A recent IIHS study estimates that injury claims could be reduced by as much as 35 percent by implementing the technology. A comparative study of Volvo insurance claims found that property damage claims involving vehicles with automatic-braking systems were 15 percent lower than vehicles without the systems. IIHS president Adam Lund said about automatic-braking systems, “Most crashes involve driver error. This technology can compensate for the mistakes every driver makes because the systems are always on alert.”
General Motors, Ford, and Toyota lead a group of ten automakers in an agreement to work with regulators and the insurance industry to make anti-collision automatic-braking a standard feature on their vehicles in upcoming years. The agreement was announced on Friday by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who added in a statement, “We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focusing on preventing crashes from ever occurring, rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen.” The announcement was made in conjunction with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a nonprofit group which is sponsored by insurance companies to help study accident prevention. Other manufacturers involved in the agreement include BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mazda, Tesla, Volkswagen (including Audi), and Volvo. Combined, these automakers accounted for 57 percent of all domestic sales in 2014.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S.’s top auto regulator, is overseeing the collaborative effort. NHTSA Administrator Michael Rosekind said the agreement came together after talks between the parties over the past several weeks. Rosekind also indicated that more auto companies will likely join the pact in the near future. The NHTSA is hoping to make automatic-braking mandatory, with official regulations formulated within the next seven to eight years. Rosekind added during the announcement, made at an IIHS test facility in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, “It’s visible and the pressure’s on to make this happen fast.” The NHTSA had announced in February that it would formulate a ratings-standard for automatic-braking systems and the IIHS has been performing crash tests involving the systems for the past two years.
The agreement is one of many in recent years geared to reduce the number of traffic fatalities on U.S. highways. The most recent government statistics show that the 32,719 fatalities in 2013 is a 25 percent reduction from the total in 2004. A recent IIHS study estimates that injury claims could be reduced by as much as 35 percent by implementing the technology. A comparative study of Volvo insurance claims found that property damage claims involving vehicles with automatic-braking systems were 15 percent lower than vehicles without the systems. IIHS president Adam Lund said about automatic-braking systems, “Most crashes involve driver error. This technology can compensate for the mistakes every driver makes because the systems are always on alert.”
Although some high-end companies have added automatic-braking to their list of features, it still may take several years for them to become the norm. Currently, only four percent of North-American-manufactured vehicles contain the systems. Many automakers will need to redevelop the electrical and other components in order for the braking systems to function. One manufacturer, Toyota, recently announced that the automatic-braking systems would be a feature available on nearly all of its models by 2017, with the price ranging from $300 to $500. In 2007, Volvo became the first company to introduce a braking system that could automatically bring its vehicle to a full stop. Currently, it is the only car maker to make the feature standard on all of its models.
Sources:
Car and Driver (blog) – Clifford Atiyeh
New York Times – Bill Vlasic
Reuters – David Morgan
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