Skip to main content

Multiple vehicle crashes could soon be a thing of the past, say experts

Experts at Thatcham Research - the UK motor insurers’ automotive research facility, believe that multiple vehicle accidents could be mitigated or avoided altogether with the widespread use of new automatic braking technologies. Thatcham has been researching and testing autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems on behalf of insurers for the last three years and has already undertaken an in-depth study of crashes and their causation factors.
September 25, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Experts at Thatcham Research - the UK motor insurers’ automotive research facility, believe that multiple vehicle accidents could be mitigated or avoided altogether with the widespread use of new automatic braking technologies.

Thatcham has been researching and testing autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems on behalf of insurers for the last three years and has already undertaken an in-depth study of crashes and their causation factors.

A number of major vehicle manufacturers are already providing AEB technologies on their vehicles and such is their effectiveness, as shown in the Thatcham test, that international safety body 6437 Euro NCAP will incorporate the test as part of their overall vehicle safety standard in 2014, whilst UK insurers are already offering favourable insurance groupings on vehicles fitted with AEB as standard.

“The evidence from our testing is undeniable and combined with a growing body of real world research and evidence we firmly believe that AEB and other ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) have a critical role to play in avoiding both common low-speed shunts that can cause injuries such as whiplash, and mitigating some of the horrendous injuries and fatalities that we see as result of higher speed pile-ups,” says Peter Shaw, chief executive of Thatcham Research.

“Currently, some 20 per cent of new cars in the UK have an AEB system available and if that rate of development continues we would hope that, by 2030, multiple-vehicle collisions could be history.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Russia invests in ITS technology
    May 11, 2012
    Russia’s transport systems are developing on a grand scale with ITS central to the plans, thanks in no small part to a recently relaunched ITS Russia. Jon Masters interviews the organisation’s chief executive officer Vladimir Kryuchkov Over coming years many of the biggest deployments of new technology for transport are likely to be seen in Russia. For a political and economic superpower, the world’s biggest country has only recently started to harness ITS for the good of its transport networks. But the sca
  • Bosch honoured with Global NCAP award for ESP
    June 14, 2012
    Bosch has received the Global NCAP Award 2012 for developing and launching the electronic stability programme (ESP). The award, which is conferred by the Global New Car Assessment Programme, was presented during the consumer safety organisation's annual meeting in Malacca, Malaysia. Global NCAP’s rationale for this award was ESP’s high level of effectiveness and its ability to significantly reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities – thereby supporting the aims of the UN Decade of Action for Road S
  • Managed lane operators: meet the CAV pioneers
    June 26, 2018
    There is some controversy over the testing of connected and autonomous vehicles – but Robert Deans of Transurban North America explains how managed lanes could be vital in the development of CAVs, benefiting everyone. Managed lane operators have the opportunity to establish themselves as leaders in the testing and roll-out of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), assisting and accelerating the transition of CAVs onto road networks to deliver economic and safety benefits. Managed lane facilities
  • Corruption corrodes confidence as ITS battles to improve safety
    October 13, 2015
    News items and articles in this issue illustrate the highs and lows of ITS and the dilemma inherent in enforcement application. An IIHS report showing that speed cameras change motorists' behaviour beyond the immediate vicinity of the installations is further evidence of the positive influence the technology can have, however the guilty plea in the Chicago red light corruption case serves to undermine the entire concept.