Overview
- Eight people have lodged a plainte contre X with the Aix-en-Provence public prosecutor to prompt a criminal investigation into a series of unexplained automatic emergency braking events on some modern vehicles.
- Phantom braking refers to sudden, unwanted activation of a car’s automatic emergency braking system when no obstacle justifies it, a fault drivers say can cause high-speed loss of control and serious crashes.
- The plaintiffs’ lawyer says the problem tends to appear weeks after cars leave the factory and accuses manufacturers of failing their safety duties by not treating repeated reports seriously.
- Victims report lasting harm: some are physically injured, several suffer trauma and cannot drive, and a few keep their cars garaged because they feel unsafe; one high-profile case involves Aurélie Tormos.
- The complaint aims to identify responsible parties and could trigger formal judicial inquiries, while France’s vehicle market surveillance service has opened an inquiry to examine the incidents and potential supplier links.