The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is introducing a nighttime test of pedestrian automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems to address the high percentage of pedestrian crashes that occur on dark roads, the organization announced.
After initial tests, four of the first 23 midsize cars, midsize SUVs and small pickups tested earn the highest rating of superior, but more than half earn a basic score or no credit.
“As we expected, most of these pedestrian AEB systems don’t work very well in the dark,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “But it’s clear automakers can rise to this new challenge, as Ford, Nissan and Toyota each earn superior ratings for some models.”
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Camry and Toyota Highlander earn superior ratings. Seven more vehicles — the Honda Accord, Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Frontier, Nissan Murano, Subaru Ascent and Subaru Outback — earn advanced ratings. Eight others earn basic scores. They are the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Ford Maverick, Ford Ranger, Mazda CX-9, Volkswagen Atlas, Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Volkswagen Tiguan. The pedestrian AEB systems in the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima and Toyota Tacoma don’t perform well enough in the dark to earn any credit.
In the daylight test, 19 of those 23 vehicles earn superior or advanced ratings.
”It’s discouraging that so many midsize SUVs and small pickups perform poorly in the nighttime test because research suggests these types of vehicles are more dangerous to pedestrians,” said Harkey.
Click here for the full results from the new nighttime test of pedestrian AEB systems.
