US SAFETY AGENCY TO REQUIRE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING ON NEW VEHICLES AND SET TOUGHER STANDARDS

The U.S. government's auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years

Wednesday's announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration represents the agency's latest move toward regulating electronic systems that take on certain tasks that drivers themselves have normally done. NHTSA has been reluctant in the past to impose such regulations, saying the technology will change during the time it takes to enact new rules.

Ann Carlson, the safety agency's chief counsel, says 90% of new passenger vehicles already include the braking technology under a voluntary program that automakers have approved. But she says NHTSA wants to make the braking systems more effective at higher speeds and better at avoiding pedestrians, especially at night.