This paper presents safety benefits of three collision avoidance systems in terms of the number of crashes that might be avoided. The results were estimated in a recent preliminary study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States (U.S.) Department of Transportation. The three selected systems address rear-end, lane change, and single vehicle roadway departure crashes which accounted for about 3.14 million police-reported crashes in the U.S. in 1994. A basic methodology was developed and applied to each of the three systems, using experimental data from driving simulator studies and on-road tests where subjects drove with and without the assistance of a collision avoidance system in a variety of driving situations and surrounding conditions. Collectively, the three systems have the potential to reduce about 1.8 million police-reported crashes annually in the U.S. based on 1994 crash statistics.
Abstract