Republicans Propose Scrapping Automatic Emergency Braking in Cars: Report

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Nov 26, 2025 at 03:13 AM EST updated Nov 26, 2025 at 04:39 AM EST


Lawmakers are set to question the need for certain safety mandates in cars, including automatic emergency braking, at a hearing to discuss how to make vehicles more affordable for Americans, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has announced that the hearing is scheduled for January 14. The committee said in a news release that the hearing would "examine how radical global warming regulations and mandated technologies have driven up the cost of vehicles for American consumers."

According to The Wall Street Journal, this will include reassessing some safety technology, such as emergency braking and also alarms that remind drivers when a child is in the back seat. Newsweek has contacted Cruz for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Proposed changes to vehicle safety requirements could affect the safety features available in new cars, the cost of vehicles for American consumers and the direction of federal regulation of automotive technology. The debate highlights a broader policy clash between cost-conscious deregulation and advocates who argue mandatory safety features are critical to public welfare.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-propose-scrapping-automatic-emergency-braking-in-cars-report-11110385

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In other words, kill people "by any means necessary".

[multigraincracker]

1. And save 75 cents in automotive manufacturing.

We have 2 cars with those features. Do I get the buck and a half or does the CEO get it in her bonus?

[SergeStorms]

37. If it comes down to......

the auto companies increasing profits, or lowering the price of vehicles significantly, I think we all know which the auto companies will choose. 😉

[OC375]

2. Even a Broken Clock...

[lostnfound]

4. What do you have against automatic braking? Is it just government regulation in general?

Curious.
I’ve appreciated mine on two occasions, plus it can help prevent other people from hitting my car.

[TomSlick]

16. Shortly after I bought my Ranger pickup, someone tried a swoop and squat in front of me.

The truck stopped itself before I had time to react. I don't know what the automatic braking added to the purchase price but it was well worth it.

[SeattleVet]

8. ...is still broken and needs to be replaced. nt

[ChicagoTeamster]

3. They're making them cheaper to produce, bigger profit for manufacturers.

Same with when Trump removed the Obama administration Department of Transportation (DOT) safety rule enacted in 2015 that required certain trains carrying highly flammable materials to be equipped with advanced electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes so the railroads could save money. Then we had train accidents like the one that caused the huge chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

[odins folly]

5. Can anyone give an example of when

Deregulation created cost decreases for consumers?

Anyone?

[erronis]

6. But it is not hard to see the argument that regulation increases costs.

Just look at when the Model-T first hit the road. Almost every middle-class family could own one.

No seat belts, no blinkers, no rear-view mirrors, no safety features and the driving regulations were mainly non-existent (except having someone walking in front with a red flag.)

I'm sure the (r)epuglicons would just love to get behind their tin-lizzie and drive on their rutted roads hoping some oxen were available to pull them out of their ditch.

[odins folly]

9. Not so much deregulation as no regulation

The model T had a 20hp engine capable of 42 mph, I’m assuming on a paved road if you could find one. Yes they reduced the price tag eventually but that was at the insistence of Henry’s son who argued that the workers building them couldn’t afford them.

No such things as mirrors, turn signals, seat belts etc because they didn’t exist on wagons that the T replaced.

[MichMan]

21. That wasn't why the prices went down

It was due to improvements and efficiencies in manufacturing cutting the time required to produce one substantially. Nobody told Henry what to do, especially Edsel.

[Scruffy1]

41. Thanks.

I get so tired pf these bullshit Ford stories like the "five dollar a day so the workers could afford a car." It's all lies. Ford had the lowest wages of all the major manufacturers and was plain brutal to his employees. He never invented anything, but hired some who did. What he did do was produce a simple and cheap to make automobile that you could get parts and service for everywhere through his huge dealer network. Also the model T's axles didn't break like other brands because he got his iron ore from the Mesabi range and owned the mine and the ships to move it. Personally, I think Diego Rivera was right when he painted Henry as the Devil at Rockefeller Center. I shouldn't even have to mention the union supporters who were beaten and killed or his antisemitism.
The Dodge brothers initially made his transmissions, which was a planetary unit. The lowest gear was reverse, so it wasn't unusual to have to back up hills, which was very dangerous on the roads of the day. The first traffic fatality in the rural county I grew up in was caused by a T that rolled over backing up a hill. I wonder if Cruz would swap his Mercedes for a model T? Hand crank, 20 horsepower, no heater and rides like a buckboard. And when did non action on global warming become "radical" and his Public Policy degree become engineering. The actual price of cars has not risen as fast as other items due to inflation because of gains in manufacturing efficiency and todays cars require a lot less maintenance, last a lot longer and are way more efficient.

[MichMan]

42. They also backed up steep hills because the fuel tank was operated by gravity

There was no fuel pump, so when the carburetor was higher than the tank the engine would be starved of fuel.

[Red Mountain]

11. Slightly more advanced but if you're hankering for a model T equivalent

https://minitrucks.net/collections/vehicles

Street legal and slow. Probably about the same size.

[Mawspam2]

7. Let's get rid of air bags, seat belts, dashboard padding, and collapsable steering columns as well.

Anything to save a buck in manufacturing and shift the cost to medical care, which the government won't pay for!

Smoke up, MAGA! Lung cancer is good for you. Be a real man! (Women can STFU).

[The Madcap]

29. While we're at it

Go back to leaded gas, and let us drink while driving.

I think I'll join a monastery so I won't have to drive anymore.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

10. If it involves ordinary people dying, they're for it.

At least they're consistent on that.

[IronLionZion]

12. Automatic braking has helped me occasionally

when someone or something darts out in front of me, it reacted faster than I can.

[Aussie105]

13. Autonomous emergency braking relies on sensors and ABS.

And electric park brakes.

The removal of just the automatic braking might not save much.

I guess going back to carburettors and zero electronics is the Trump vehicle of the future?

I'm sure Elon is on it for his Teslas!

[progree]

14. Is a Republican decade 15 years? 2010 to now is a decade? Is a 29% increase more than a doubling?

Last edited Wed Nov 26, 2025, 11:24 PM - Edit history (1)

The average cost of a new car has more than doubled in the past decade, according to committee documents. It now exceeds $50,000, up from $24,296 in 2010.

. . . Republican Senator Ted Cruz said in a news release: "The average price of a car has more than doubled in the past decade. ... "

'

New vehicles in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, seasonally adjusted
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SETA01
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SETA01
Jan 2010: 138.321,
Sept 2025: 178.510
+29%

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0
Jan 2010: 217.488,
Sept 2025: 324.368
+49%

So according to this, over the last Republican "decade" (15 years), the average new car price has gone up less than consumer prices overall. IOW, the inflation-adjusted average price of a new car has fallen.

[SidneyR]

15. True story about automatic emergency braking.

Driving home on a very dark, cloudy night, a car suddenly pulled out in front of me with no lights on. My RAV4 hit the brakes before I did, stopped just inches from this bozo. Love that feature!

[BumRushDaShow]

17. IIRC

it will also engage to keep the brakes from locking if the car skids. I.e. it will do a series of brief brake/release/brake/release/brake/release, even if someone is trying to "floor the brakes".

[IronLionZion]

31. Some vehicles have that feature

it is interesting to read through the manual of a new car. Dealers don't always tell customers about all the new stuff.

[BumRushDaShow]

35. I have had my car for 11 years

and still call it "the starship".

It has the "self parking" feature that I have never used. Plus the steering wheel gets haptic feedback from the exterior car sensors, so if I get to close too a car, it vibrates and will even put up resistance when turning the wheel while doing some tight parking!

[Lasher]

20. Automatic Emergency Braking saved my life.

My son and I, along with a friend of his, were driving home from Landover, MD. His friend was driving my Subaru Forester. He had cruise control engaged, and fell asleep when we came to a toll booth. AEB engaged, throwing my son from the back seat into the floor.

I'm quite certain AEB saved all 3 of our lives, as well as some others in cars we would have hit. I would not buy a vehicle now unless it has AEB.

[ToxMarz]

18. Maybe they could concentrate more on creating an economy that working people can earn enough

to pay for essentials rather than instead supplying them bare minimum garbage they can afford without cutting into the billionaires profits

[JoetheShow]

19. That would undermine their entire policy/reason for being.

All increases to income must go to the top 1%.

[OldBaldy1701E]

27. Not to mention that, in their minds, income MUST increase. Always. Without fail.

Otherwise, you are less than a bug and not worth the air you are breathing.

At least, according to these greedy assholes

[dweller]

22. I dare

Ted Cruz to drive himself in a vehicle with no modern safety features for a month in a major metropolis …

Then get back to us
😐


✌🏻

[Wiz Imp]

23. They really do want to kill as many people as possible, don't they?

[The Madcap]

30. Yes.

And they'll say it was the will of God....by whom they mean Emperor T***p.

[Aussie105]

24. The price of cars has gone up, it is true.

My 2016 SUV cost me AU $27K, today the equivalent car is AU $40K. A 50% price increase.
More due to inflation over 9 years rather than added safety features, I'd guess.

But historically car prices have held level ground for years, then did a big jump up.
So it isn't a linear progression.

Decades ago I aimed to save $3K for a new car.
By the time I had that, after one year of saving, the price had doubled to $6K.

Cruz needs to go and study historical numbers on car prices.

And blaming safety features for price rises is just too simplistic.

[Old Crank]

25. One big reason for the car price increases

Is size. SUV, pickups, are the most sold. They also generate the largest profit margins. Plus the full size iterations are deadly for pedestrians and cyclists.

Not to mention the cost of operation.....

[Chi67]

33. Yep

SUVs suck. They are the worst automotive trend ever- deadly, bad for the environment and could they be any uglier? Then, the same people who drive these monstrosities have the nerve to bitch about gas prices. No one will ever catch me driving one of those awful things. Here’s a clue- if prices for gas and new SUVs bother you- get a sedan! You can get a very nice roomy sedan for less than a low end SUV.

[Old Crank]

43. American makers have really cut down their sedan

Offerings. They sold us the hype for the truck/suv craze and now they hardly make cars.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

26. I was backing my car up the driveway, went off the drive in poor visibility, then BANG!

The car stopped, head snapped back a little. Damn, I guess I better look at the damage. The car had stopped itself, a foot short of the gatepost. The automatic brake saved me a bundle of cash, easily over $ 1000, given what parts and labor and paint cost these days.

I don't see who would benefit by eliminating this feature.

[Danmel]

28. Rear seat reminders save small children

Once they're out of the womb, repubs don't care if they die in a hot car.

[Maninacan]

32. Keep the braking

I don't have a car that new. I would rather have braking and skip the anti theft crap. I am looking at a 1300$ Bill cause the column cannot read the key.

[Auggie]

34. The auto insurance industry, in response, could raise rates

[Wuddles440]

51. That's an absolute certainty!

[hadEnuf]

36. How about removing blade gaurds on fans in your home?

Get a good laugh when one of your kids walks into one.

[hunter]

38. Wrong answer.

Instead, let's turn our cities into attractive affordable places where car ownership is unnecessary.

Forcing people to own cars isn't any kind of freedom.

[Martin68]

39. One more step in MAGA's race to the bottom.

[wolfie001]

40. rePUKE death cult marches on

[RussBLib]

44. Seat belts? We don't need no stinking seat belts

Freedom to flyyyyyyy

[oasis]

45. Avoid death or lifetime injury. It's worth the cost.

Goes without saying.
Btw, fuck Ted Cruz.

[Mz Pip]

46. I love automatic breaking

I’m sure it’s prevented many rear end collisions. It did for me when someone cut in front of me in fast moving traffic only to jam on their breaks. That system automatically put on the breaks a second or so before I did. That short amount of time prevented an accident.

[bucolic_frolic]

47. It will be more expensive to offer cars with and without tech features

Plus it will confuse drivers as to which technology they are driving. The brake pedal is used differently for each braking technology. More crashes that way.

[FakeNoose]

48. It probably means that our car insurance premiums will go EVEN HIGHER now

Any time the manufacturers eliminate safety features, for whatever reason, the insurance companies take advantage and jack up their prices.

[Rebl2]

49. Like you

say kill as many citizens as you can in any way.

[ck4829]

50. Why?

[doc03]

52. I have to agree with Ted Cruz on some of

of that stuff. Tire pressure monitor, my truck is
20 years old and the light came on a year ago. The shop said it would cost several hundred dollars to fix. The mechanic said just put some black tape over it if it bothers me. I can see if they have air. I don't have any kids so I don't need to know if the rear seat is occupied.