TROY, Mich. — Truck components and systems manufacturer ArvinMeritor is touting its Meritor Q Plus drum brakes to meet the stringent stop distance braking standard issued last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The new standard requires that a tractor-trailer traveling at 60 mph come to a complete stop in 250 feet. The old standard required a complete stop within 355 feet — a difference of about 30 percent. 

The idea behind the new requirements is to help close the gap between car and truck stopping distances.

ArvinMeritor has been working for more than three years on preparing the Q Plus product in anticipation of this ruling. The product line is currently undergoing the final phases of implementation testing.

The new rule applies only to new truck tractors, and does not include single-unit trucks, trailers and buses. It will be phased in over the next four years beginning with 2012 models.

ArvinMeritor offers standard and high-performance drum brakes, automatic slack adjusters, hubs, rotors and drums and hydraulic disc brakes.