AAA has released a new report looking at the potential safety benefits of selected advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), providing new estimates of the numbers of crashes, injuries and deaths that such systems could potentially help prevent.
Specific technologies examined in the report are:
- forward collision warning (FCW)
- automatic emergency braking (AEB)
- lane departure warning (LDW)
- lane keeping assistance (LKA)
- blind spot monitoring (BSM) systems
Driver assistance technologies designed primarily for driver convenience (e.g., adaptive cruise control systems; parking assistance systems) are outside the scope of this review. This brief estimates the numbers of crashes, injuries and deaths that these technologies could theoretically help prevent or mitigate; it does not attempt to quantify the likely actual real-world reductions in crashes, injuries and deaths attributable to these technologies.
Key Findings
The technologies examined are estimated to have the potential to prevent a combined total of approximately 40 percent of all passenger-vehicle crashes, 37 percent of injuries that occur in crashes involving passenger vehicles and 29 percent of all deaths in crashes that involve passenger vehicles.
FCW/AEB and LDW/LKA systems were each estimated to have the potential to help prevent approximately 14 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities. However, FCW/AEB systems were estimated to be relevant to more than four times as many crashes and injuries as LDW/LKA. This is because the types of crashes targeted by LDW/LKA systems, i.e., lane departure crashes and especially single-vehicle road departure crashes, tend to be more severe than most other crash types. FCW and AEB systems with pedestrian detection capability have the potential to prevent a substantial number of fatalities, especially involving pedestrians and cyclists. However, most of the overall crashes to which they are relevant are rear-end crashes, which are rarely fatal. The overall contribution of BSW systems to crash reductions was the smallest by all measures, but they are still estimated to have the potential to help prevent as many as 318,000 crashes annually.
To reach the full report, click here.
