New study confirms real-world safety benefits of autonomous emergency braking

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems on current model passenger cars reduce rear-end collisions by 38 percent according to new research based on real-world data.

Autonomous Emergency Braking is becoming increasingly common on modern passenger cars. The low speed option normally consists of an automatic brake function that operates for speeds up to 30km/h or 50km/h. Previous studies have predicted significant expected benefits of AEB technology in low speed rear-end crashes but this study combined real-world data from five European countries and Australia to examine the effect of the system on actual crashes.

Dr Anders Lie, of the Swedish Transport Administration, commented: “Clearly, at this level of effectiveness, low speed AEB is potentially an important active safety technology and widespread fitment through the vehicle fleet should be encouraged in the interest of improved vehicle safety.”

Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, said: “These findings strongly support our decision to make AEB technology a key discriminator in the safety rating of new vehicles.”

A major study for the European Commission published in April identified a range of new vehicle safety technologies as suitable for mandatory fitting as part of a review of EU vehicle safety legislation. The report, carried out by consultants TRL, named technologies including Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) and seat belt reminder systems in passenger seats as ‘feasible in terms of the technology required’, already available on the market and offering a positive benefit-cost ratio.