The European Commission has urged the UK government and automakers as part of its reform proposal for new road safety measures to not delay on making the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) a mandatory feature on all new cars.
With a growing number of cyclists and pedestrian fatalities, the system that’s now capable of identifying them is expected to be applied in phases for new models from 2020 onwards.
Thatcham Research, a motor insurer automotive research centre in the UK, who has campaigned for AEB to be standard for the past five years found that cars with the system can reduce rear-end accidents by 38%.
It also believes that AEB has the potential to save 1,100 lives and more than 120,000 casualties over the next decade.
AEB has been part of the Euro NCAP safety tests since 2014, compelling automakers to adopt the system. By 2017, 54% of all cars tested by Euro NCAP has AEB as standard. That said, in the UK only 30% of cars on sale have AEB as standard, as it is mostly offered as an optional extra.
Locally, the most affordable vehicle (under RM 100k) to be equipped with the system is the Perodua Myvi, more specifically the 1.5 AV variant (that took up 78% of the initial 5,000 bookings); offering Pre-Collision Braking Assist as part of its Advance Safety Assist (ASA) package.
