Consumer Reports says that a recent CR study “estimates that requiring cutting-edge safety features on all new motor vehicles would reduce annual traffic deaths in the U.S. by more than half.” The study examined “the safety benefits of currently available crash avoidance features and other safety technologies, including a review of public research on their fatality reduction benefits.” The goal is to yield guidelines for legislators and car manufacturers “as Congress considers legislation for the next phase of vehicle safety.” CR adds that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than 36,000 traffic-related fatalities in the US during 2019 on public roads.
TechSpot reports the CR analysis indicates, in TechSpot’s words, that the number of lives that “could be saved annually by implementing automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot warning, and pedestrian detection systems” is about 11,800. TechSpot adds that another 1,300 people “could be saved through widespread adoption of vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology, we’re told, while as many as 3,700 to 7,400 deaths could be avoided through the use of drunk driving prevention technology.”
Engadget reports CR “isn’t convinced that self-driving cars are ready to save lives.” According to Endgadget, “It argues that legislation like the AV START Act would only have mandated safety levels present on an average human-driven car.” The news outlet also says the study’s timing “isn’t a coincidence,” as the House of Representatives is shortly going to vote on the Moving Forward Act, which “would require every new car to come with crash avoidance systems and drunk driving prevention.”
Among other news outlets reporting is Roadshow.
