This Potential Safety Benefits of Emerging Crash Avoidance Technologies in Australasian Heavy Vehicles study estimates the potential crash reduction effects of fitting various emerging safety technologies to heavy vehicles in Australia and New Zealand. Technologies considered included:Electronic Stability Control, Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems, Fatigue Warning Systems and Lane Departure Warning Systems. Benefits were estimated in terms of savings of fatal, serious and minor injuries, as well as for property damage only crashes. Estimated annual fatal and serious injuries prevented in heavy vehicle crashes by mandatory fitment of the chosen safety technologies were estimated by considering the three most recent years of available police reported crash data.
The crash reduction effects of fitting all heavy vehicles with the technology were considered and converted to an annual crash saving figure. Because of its association with the most prevalent crash types, Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems at all speeds was estimated to produce the biggest fatal and serious injury reductions, preventing up to a quarter of fatal crashes (which translates to $AUS187 million and $NZ62 million) Mandated ESC fitment to trucks was valued with almost three times the cost saving estimate for New Zealand than for Australia, due to the greater proportion of crashes sensitive to this technology observed in New Zealand.
This Potential Safety Benefits of Emerging Crash Avoidance Technologies in Australasian Heavy Vehicles report has conservatively quantified the potential of vehicle safety technology to contribute to achieving targets for road trauma reductions set out in state and national road safety strategies in Australia and New Zealand. It has made recommendations of mandatory fitment AEBS, ESC, FWS and LDWS to new heavy vehicles with compatible braking systems on the basis of these evaluations.
Sponsoring Organisations – This project was funded as contract research by the following organisations: This project was funded by the Vehicle Safety Research Group comprising the Transport Accident Commission, RACV, VicRoads, RAA SA, SA Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure, RACWA, Road Safety Council of WA, RACQ, Queensland Transport and Main Roads, NRMA, NSW Centre for Road Safety, AA NZ, New Zealand Transport Agency, Accident Compensation Corporation NZ.