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Standard autonomous braking could soon be compulsory for all new cars, with a soon-to-be-published review into the National Road Safety Strategy calling for AEB systems to become mandatory.
The high-tech safety feature - which uses radar, laser or camera technology to detect obstacles in front (and sometimes behind) your car, and then applies the brakes automatically if you fail to do so - is being fitted to more new cars than ever before, with our national crash body, ANCAP, citing a 10-fold increase in new vehicles with standard AEB in just two years
But some experts argue those numbers don't go far enough, with a soon-to-be-published independent review into our National Road Safety Strategy - penned by Dr John Crozier from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons - to call for the government to mandate the technology, like has been done with both ABS and ESP.
"(AEB) reduces the problem a distracted driver might cause with currently preventable death and serious injury, at even low speed impact, particularly for pedestrians or other vulnerable road users," Dr Crozier told the ABC.
"There have been hundreds of deaths and arguably thousands of serious injuries that have occurred in the absence of (AEB)."
Recent research from ANCAP found that, while AEB was fitted as standard to just three per cent of new cars in December 2015, that number had grown to 31 per cent of new vehciles by March 2018.
“This is an encouraging result for for consumers, and the vehicle brands leading the charge should be commended,” says James Goodwin, ANCAP’s chief executive. “To see one-third of all popular selling models now offer this driver assistance technology as standard, we’ve moved some way closer to achieving a reduction in crash incidence and severity - but there is still a long way to go."
Of the top 100 best-selling vehicles in Australia, 37 models offered AEB as standard in March 2018 (representig 31 per cent of the market) while 35 models (29 per ccent of the market) didn’t offer AEB anywhere in the range. Another 29 per cent of the market was covered by vehicles that didn't offer the technology as standard, but as a cost extra.
The research, conducted between December 2015 and March 2018, found that, while the number of cars with standard AEB was increasing, some of the county's best-selling models - including the top-selling Toyota HiLux - don't offer autonomous braking anywhere in the range.
“This year, we’ve adopted a significant change to our (ANCAP) rating system to encourage the standard offering of AEB across the market, and we’re confident this will see further acceleration in AEB availability,” Goodwin says.
Best-sellling cars with and without standard AEB as of March 2018 (source: ANCAP)
Model | As of December ’15 | As of March ’18 | March ’18 sales rank |
Ford Ranger 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 1 |
Toyota Hilux 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 2 |
Toyota Corolla | NotAvailable | Optional | 3 |
Mazda 3 | Optional | Standard | 4 |
Hyundai i30 | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 5 |
Mazda CX-5 | Optional | Standard | 6 |
Nissan X-Trail | NotAvailable | Standard | 7 |
Mitsubishi Triton 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 8 |
Toyota RAV4 | NotAvailable | Standard | 9 |
Volkswagen Golf | OnHigher Variants | Standard | 10 |
Hyundai Tucson | N/A -not in top 100 | OnHigher Variants | 11 |
Kia Cerato | NotAvailable | Not Available | 12 |
Honda CR-V | OnHigher Variants | OnHigher Variants | 13 |
Mazda CX-3 | Optional | Standard | 14 |
Hyundai Accent | NotAvailable | Not Available | 15 |
Toyota Prado | OnHigher Variants | Optional | 16 |
Honda Civic | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 17 |
Mitsubishi ASX | NotAvailable | Optional | 18 |
Nissan Navara 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 19 |
Mitsubishi Outlander | OnHigher Variants | Optional | 20 |
Subaru XV | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 21 |
Toyota Camry | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 22 |
Toyota Kluger | OnHigher Variants | Standard | 23 |
Holden Colorado 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 24 |
Kia Sportage | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 25 |
Nissan Qashqai | NotAvailable | Standard | 26 |
Toyota Landcruiser Wagon | OnHigher Variants | OnHigher Variants | 27 |
Honda HR-V | OnHigher Variants | OnHigher Variants | 28 |
Toyota Hilux 4x2 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 29 |
Mazda 2 | Optional | Standard | 30 |
Hyundai Kona | N/A -not in top 100 | Optional | 31 |
Subaru Impreza | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 32 |
Subaru Outback | Standard | Standard | 33 |
Isuzu Ute D-Max 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 34 |
Holden Astra | N/A -not in top 100 | Optional | 35 |
Subaru Forester | OnHigher Variants | OnHigher Variants | 36 |
Holden Commodore | NotAvailable | Standard | 37 |
Volkswagen Tiguan | NotAvailable | Standard | 38 |
Toyota Yaris | NotAvailable | Optional | 39 |
Mazda CX-9 | NotAvailable | Standard | 40 |
Honda Jazz | NotAvailable | Not Available | 41 |
Mazda BT-50 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 42 |
Toyota Landcruiser Cab Chassis | NotAvailable | Not Available | 43 |
Suzuki Swift | NotAvailable | On Higher Variants | 44 |
Toyota C-HR | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 45 |
Isuzu Ute MU-X | NotAvailable | Not Available | 46 |
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport | N/A -not in top 100 | On Higher Variants | 47 |
Mitsubishi Lancer | Not Available | Not Available | 48 |
Volkswagen Amarok 4x4 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 49 |
Hyundai Santa Fe | OnHigher Variants | Standard | 50 |
Kia Rio | NotAvailable | Not Available | 51 |
Holden Captiva | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 52 |
Ford Mustang | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 53 |
Volkswagen Polo | OnHigher Variants | Standard | 54 |
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 55 |
Mercedes-Benz C-Class | Standard | Standard | 56 |
Mercedes-Benz A-Class | Optional | Standard | 57 |
Toyota Hiace Van | NotAvailable | Not Available | 58 |
BMW X3 | Optional | Standard | 59 |
Suzuki Vitara | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 60 |
Kia Carnival | NotAvailable | On Higher Variants | 61 |
Holden Trax | NotAvailable | Not Available | 62 |
Ford Focus | OnHigher Variants | OnHigher Variants | 63 |
Ford Ranger 4x2 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 64 |
Ford Everest | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 65 |
Ford Escape | N/A -not in top 100 | On Higher Variants | 66 |
Mazda BT-50 4x2 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 67 |
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 68 |
Isuzu Ute D-Max 4x2 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 69 |
Kia Picanto | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 70 |
Audi Q5 | Optional | Standard | 71 |
Audi A3 | Optional | Standard | 72 |
Kia Sorento | NotAvailable | Standard | 73 |
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class | Optional | Standard | 74 |
Hyundai iLOAD | NotAvailable | Not Available | 75 |
Holden Equinox | N/A -not in top 100 | On Higher Variants | 76 |
Hyundai Elantra | NotAvailable | Not Available | 77 |
Nissan Pathfinder | NotAvailable | On Higher Variants | 78 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee | OnHigher Variants | On Higher Variants | 79 |
Lexus NX | OnHigher Variants | Standard | 80 |
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class | Standard | Standard | 81 |
Holden Barina | NotAvailable | Not Available | 82 |
BMW X1 | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 83 |
Mitsubishi Pajero | NotAvailable | Not Available | 84 |
Land Rover Discovery Sport | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 85 |
Nissan Navara 4x2 | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 86 |
Mitsubishi Triton 4x2 | NotAvailable | Not Available | 87 |
Mazda 6 | Optional | Standard | 88 |
Toyota Fortuner | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 89 |
BMW 3 Series | Standard | Standard | 90 |
Renault Koleos | N/A -not in top 100 | Optional | 91 |
Toyota Hiace Bus | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 92 |
Porsche Macan | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 93 |
BMW X5 | Standard | Standard | 94 |
Land Rover Range Rover Sport | Optional | Standard | 95 |
BMW 1 Series | N/A -not in top 100 | Optional | 96 |
Audi Q2 | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 97 |
Subaru WRX | NotAvailable | OnHigher Variants | 98 |
Holden Trailblazer | N/A -not in top 100 | Not Available | 99 |
Audi Q7 | N/A -not in top 100 | Standard | 100 |
Is no standard AEB a new-car dealbreaker? Tell us in the comments below.
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