US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is pushing for vehicles to have automatic braking systems.

The NHTSA is proposing that all light cars and trucks have “automatic emergency braking and pedestrian AEB systems,” a move the agency says would significantly reduce pedestrian and rear-end crashes.

“Today, we take an important step forward to save lives and make our roadways safer for all Americans,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “Just as lifesaving innovations from previous generations like seat belts and air bags have helped improve safety, requiring automatic emergency braking on cars and trucks would keep all of us safer on our roads.”

The agency says some 24,000 accidents and at least 360 deaths per year could be prevented. The NHTSA says AEB systems would supplement drivers’ own actions:

An AEB system uses various sensor technologies and sub-systems that work together to detect when the vehicle is close to crashing, and then automatically applies the vehicle brakes if the driver has not done so, or applies more braking force to supplement the driver’s braking as necessary to avoid or mitigate the severity of the crash.

“We’ve seen the benefits of the AEB system in some passenger vehicles already even at lower speeds, and we want to expand the use of the technology to save even more lives. That’s why our proposed rule would require all cars to be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. And the proposal would require pedestrian AEB, including requiring that AEB recognize and avoid pedestrians at night,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Ann Carlson said. “This proposed rule is a major safety advancement.”

The new rule would apply to new vehicles and be required on all new light vehicles within three years of passing.