Before mandating automatic emergency brakes, fix the flaws

The road to safer highways is not paved with good intentions. It’s paved with proof.

That is something federal agencies need to keep in mind when considering new technological mandates for trucks, such as automatic emergency braking systems.

Class 8 trucks today are safer than they were 10, 15 or 20-plus years ago. A suite of new features, like traction control and tire pressure monitoring systems, has made it easier for drivers, especially new ones, to operate safely.

Obviously, the most efficient and effective path to safer roadways is proper driver training. But experienced drivers are still human. Some advances in vehicle technology and design have mitigated some of our human flaws.

Other vehicle safety technologies have not, despite the best intentions.

The ELD mandate, for example, was in the name of safety. Since it went into effect in December, crash data have shown no correlation between ELDs and safer highways. In fact, fatalities in large truck crashes increased every year after 2017, except for 2020, when the pandemic caused a drop in passenger vehicles on the road.

FMCSA could make the same mistake with automatic emergency braking systems. The technology is almost there, but “almost” is not good enough when it comes to vehicle safety technology.

Safety advocates supporting an automatic emergency braking mandate for heavy-duty trucks will point to a wealth of data showing the technology’s benefits. That data is largely based on studies that look at several variables without controlling for automatic emergency braking. They also do not account for real-world experiences.

In October 2023, Land Line reported Carrie Moore found herself in a life-threatening situation with her truck’s automatic emergency braking system. In snowy conditions, the system was tricked into thinking a guardrail was a crash threat. The brakes automatically kicked in, causing the truck to jackknife on an icy road.

Other truck drivers have reported their automatic emergency braking-equipped trucks suddenly stopping for no reason in the middle of the highway.

In July 2023, FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to require automatic emergency braking on heavy-duty trucks. That was despite NHTSA having just launched an investigation into the technology on Daimler trucks.

The investigation initially found that Daimler Truck North America had received more than 300 reports possibly related to an automatic emergency braking defect. That includes 13 injury incidents and one fatal incident.

Whatever happened with that investigation?

On Oct. 23, NHTSA closed the preliminary evaluation and escalated it to an engineering analysis. In other words, the agency found that a real safety issue may exist, so it is digging deeper to get to the bottom of it.

Nearly two-and-a-half years later, and NHTSA still has not definitively found out whether automatic emergency braking is safe on certain trucks. That alone should give FMCSA reason to put any proposed mandate on hold.

All of the studies presented by safety groups are convincing and not entirely without merit. No doubt, automatic emergency braking is beneficial in low-speed, urban situations. Eventually, the technology will have the same efficacy on the highways.

Unfortunately, we are not there yet. Until we are, any mandate would be premature and potentially fatal. Requiring automatic emergency braking on trucks while an investigation into the issue is still active would be irresponsible.

Fortunately, FMCSA is rethinking the 2023 proposal. In the latest regulatory agenda, the agency indicated it will issue a second notice of proposed rulemaking in December.

On one hand, perfect is the enemy of good. On the other hand, “good enough” is not acceptable for vehicle safety technology.

Truck drivers know real safety comes from training, not untested gadgets. Regulators need to listen before forcing another flawed system on them. LL