Maybe you were changing the radio station or distracted by something outside your window. You look back to the road and realize you are quickly heading toward the fender of the car in front of you. You slam on the brakes, but it’s too late. Accidents like these are incredibly common. Unfortunately, the resulting car accidents can cause serious injuries, particularly if it’s not a vehicle you collide with, but a pedestrian. However, thanks to car manufacturers, automatic emergency braking will soon be a standard feature on all cars.

What Is Automatic Emergency Braking?

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is a safety feature available on cars that will apply the brakes to prevent collisions. Sensors on vehicles equipped with this feature constantly scan for other cars, pedestrians, and other hazards and apply the brakes to prevent collisions. While many cars on the road today have AEB, it isn’t a standard feature on most vehicles.

Toyota has made great strides in implementing this technology, reporting that 56% of their 2017 fleet included AEB technology. Unfortunately, other popular manufacturers like Honda and General Motors only included AEB in 30% and 20% of their 2017 fleet respectively. This type of technology can greatly decrease the number of car accidents, and car manufacturers are stepping up to the plate to make it a standard feature on all vehicles.

Automakers Pledge To Make The Roads Safer

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently announced a voluntary pledge made by 20 automakers to include AEB in all vehicles by September 1, 2022. These vehicles will have low-speed AEB systems and forward collision warning (FCW). These technologies will make the roads much safer because they will help prevent accidents caused by inattentive drivers. The IIHS estimates the commitment to AEB technology will prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries by 2025, just three years after completion of the project.

Luckily for consumers, the automakers included in the pledge make up over 99% of the automobile market, meaning nearly every new vehicle produced will be equipped with this technology. Automakers that made the pledge include: Audi, BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo.

Advances in technology have dramatically impacted the safety of vehicles. Seatbelts, air bags, and sensors all help prevent accidents or lessen the severity of accidents. Car manufacturers are getting closer and closer to creating self-driving vehicles, which could help prevent many, if not nearly all car accidents. However, in practice, self-driving prototypes are proving to be more dangerous than anticipated.

A Bad Track Record For Self-Driving Vehicles

The city of Las Vegas recently unveiled the first self-driving shuttle bus in the U.S., but the bus’s first day on the job did not go quite as planned. Within two hours of launch, the bus collided with a pickup truck. No one was hurt in the bus accident, and the shuttle was not found to be at fault. The shuttle came to a stop when it sensed the truck was backing up into the shuttle. However, the pickup truck continued to back up until it collided with the front of the shuttle. Although the other driver caused the accident, some road safety advocates remain unconvinced self-driving technology is safe.

But this shuttle isn’t the only self-driving vehicle that has been involved in motor vehicle collisions. The transportation technology company Uber had to stop self-driving car tests this past March after a collision in Arizona. Last year, one of Google’s self-driving vehicles collided with a bus. In response to the accident, Google filed a patent to soften vehicles to reduce accident injuries.

Technology company Tesla Motors has also struggled with self-driving technology. In 2015, a driver was killed in an accident in Florida while the autopilot feature was engaged. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated the accident and determined there was no defect in the car’s design or performance, suggesting this technology is not perfect even when operating correctly.

What Drivers Need To Know

Self-driving technology may one day prevent all accidents on the roadways, but for now, drivers are still responsible for driving safely. Drivers cannot rely solely on sensors like blind spot warnings and lane departure warnings to avoid car accidents. Driving responsibly means always being aware of your surroundings and staying focused.

The National Safety Council (NSC) is a nonprofit organization that promotes health and safety across the country. Recently, the NSC analyzed all 50 states and graded each one for its efforts to promote road safety. Unfortunately for Texans, our state received barely a passing grade and was found to be extremely deficient in several important areas.

About The NSC’s Road Safety Study

When grading each state, the NSC looked at policies and legislation regarding motor vehicle accident and injury risk factors, including:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol
• Child passenger safety
• Distracted driving
• Elderly drivers
• Seat belt use
• Speeding
• Teenage drivers
• Vulnerable road users (bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists)

The NSC analyzed each state’s laws to see if they addressed each risk factor specifically and thoroughly to promote safe driving behaviors.

How Texas Stacks Up

While Texas has plenty of legislation against driving under the influence, requiring wearing seatbelts, and monitoring elderly drivers, it was deficient in the remaining five factors. Texas ranked extremely poor in child passenger safety, with very few policies dictating age and weight requirements for children in car seats. The state also performed very poorly with regard to speeding, teenage drivers, and vulnerable road users. Texas is notorious for having some of the highest posted speed limits in the country, and this can have a severe effect on the outcome of car accidents.

Despite a recent initiative to require young drivers to take distracted driving education before receiving a driver’s license, teen drivers in Texas have fewer restrictions and requirements than teens in other states. In terms of protecting vulnerable road users, Texas just isn’t doing as much as other states, including not requiring motorcycle helmets for all riders.

Texas did rank slightly better when it comes to distracted driving, although there is plenty of room for improvement. Texas was one of the last states to implement a cell phone ban while driving, which just recently went into effect.