Thatcham Research has welcomed legislation which will see AEB become mandatory on HGVs, which it says are involved in one in five deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.
From November 2015, EU legislation will mandate the fitment of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems on the majority of newly registered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) over 7.5 tonnes.
AEB systems are currently available either as standard or an optional extra on almost 30% of new cars. Euro NCAP and ANCAP, the independent safety bodies for Europe and Australasia, say AEB is already leading to a 38% reduction in rear-end crashes and is “key to gaining the coveted NCAP 5 star safety rating”.
Peter Shaw, chief executive of Thatcham Research, said: “The proportion of truck fleets with AEB is negligible. The Commission’s ruling to make it mandatory has spurred the industry to catch up, but it will be many years before the UK’s fleet of 500,000 HGVs are all equipped with this level of safety.
“We know the devastating effect of a large lorry failing to stop and running into a stationary car – or multiple cars. Haulage operators need only to see AEB in action or watch video footage to recognise this is truly impressive and effective technology. Avoiding a crash is critical to the lives of road users and to protect the company’s legal standing and reputation.
“While the impending EU legislation on HGVs is great news, the situation on light commercial vehicles (LCVs) is still a concern.
“From a fleet of nearly 2.7m LCVs on UK roads, we know of just two models with optional AEB on the UK market, although others are being introduced towards the end of this year.”
“The most responsible fleet buyers are starting to select AEB fitment on their cars. It’s now time to recognise that if you need any form of commercial vehicle for your business or service using publicly-funded roads, you have a duty of care to minimise death, injury or damage.”
Looks like a good idea. Remarkable statistics that HGVs are involved in 20% of all the deaths on the road. So between them and motorcycles that’s about half of all deaths.
How long before all new HGVs have this system fitted….. 5years, 10 years and then older HGVs will still be on the road a further 10 years or so. So it’s going to be a long time before all HGVs have this safety mechanism. In the meantime they will still drive 20ft behind the vehicle in front and overtake at 1 mph faster than the other vehicle and no one will give way and allow an overtake to take place. I understand that every so often a driver undergoes a refresher, maybe at that time some advice could be given as to the problems that they can cause to other drivers and of the offence of driving without reasonable consideration. It’s likely that HGV drivers do not have to necessarily cause an accident but when one happens in front they have insufficient space to avoid becoming involved and that’s the hub of the problem. With braking distance some 3 to 5 time longer and further than other vehicles they can kill more.
Bob Craven Lancs….Space is Safe Campaigner
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