According to an October study by AAA, automatic emergency braking technology is very effective at reducing low-speed crashes, particularly in newer vehicles.
The insurance and financial services company found that model year 2024 vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking avoided 100% of front-vehicle crashes at speeds up to 35 mph. Meanwhile, 2017 and 2018 model year vehicles equipped with earlier versions of the technology avoided only 51 percent of such crashes.
For the report, AAA tested newer and older vehicles from the same automaker on the same day on a closed course in Southern California.
The findings are the basis of several conclusions reached by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this year. In April, the agency finalized a safety rule that would require all new cars and light trucks to include automatic emergency braking by 2029, estimating that it would help save at least 360 lives and 24,000 injuries each year.
Specifically, the new rule requires that vehicles traveling at a maximum speed of 100 km/h are equipped with systems that help them stop and avoid a vehicle in front. Even cars traveling at speeds of 45 miles per hour must be able to brake when their technology detects a pedestrian.
“The progress automakers have made is commendable and promising in improving driver safety,” automotive engineering research director Greg Brannon said in a statement, noting that AAA began testing automatic emergency braking a decade ago.
However, the AAA study also showed that the technology was not effective at higher speeds. While the technology was effective at 35 mph, only three out of four vehicles tested avoided a crash at 45 mph, according to AAA. And none of these three vehicles avoided a 55 mph collision.
“There is still a lot of work to do to ensure systems operate at higher speeds,” Brannon said.
To develop systems that are effective at both high speeds and 35 mph, AAA recommends that automakers focus on investing in automatic emergency braking system improvements. Such research and development will result in improving the effectiveness of sensors and minimizing false positives in braking algorithms.
Additionally, AAA said automakers further developing forward-collision warnings could help reduce driver reliance on automatic braking systems.