A nudge to NHTSA to prioritize or mandate certain safety systems?
A study of 3.7 million GM vehicles across 20 different models from 2013-2017 of automated safety systems show they work, according to GM, which is touting a zero-fatality automotive world at some point in the future. Fifteen different systems were evaluated using police report crash databases available to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute from 10 states.
After comparing the crash instances involving vehicles with and without active safety features, the study GM claims that certain features evaluated had an impact in preventing the types of crashes the features were designed to help prevent or mitigate.
Important Findings:
- Automatic Emergency Braking (aka Forward Automatic Braking) with Forward Collision Alert reduced rear-end striking crashes by 46%.
- Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning reduced lane departure-related crashes by 20%.
- Lane Change with Side Blind Zone Alert reduced lane change crashes by 26%.
- Rear Vision Camera alone, Rear Park Assist functionality, Rear Cross Traffic Alert (which nearly always includes the two previous backing features) and Reverse Automatic Braking (which includes all the previous backing features) produced, respectively, an estimated 21%, 38%, 52%, and 81% reduction in backing crashes.
- IntelliBeam and High-Intensity Discharge headlight features provided 35% and 21% reductions, respectively, in nighttime pedestrian/bicyclist/animal crashes, with a 49% reduction when offered together.
“This study is groundbreaking in terms of the broad range of vehicles and active safety and headlighting features examined,” said GM Safety Technical Fellow, Raymond Kiefer.
Executive Summary:
The GM active safety systems evaluated are addressing a wide range of common crashes that cause a large amount of injuries, property damage and cost to GM customers and society.
“A key finding of this work is that we can make substantial gains in safety through deployment of advanced driver assistance systems… In addition, we found that the more automated the system, the greater the benefits,” said UMTRI Research Associate Professor, Carol Flannagan. “… we hope that what we learned can motivate more widespread deployment of the most effective technologies.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Data Show GM Automated Safety Systems Prevent Crashes
A nudge to NHTSA to prioritize or mandate certain safety systems?
A study of 3.7 million GM vehicles across 20 different models from 2013-2017 of automated safety systems show they work, according to GM, which is touting a zero-fatality automotive world at some point in the future. Fifteen different systems were evaluated using police report crash databases available to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute from 10 states.
After comparing the crash instances involving vehicles with and without active safety features, the study GM claims that certain features evaluated had an impact in preventing the types of crashes the features were designed to help prevent or mitigate.
Important Findings:
“This study is groundbreaking in terms of the broad range of vehicles and active safety and headlighting features examined,” said GM Safety Technical Fellow, Raymond Kiefer.
Executive Summary:
The GM active safety systems evaluated are addressing a wide range of common crashes that cause a large amount of injuries, property damage and cost to GM customers and society.
“A key finding of this work is that we can make substantial gains in safety through deployment of advanced driver assistance systems… In addition, we found that the more automated the system, the greater the benefits,” said UMTRI Research Associate Professor, Carol Flannagan. “… we hope that what we learned can motivate more widespread deployment of the most effective technologies.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.