Autonomous emergency braking prevents accidents | study

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AEB can reduce the risk of hitting a car in front by 38 per cent.
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Matthew Hatton

Videographer

2 min read

New international study shows autonomous emergency braking can reduce the risk of hitting the back of another car by 38 per cent.

A study commissioned by ANCAP, the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and Euro NCAP has found that autonomous emergency braking (AEB) can reduce the likelihood of hitting the back of another car by up to 38 per cent.

An increasingly common safety feature in new cars, AEB works by monitoring 6m to 8m ahead of a car and automatically applies the brakes if it detects an obstacle in the way – at speeds of up to 50km/h with current technology.

The number of times they were striking cars in front was reduced significantly

Car crash data from six countries was combined by the researchers to compare crashes between cars fitted with AEB with those without, across accidents where the car was either striking a car in front or was being struck from behind.

In non-AEB cars, the split between striking and being struck was close to 50-50. In cars with AEB, the number of times they were striking cars in front was reduced significantly.

The researchers also noted that AEB-fitted cars may be more likely to be struck from behind, as an unintended consequence of AEB’s better reaction time, compared to a human driver. They do note, however, that more study into this particular area is required.

Also requiring more research is the application of high-speed AEB systems designed for highway use, as the study only focussed on systems that work below 50km/h.

Photo of Matthew Hatton
Matthew Hatton

Videographer

Matthew is a videographer at Carsguide, although he is known to occasionally commit words to the page as well. He spends a lot of his free time watching motorsport, which was great until his partner pointed out that perhaps he should also be spending time with their young daughter. Matt used to spend his days designing housing estates in a job he describes as "playing Sim City, but for real". However, after doing that for too many years, he became bored and decided a communications degree was something he should do (because journalists are successful and rich). Since starting at Carsguide he hasn't looked back. You can follow Matt on Twitter, if you dare.
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