has already proven its effectiveness in mitigating and preventing crashes, and, if this technology had been available two decades ago, my son Cullum would likely still be alive today. This mandate will ensure its widespread adoption in the trucking industry, and RSA commends NHTSA and FMCSA for this giant leap towards creating safer roads for all of us who share them."

Jessica Balsizer, a volunteer with the Institute for Safer Trucking who tragically lost her entire family in a preventable crash involving a truck without AEB, shared her thoughts: "No family should endure the pain and loss that I, and other IST volunteers, have experienced due to a preventable truck crash. Distraction, impairment, and fatigue must be addressed, and this AEB requirement will help ensure that truck crashes caused by these factors will be mitigated or prevented. I am thankful to NHTSA and FMCSA for this effort to ensure that no one else suffers the grief we have."

To read the proposed rule, please see here. The public will have 60 days, once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register, to comment. We urge everyone who uses our roads to support this commonsense regulation.

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