Soon to be Nearly Universal, Fears Over Efficacy and Self Driving Cars?

Automatic Emergency Braking systems, or AEBs, become nearly universal in passenger cars by 2022. Most of the major car manufacturers have jumped on the wave. They offer them in their new car lineups or will soon. While there can be certain advantages to such a system, a AAA study cited by TechCrunch showed a number of unexpected drawbacks. As the pace of such systems only increases the need for a closer look grows as well.

The tests found interesting facts about cars using the AEB systems running at 30 and 45 miles per hour. Often they still do not prevent all crashes. In fact, the tests weren’t even close. When operating at 45 the car did not avoid such a collision 60% of the time.

There are still positive aspects to the system, as it appears that even if crashes are not fully prevented, the speed at impact is reduced. This could certainly assist to reduce the number of injuries or deaths related to such crashes. Still, with consideration of the potential effects of automated technology in cars, further issues may result.

A Bright Future Not Yet Come

Automatic braking and other techs may become standard and a great fallback one day. However, while research is still being done a pause may be warranted. The potential effects of such systems on driving patterns is unclear, it may be wise to take them with a grain of salt. Many human drivers are excellent and offer an opportunity to improve overall driving readiness. Existing technology, such as new car frames, airbags, and more can further reduce the chance of injury or death in a crash. Further research and studies show what is possible but our roads are not quite there yet. The next few years promise to be fascinating.