Skip to main content

IAM RoadSmart: Auto emergency breaking could save hundreds of lives

Private and fleet car buyers could save hundreds of lives a year by insisting the cars they purchase are fitted with auto emergency braking (AEB), according to UK motoring organisation IAM RoadSmart and coalition partners. The coalition, which comprises car and road design experts, said AEB systems (which automatically apply the vehicle’s brakes if pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles are detected ahead) could save 1, 100 lives and 122, 860 causalities over the next ten years. In addition, the insuran
September 28, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Private and fleet car buyers could save hundreds of lives a year by insisting the cars they purchase are fitted with auto emergency braking (AEB), according to UK motoring organisation IAM RoadSmart and coalition partners.


The coalition, which comprises car and road design experts, said AEB systems (which automatically apply the vehicle’s brakes if pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles are detected ahead) could save 1, 100 lives and 122, 860 causalities over the next ten years. In addition, the insurance industry-funded Thatcham Research calculates that 308 fewer deaths and serious injuries by 2025 and can save society £138 million if buyers insist on AEB.

Peter Shaw, CEO of Thatcham Research said: “There’s an urgent need to change the consumer and fleet mind-set around car safety. Especially when AEB can cost as little as £200. Safety should be a deal-breaker, not a nice to have. If it doesn't have AEB, it shouldn't be a sale.”

Related Content

  • Half of Brits want e-scooter restrictions
    June 3, 2021
    Survey respondents in UK say licences and age restrictions are vital for safety
  • Hyped has hyperloop hopes
    May 20, 2020
    Student group says it made serious progress with asynchronous motors this year
  • Simplifying enforcement systems type approval
    August 1, 2012
    Martyn Harriss looks at what we can do to simplify the type approval of enforcement equipment in Europe. I doubt that there are many who can remember the days when policemen hid in the bushes with stopwatches and flags to catch speeding motorists - and I'd suggest that back then there were few who were caught who would have dared question the accuracy of those watches or those who operated them. Probably, fewer still here in Europe could have dreamt that a supranational body such as the European Union (EU)
  • Driverless truck could improve workzone safety
    August 27, 2015
    A driverless truck, demonstrated this week by Pennsylvania vehicle manufacturer Royal Truck and Equipment, could help improve workzone safety, says the company. The truck, fitted with special rear-end crash attenuators and lights, was demonstrated using GPS waypoints and following a lead car, mimicking its path, braking and speed. The company has teamed up with Micro Systems to integrate military technology into truck mounted attenuators (TMA), which are used on many roads in the US to protect workers