Automatic emergency braking (AEB) reduces rear-end crash rates for pickups dramatically, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown.
However, despite the heightened danger they pose to other road users, pickups are less likely to be equipped with the crash avoidance feature than cars or SUVs, according to the organisation.
“Pickups account for one out of five passenger vehicles on US roads, and their large size can make them dangerous to people in smaller vehicles or on foot,” said study author Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research at IIHS. “Nevertheless, manufacturers have been slow to equip them with AEB and other crash avoidance systems.”
Cicchino examined police-reported crashes from 25 states for 2017-20 and calculated the rate at which pickups rear-ended other vehicles per registered vehicle year. She found that the rate was 43 percent lower for pickups equipped with AEB than for those without it.
“These numbers confirm that AEB is reducing crashes for pickups, just as it is for cars, SUVs and large trucks,” said Cicchino. “The faster automakers can make sure that every pickup they sell has this important safety feature, the better.”
