Automatic braking may one day be required for new cars

Many new cars come with automatic braking as an option, but for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), this isn't enough.

According to a report in The Detroit News, the NTSB is pressuring the U.S. Government to make automatic braking a federal mandate. Its argument is safety features like airbags and seat belts come standard, so more advanced safety like collision warning and automatic braking — which, they argue, can prevent injuries and fatalities— should come standard as well.

Collision warning systems use various combinations of radars, cameras and proximity sensors to warn a driver if they are too close to an object, with auto-braking taking it a step further by actually bringing the car to a stop if necessary. Generally, these features are available on high-end cars, though, they're trickling down to the mainstream on models from Subaru, Chrysler and others. Read more...