Forbes – Study Shows Automatic Emergency Braking Improving As Trump Looks To Kill Mandate
Editors note: while Level 4 autonomous vehicles (robotaxis) are expensive and not proven to be safe, Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems have been shown to provide a 49% reduction in front-to-rear crashes. Yet the Trump administration wants to loosen regulations for robotaxis and kill the current mandate for AEBs.
See original article by Ed Garsten at Forbes
Improvements in safety technology known as advanced driver assistance system, or ADAS, are improving and responsible for a sharp drop in rear-end vehicle-to-vehicle crashes as well as a decrease in collisions with non-motorists, according to a report released Monday by the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety, or PARTS.
The organization is a partnership between 11 automobile manufacturers and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and operated by MITRE, an independent technology and research and development company.
The report comes days after the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry lobbying group, filed suit earlier this month to repeal an April, 2024 ruling by NHTSA requiring most vehicles to be equipped with AEB starting in 2029.
But with the change in administrations, NHTSA is now reconsidering the ruling.
The study revealed a 49% reduction in front-to-rear crashes for vehicles equipped with one ADAS feature in particular, automatic emergency braking, or AEB, across all vehicle segments and model years, since a previous PARTS study released in 2022.
Model year vehicles 2020–2023 are now preventing more than half the rear-end striking crashes, at 52% effectiveness, up from 46% for model years 2015-2017.
In addition, there was a 9% reduction in single-vehicle frontal crashes with non-motorists for vehicles equipped with pedestrian automatic emergency braking, or PAEB, marking the first time PARTS was able to quantify a statistically significant measure of PAEB effectiveness.
Aside from AEB and PAEB the study looked at lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance and lane centering assistance, with AEB and PAEB showing the most significant improvements.
Data for the study was generated by pairing auto manufacturing data with police reports covering 98 million vehicles from model years 2015-2023 representing 168 models from nine automakers, and 21.2 million crashes.
That represents a vast increase in data compared with the 2022 study, according to Michelle Michelini, director of surface transportation at MITRE.
“We nearly tripled the amount of data that we were able to study, so we were able to statistically significantly show that the results are consistent with previous findings, which was good because we had a much more limited data set,” said Michelini, in an interview.
While the much larger data set was key in revealing improved effectiveness of ADAS, the technology has simply improved over time, according to Michelini.
Among the improvements she cites are better sensors and algorithms.
“There are advancements in AI technology that contribute to algorithms so the ability to detect a potential collision and make the decision that something’s going to happen to begin the feature to work in the in the actual case or crash situation is much more specific and earlier in the process,” she pointed out. “Also we’re starting to build this evidence that the integration with other systems is becoming more effective. If you get better integration, you’ll get better outcomes.”
One better outcome would be evidence ADAS features save lives and prevent injuries. That’s not covered in this study but Micheleni says that’s something “we’re working on” and is likely to be included in a subsequent report.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 2.38 million people were injured in traffic crashes on U.S. roadways in 2022 and 40,990 people lost their lives in crashes in 2023.
The current report does surmise “Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in motor vehicles have the potential to reduce these crashes, prevent serious injuries, and save thousands of lives each year.”
Such documentation is important as automakers spend time and resources to improve and develop these systems, which also add cost to vehicles at a time when affordability is tenuous for many consumers.
Indeed, in opposing the NHTSA ruling requiring mandatory AEB, Alliance for Automotive Innovation president and CEO John Bozella wrote, the proposed standard is, “a disastrous decision by the nation’s top traffic safety regulator that will endlessly – and unnecessarily – frustrate drivers; will make vehicles more expensive; and at the end of the day… won’t really improve driver or pedestrian safety.”
While not responding to the organizations opposition to the regulation, Michelini said she is hoping the positive results in this latest study showing how the performance of ADAS technologies are improving, will send a strong message to consumers when they’re considering subsequent vehicle purchases.
“We really want to encourage consumers to prioritize vehicles equipped with advanced features. We know that they save lives. We know that they’re helpful in serious outcomes, and when they’re making their purchase decisions, to purchase vehicles with these features so that they can protect themselves, their families.”
See original article by Ed Garsten at Forbes
