Research Shows Crash Prevention Systems Drastically Reduce Rear-End Smashes

Research has shown that cars with collision prevention systems can reduce rear-end crashes by as much as 40 per cent

28 Jan 2016

Research Shows Crash Prevention Systems Drastically Reduce Rear-End Smashes

Us petrolheads generally don’t like the idea of electronic interference in the cars we drive, whether it be traction control systems spoiling our fun, or various bings and bongs giving us warnings about supposed dangers. However, some of this technology does make a good deal of sense, particularly front collision prevention systems.

According to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the United States, automatic braking systems reduce rear-end crashes by about 40 per cent when compared with vehicles without any such assistance. Even a warning system on its own is able to cut such accidents by a significant 23 per cent. It’s also important to note that if an accident isn’t avoided, auto braking systems have been found to reduce injuries sustained in rear-end crashes. The study looked at Volvo’s ‘City Safety’ system, discovering that it resulted in a 47 per cent reduction in injuries sustained. Not bad.

Overall, the Institute reckons that there would have been 700,000 fewer police-reported rear-end accidents in 2013 if all cars on the road had an auto braking system, saving millions of dollars in crash damaging and preventing hundreds of thousands of potentially painful injuries.

So, even if you’re not a fan of electronic assistance in cars, maybe this is the sort you can get behind…

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety via Autoblog

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

Not holding your phone might help as well.

If they could get everybody to just follow the traffic rules, they wouldn’t need all these gimmicks. But unfortunately many people don’t even put on their seat belt.

Of course it darastically reduces crashes. Modern cars are pretty much driving for you, since modern drivers are busy texting, day dreaming, dancing to the radio, etc. So when you put a driver in charge of the car, which is the car itself, accidents decrease.

I haven’t agreed with something so wholeheartedly for a while now 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

haha I was just about to ask if it can prevent my sister from crashing her ride into other peoples cars while texting because she obviously doesn’t learn from experience

The problem is when people drive cars like they are using their laptop (eating, distracted, texting…you name it). Except the laptop weighs an average of one and a half tonnes.
But sure, added safety systems are great if they save my car in front.

There’s people that use their laptops while driving?
What?

I would be interested to se a comparison between this technology and the pre electronic interference era to see whether its drivers expecting the car to do the work or genuine human limitations which cause these accidents.

such news much bad drivers

I heard on the news this morning too…
20% lower for forward detection
42% lower for auto-breaking intel.

99% lower for non-distracted driving

Oh, and Airbags stop your face hitting the steering wheel. Captain Obvious to the rescue!

or Or OR you could put competent people behind the wheel instead of giving licenses to every idiot in the world.

Humans CAN drive. The reason we have accidents is because some people choose not to drive, but to be stupid and text and day dream and then we end up here.

Not all rear end accidents are a result of the driver being stupid. I have nearly been in several because the car in front of me barely slowed down, then swerved to avoid hitting the car in front of him at the last second, not leaving enough time/space for the car behind to stop in time. I have had to swerve onto the shoulder several times because of this shit.
Then you have people who intentionally cause the car behind them to rear-end them for insurance scam.