Automatic braking systems ineffective at night spotting pedestrians, study reveals
Automatic emergency braking systems designed to detect pedestrians are performing poorly at night, according to tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted nighttime tests of automatic braking systems to address a high percentage of pedestrian fatalities. Of the 23 passenger vehicles tested, only four earned the highest rating of superior. More than half received the two lowest grades.
The federal government has tried to impose an automatic braking system mandate on commercial vehicles. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has opposed such efforts, citing several errors with the technology.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that overall pedestrian fatalities are climbing. The latest numbers from the federal government show that pedestrian deaths have increased 80% since reaching a low in 2009.
Of the 7,300 pedestrian deaths in 2021, three-quarters occurred at night, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
A recent study shows that, although effective during the day, pedestrian automatic braking systems have little to no effect at night.
A study conducted earlier this year reveals that pedestrian deaths were reduced by a quarter with vehicles equipped with pedestrian automatic braking systems. However, there was no difference in vehicles with or without the technology when it comes to nighttime pedestrian fatalities.
While 12 of 23 vehicles tested earned low ratings for pedestrian automatic braking systems during nighttime testing, 19 of 23 earned a superior rating in daylight testing.
The four vehicles that were rated superior during nighttime testing of their pedestrian automatic brakes were the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Camry and Toyota Highlander.
Eight others earned basic scores. They are the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Ford Maverick, Ford Ranger, Mazda CX-9, Volkswagen Atlas, Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Volkswagen Tiguan. The pedestrian automatic braking systems in the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima and Toyota Tacoma don’t perform well enough in the dark to earn any credit.
“As we expected, most of these pedestrian AEB systems don’t work very well in the dark,” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety President David Harkey said in a statement. “But it’s clear automakers can rise to this new challenge, as Ford, Nissan and Toyota each earn superior ratings for some models.” LL
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