The benefits of safety features, such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure prevention and high-beam assist, are most effective when systems are bundled. Updated versions deliver even better results, according to a new study from the Highway Loss Data Institute. This news from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is very encouraging.
“These technologies are awesome,” said Matt Moore, chief insurance operations officer at HLDI and the IIHS. “As they improve and become more common, we are seeing compounding crash reductions.”
The most basic bundle consisted of front automatic emergency braking, which, in all tested vehicles, included forward collision warning. The most comprehensive bundle included front AEB with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, high-beam assist, lane-departure warning, lane-departure prevention, rear AEB and Driver Attention Alert, a feature designed to detect when the driver is fatigued or distracted.
All these safety features have been covered at length in my weekly columns on traffic law and traffic safety. Many are now basic in most new cars, and most are offered in various trim packages.
Not only are the larger bundles more comprehensive, but they also include more advanced versions of the technologies in the smaller bundles. That’s because they are offered on newer vehicles. Thus, while all the bundles include front AEB, the biggest bundles had a more advanced version of it.
The HLDI study found reductions in insurance claim frequency were substantial, especially under property damage liability and bodily injury liability coverages. PDL coverage pays for crash damage that the at-fault driver’s vehicle causes to other people’s vehicles or property. BIL coverage pays to treat injuries caused to people in other vehicles or other road users.
The most basic bundle was associated with a 13% reduction in PDL claim rates and a 9% reduction in BIL claim rates. In general, those benefits grew with the addition of each new technology, and the most comprehensive bundle was linked to a 39% drop in PDL claim rates and a 21% fall in BIL claim rates.
The most noticeable added reductions came with the addition of front AEB with pedestrian detection and rear AEB. In addition to reducing pedestrian crashes, the updated front AEB systems were better than their predecessors at preventing crashes with other vehicles. Rear AEB delivered big benefits because it prevents many of the low-speed parking lot incidents that make up the bulk of insurance claims.
The results of this latest study prove that the benefits of the abundance of safety features significantly add to the safety of newer vehicles.