AEB systems cut rear-end collisions by 45%

A study carried out for ETSC’s Italian member ACI by the Filippo Caracciolo Foundation in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Turin has investigated the real world effectiveness of automated emergency braking (AEB) systems in preventing rear-end collisions.

The authors cross-referenced data including: information from event data recorders in a sample of 1.5 million vehicles in 2017 and 1.8 million in 2018; information on the nature of collisions extracted from the ACI-ISTAT database and model information for cars on the road (the Public Automobile Register).

The research looked specifically at rear-end collisions and the role played by the brake assist system. The results showed that the introduction of the brake assist system improves safety significantly. The reduction in rear-end accidents in vehicles less than three years old was estimated at 45%: on average, almost one in two rear-end collisions was avoided thanks to the technology.