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

  • Lidar: recipes for success
    March 28, 2022
    Lidar is being deployed all over the world - and you can even read a cookbook on the subject...
  • New Zealand introduces Zero Carbon Bill
    May 10, 2019
    The government of New Zealand has unveiled a plan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, says: “To address the long-term challenge of climate change, today we introduce the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill to Parliament.” James Shaw, minister for climate change, says: “The critical thing is to do everything we can over the next 30 years to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and the Zero Carbon Bill makes that a legally bindin
  • UK ‘to trial driverless trucks’
    March 7, 2016
    According to news reports, UK Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce funding for driverless truck trials on the M6 motorway when he delivers his budget this month. A stretch of the M6 near Carlisle has reportedly been earmarked for the trials, which could see platoons of up to ten driverless lorries take to the road as the government pushes ahead with next-generation transportation in a bid to reduce congestion and journey times. The trucks would each have a driver in the cab as a safety me
  • Options abound for road weather sensing
    September 6, 2017
    Meteorological organisations invest millions in super-computers to crunch data for ever-more accurate forecasts but inherent unpredictability means that other methods of alerting drivers and road authorities to fast-changing weather and highway conditions are essential. For years, static weather sensors to measure factors such as surface water, ice or high roadway temperatures have been embedded in highways to provide such data. But that is changing.