NTSB presses for collision avoidance systems in vehicles.

The AP (6/8, Lowy) reports that the National Transportation Safety Board said in a June 8 report that equipment that automatically brake or warn drivers to avoid rear-end collisions should come standard in all new cars and commercial trucks. More than 80 percent of collisions could be averted or alleviated if manufacturers adopt such equipment. Similar recommendations were made “a dozen times over the past 20 years,” according to the article, but progress in their adoption has been “very limited.” As a first step, the NTSB wants automakers to make “a warning system standard, and then add automatic emergency braking after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration completes standards for them,” the article reports. “You don’t pay extra for your seatbelt,” NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said in a statement. “And you shouldn’t have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision.” The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers however wants to keep the collision avoidance systems optional.