Autonomous Vehicle Tech Reduces Rear End Crashes by 43% - Report

Autonomous safety technology introduced by car maker Volvo has been shown to significantly reduce the chance of a rear end crash according to recently released research.

A recent report from the US based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that City Safety technology reduced the probability of a vehicle experiencing a rear end crash by 43 percent.

According to the study, the technology, which is standard across the Volvo range in New Zealand, also reduces the chance of driver or passenger injury by up to 45 percent.

City Safety, is an autonomous emergency braking system designed to help a driver avoid a low-speed crash or to reduce its severity.

At low speeds City Safety uses a lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor positioned at the top of the windscreen to monitor an area 10m ahead of the car for vehicles which might present a threat of collision.

If a collision is likely, the technology pre-charges the brakes and makes the Emergency Brake Assist system more sensitive so that, if the driver should notice the risk, the car is ready to respond more quickly to his braking action.

However, if the driver still takes no action and a collision becomes imminent, City Safety independently applies the brakes.

Volvo’s NZ general manager Coby Duggan, says the research demonstrates the potential benefits of self driving vehicles for Kiwi drivers.

“There were over 300 fatalities and more than 12,000 reported injuries on New Zealand roads last year - with ongoing research and development bringing new safety innovations, autonomous vehicle technology presents a significant opportunity to reduce our road toll,” he says.

Duggan says as the technology develops new models being introduced in 2017 will include features such as animal detection with automatic emergency braking, aimed at further preventing or mitigating accidents on the road.