AAA: Reverse Automatic Emergency Braking Systems Don't Work Well Enough

Of all the advanced driver assistance systems in the world, reverse automatic emergency braking (AEB) is my least favorite. Something about an alarm blaring and the vehicle violently braking for an unseen danger, which often does not exist, is not my idea of a fun day out. AAA doesn’t love the feature, either, and a recent study from the organization found that reverse AEB is only successful in preventing a tiny number of potential crashes.

AAA gave reverse AEB 40 attempts to work properly, finding that it only prevented one crash during testing, but it did at least brake 65 percent of the time. In a slightly better showing, reverse AEB prevented the vehicle from running over a child, braking 75 percent of the time and preventing half of the potential crashes.

While any prevented crash is a positive outcome, AAA said these stats are not good enough. “We were very surprised by the sort of lack of performance, or consistent performance, in the child pedestrian scenario,” said AAA’s director of automotive engineering, Greg Brannon. He went on to note that the systems need a universal standard and worried that drivers will become over-reliant on the technologies.

AAA is analyzing reverse AEB’s evolution from older technology to newer systems and said it’s looking “to understand if automakers are actually getting better at building systems that are more effective.” The tech has the potential to save thousands of lives as part of a well-functioning ADAS suite, but it has to work properly to make a difference.

[Image: Ground Picture via Shutterstock]

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