Why You Should Definitely Get this Safety Tech On Your Next Car

If you drive a Honda, Ford, General Motors car, a car made by Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi or Stellantis, Subaru or Toyota, that’s likely—but not guaranteed—good news. The reason is that a recent study of cars made by these brands using police crash report data covering 98 million vehicles and 21.2 million crashes showed that some safety tech is definitely playing a bigger part in reducing crash severity, and definitely preventing deaths.

What Safety Tech Works?

The study was led by a group that all those carmakers are members of, called the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety. A prior version of the same research also looked at crash data, and the gist is that researchers are trying to assess if key safety tech is working. They specifically focused on: Automatic emergency braking (AEB), which can theoretically stop your car if you fail to hit the brakes fast enough; Pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB), which can help you avoid hitting a pedestrian; Lane departure warning (LDW), which alerts you if you stray from your lane; Lane keeping assistance (LKA), which helps keep your car in its lane; Lane centering assistance (LCA), which keeps your car from wandering within its lane. So what really works?

And the Answer Is…

Automatic emergency braking is definitely getting more effective. When the PARTS team looked at the data they were able to see that cars equipped with the tech saw a 49 percent reduction in cars piling into vehicles or objects in front of them, but also that the newer the car, the more capable AEB was working. But there are some limitations. Heavier cars fair less well. For every 1,000 pound decrease in car weight, ther was a 4 percent reduction in the likelihood of a rear-ender.

Buy One of These Cars

The PARTS group isn’t alone in looking at crash avoidance—or in pushing for advanced tech to avoid rear-end collisions. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently made its standards for rear-end collisions more stringent. IIHS increased the speeds for their testing, from up to 25 MPH, to up to 43 MPH, because they looked at police data that shows what should be obvious—the faster you’re driving, the more severe the risk if you slam into the car ahead of you. The IIHS says that more than 400 drivers are killed each year by slamming into tractor-trailers in front of them, and more than 200 motorcyclists are killed by cars hitting them from behind.

Luckily, IIHS has found that at least some carmakers’ tech has advanced with the higher standards, with more than two-thirds of 30 new cars tested scoring either a Good or Acceptable rating. Cars that scored a Good were able to come to a complete stop before slamming into a semi in front of them and gave drivers adequate warning of an impending collision. They also either completely avoided hitting a motorcycle ahead of them or substantially braked beforehand. Cars that only managed an acceptable rating weren’t able to substantially slow down before hitting a motorcycle, especially at tests above 25 MPH.

“Good” Rating:

“Acceptable” Rating:

A Subtle But Important Addition to Safety

Nobody wants to hit a pedestrian—or be hit as a pedestrian. Yet pedestrian fatalities are unfortunately more common today than they were a decade ago. Luckily, cars equipped with pedestrian detection saw a significant, 9 percent reduction in causing impact, which is the first time carmakers of so many brands have been able to prove the technology saves lives. They’ve also learned that lane-keeping tech does work, in at least somewhat preventing accidents caused by drivers inadvertently heading off the road.

TopSpeed’s Take

One reason that safety technology is getting more effective is that it’s more common. But the most effective technology proven by this research is Automatic Emergency Braking. It’s becoming almost default for new cars sold today, but be sure to check before you buy. It’s not mandatory for carmakers to include until 2029, but you definitely want it. Secondarily, while they couldn’t confirm it, the researchers believe that automated headlights (that flip between low- and high beams) are a safety enhancement, and some form of lanekeeping is definitely an aid to preventing you or your family from getting hurt.