The American Automobile Association has performed independent testing of pedestrian detection within autonomous emergency braking systems which reveals it may not save lives.
While acknowledging the features “are not intended to serve as a substitute for an engaged driver”, the investigation has found, among other results, at 48km/h three out of four test vehicles failed to reduce the impact speed by at least 8km/h.
The testing reveals pedestrian detection systems were “significantly challenged” when they encountered a child while travelling at 32km/h by only avoiding an impact 11% – or just over one in 10 occasions – using aggregated results.
When test vehicles were presented with a pedestrian while exiting a right-hand bend in the road, none of their autonomous emergency braking functions managed to mitigate any impact speeds during five test sequences per vehicle.
Only one in five collisions were avoided when two pedestrians were encountered walking at the roadside, although the study does not indicate whether the pedestrian dummies were talking toward or int he same direction as the vehicle.
EuroNCAP and ANCAP testing of pedestrian detection systems uses a dummy rig travelling in the same direction as the vehicle, where on the recently scored Audi A6 for example, with the system operable between 10-85km/h, in day the vehicle was rated as “Good”. However in night scenarios, the Audi was also scored as “Marginal”.
ANCAP communications and advocacy director Rhianne Robson tells AutoTalk drivers must never be complacent about these relatively new safety assist technologies.
“It is important that consumers are aware that AEB and other collision avoidance systems are provided to assist the driver in emergency situations, not replace the driver,” she explains.
“ANCAP plays a key role in educating the community on the availability and benefits of these technologies, as well as their limitations,” Robson says.
ANCAP says despite the potential drawbacks, the technology remains essential for people’s on-going safety in and around vehicles in future.
“The systems fitted to vehicles use cameras, sensors (radar / lidar) or a combination of both to detect a potential crash, and ANCAP’s independent testing allows consumers to see how different systems perform across a range of vehicle makes and models and in differing conditions,” Robson highlights.
“To encourage the uptake of advanced collision avoidance technologies, ANCAP has been assessing the effectiveness of AEB systems on new cars entering the market since the start of last year, and of the 57 vehicles tested by ANCAP – with the exception of two models – all have been fitted with autonomous emergency braking technology,” she explains further.
“Of these, 53 models (93%) have been fitted with advanced AEB systems capable of detecting and either avoiding or minimising the effects of a crash with a pedestrian and/or cyclist,” Robson says.
The AAA’s test declared “Evaluated pedestrian detection systems were ineffective during nighttime conditions”.
The vehicles tested were a Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Tesla Model 3, and Toyota Camry.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports in 2017 nearly 6000 pedestrians were killed in vehicle crashes with 75% of pedestrian fatalities occurring at night, compared to 21% during daylight, just 2% at dusk and 2% at dawn.
“Never rely on pedestrian detection systems to avoid a collision,” the AAA reminds.
“These systems serve as a backup rather than a primary means of collision avoidance,” the organisation highlights.
Images: ANCAP
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