This report explores Potential benefits of forward collision avoidance technology such as Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are likely to become increasingly available in new vehicles over coming years. ADAS typically involve arrays of sensors that provide the vehicle with information about the immediate environment surrounding the vehicle.

This report had several objectives.

The first was to describe current ADAS systems that may be described as forward collision avoidance technological systems (FCAT systems), and the trials and evaluations of such systems. FCAT systems typically sense other road users or objects in the forward path of the vehicle and perform some combination of actions in response to a collision threat.

The second objective of this report was to describe testing and regulatory issues around such systems.

There are no current regulations or standards that specify comprehensive design and performance requirements for FCAT systems with autonomous emergency braking. Without such standards some vehicle manufacturers may be reluctant to develop and supply FCAT systems on the vehicles that they offer for sale in Australia. The third objective of the report was to estimate the effectiveness of FCAT systems based on Australian crash data.