The most challenging part of FMVSS 127 is the night-time Pedestrian Automated Emergency Braking (PAEB) test, which, unlike the new EU AEB regulations, needs to operate in complete darkness. full. According to NHTSA, more than 70% of pedestrians killed by drivers strike at night.
Nadine Wong, director of track testing at the independent testing company, said protecting pedestrians at night “may require further advances and developments in sensor technology”. Dynamic research. Working from a test track 15 miles north of Bakersfield, California, Dynamic Research got underway Check out FMVSS 127 for customers. “We know that there are vehicles out there that are close to meeting the standard,” Vuong said.
NHTSA admitted that FMVSS 127 is “technologically required,” but emphasizes that “the standard is achievable.”
While the industry will incur a major cost of $354 million for software development, U.S. society will benefit to the tune of $7.26 billion, NHSTA said. NHSTA said, citing cost reductions for the software industry. “negative externalities” Serious auto accidents such as emergency service calls, medical care, insurance administrative costs, workplace costs and legal costs.
“Considering that auto manufacturing is America's largest manufacturing sector, employing 10 million Americans, generating 5% of US GDP and driving $1 trillion into the economy annually, Chase said ” Chase said, “it is worth noting that (the auto industry) will not be able to meet the requirements in the AEB rule before September 2029.”
in one press statement, William Wallace, director of safety advocacy at Consumer Report, agreed: “It's disappointing that automakers are suing to block this life-saving automatic emergency braking rule.”
Shaun Kildare, director of research at Highway and auto safety advocatesagree. “When they say, 'It's impossible, we could never meet this standard,' that's wrong because some car companies already sell cars that meet that standard in America,” he said, “and they are certainly selling cars that achieve that overseas.” . (Auto companies) don't want to pay for every car.”
However, the Coalition’s Bozzella called FMVSS 127 a “disaster” rule that “will relentlessly—and needlessly—frustrate drivers (and) make vehicles more expensive.” Oddly, Bozzella also claims that a stricter standard, even stricter than its EU equivalent, “would not actually improve driver or pedestrian safety”.
However, the Coalition's lawsuit is doomed to fail, Chase said. “NHTSA is risk averse. They like everything buttoned up. They wouldn't have made this rule if they thought it could be easily challenged.”
Late last year, NHTSA has released a series of studies shows that more than 860,000 lives have been saved by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards since 1968. Frontal airbags alone have saved more than 50,000 lives over a 30-year period, NHTSA estimates.
President Trump nominated Steven Bradbury as minister of transportation. Bradbury is a member of the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation, who wrote Project 2025a more than 900-page blueprint for government that Trump rejected during the election.
The Project 2025 transportation plan includes reducing fuel economy standards and eliminating highway spending from pedestrian and bicycle projects. Project 2025 also advocates for smaller government and less regulation, a claim that will likely be further increased by Elon Musk's Office of Government Performance Managementor DOGE.
It's unclear what President Trump, DOT or DOGE will do with FMVSS 127, but Norton, who also authored a report, said. Books about automated driving“If we can't convince automakers to embrace vehicle automation for safety, then we can't expect them to get serious about fully robotic cars.”