ANCAP Safety has released an awareness campaign throughout Australia, featuring how the functions of two vehicle safety technologies – Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Lane Support System (LSS) – could potentially prevent negative incidents and turn them into positive ones.

Drawing on real-life dash-camera footage from everyday Australians, the campaign presents eye-opening scenarios of two common types of crashes and incidents: nearly colliding with pedestrians and run-off-road collisions. The footage draws attention to the unfortunate and stark reality of these common occurrences on our roads.

ANCAP’s campaign seeks to promote widespread awareness of the availability, capabilities and benefits of vehicles that have these safety functions, and hence encourage drivers to invest in vehicles with these technologies to save lives.

The campaign, titled ‘Let’s Rewrite The Ending’, communicates that while AEB and LSS are not necessarily meant to replace human drivers, these systems can significantly reduce the likelihood of being involved in a serious road accident, or worse, fatality. AEB and LSS can also be installed on a wide range of vehicles: large or small, luxury or budget-friendly.

The following information is from ANCAP Safety: Let’s Rewrite the Ending.

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)

AEB reduces the risk of real-world rear-end crashes by 54-57%. It has been attributed to a 27% reduction in fatal crashes.

Many road crashes are the result of late braking and/or braking with insufficient force. A driver may brake too late for several reasons – they are distracted or inattentive; visibility is poor, for instance when driving towards a low sun; or a situation may be very difficult to predict because the driver ahead is braking unexpectedly.

In order to avoid, or minimise the impact of a crash, AEB systems use cameras, sensors (radar / lidar) or a combination of both to monitor the view ahead and detect obstructions in a vehicle’s path. If the driver does not respond, the vehicle automatically applies the brakes.

Some current AEB systems not only have the ability to detect other vehicles, they can also detect and prevent or mitigate the effects of a crash with pedestrians (adults and children) and cyclists.

Lane Support Systems (LSS)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA) systems can reduce head-on and single-vehicle crashes by 30%.

Approximately half of all Australian road deaths result from head-on crashes or single vehicle runoff-road crashes, where a vehicle has run off the road into the path of another vehicle, or a collision with a fixed object such as a tree or pole. A driver may be distracted or inattentive, tired or fatigued, or simply stray too far beyond the marked lane resulting in a serious crash or even fatality.

Lane Support Systems such as lane departure warning (LDW) and active lane keep assist (LKA) systems can assist a driver in safely maintaining their intended path.

Lane departure warning systems use cameras and sensors to recognise lane markings and alert the driver through either an audible or visual warning or vibration of the steering wheel if the vehicle is leaving the lane without indicating. Active lane keep assist systems can automatically bring the vehicle back within the lane where the driver fails to respond through autonomous steering input or the braking of specific wheels.

Some current lane support systems not only have the ability to recognise painted lane markings and reflective strips, they can also detect and maintain the vehicle’s path within a non-marked road edge such as a gravel or grassed road shoulder.

For more information on the campaign, click here.

The Australian Government is currently consulting on a Regulation Impact Statement on the introduction of mandatory AEB systems for new light vehicles. This process will allow industry and the community to express their views on the introduction of AEB across all of the new light vehicle fleet.

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