Not all self-braking cars designed to stop, says AAA

Not all self-braking cars designed to stop, says AAA

New test results from American Automobile Association show that automatic emergency braking systems soon to be standard equipment on 99 percent of vehicles vary widely in design and performance.

All the systems tested by AAA are designed to apply the brakes when a driver fails to engage them. But those that are designed to prevent crashes reduced vehicle speeds by nearly twice as much as those designed to lessen crash severity. AAA warns that automatic, emergency braking systems are not all designed to prevent collisions and urges consumers to fully understand system limitations before getting behind the wheel.

–AAA found that two-thirds of Americans familiar with the technology believe that automatic emergency braking systems are designed to avoid crashes without driver intervention,” said John Nielsen, AAAês managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. –The reality is that todayês systems vary greatly in performance, and many are not designed to stop a moving car.”