Twenty major car manufacturers have agreed to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on their new vehicles by 2022.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims the agreement will help make automatic emergency braking standard in the industry three years faster than could be achieved by traditional rulemaking. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates the pact will prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries during those three years.

"We're getting these safety systems into vehicles much faster than what would have been otherwise possible," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in a statement. "A commitment of this magnitude is unprecedented, and it will bring more safety to more Americans sooner."

Under the pact, cars will come equipped with standard emergency braking no later than September 1, 2022. Rear-end crashes, according to the IIHS, should decline by 40 percent thanks to the technology.

Not only will the agreement benefit cars, but it also applies to light-duty trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 8,500 pounds or less. Starting in 2025, trucks up to 10,000 pounds will also have standard emergency braking.

Emergency braking has rapidly become a major player in the industry's arsenal of safety features. It was only last year that NTHSA added automatic braking to its safety assessment program. And several months ago, 10 automakers had already pledged to offer standard automatic braking in the future.