Blind spot warning technology contributes to a 23 percent reduction in lane change injury crashes.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute analyzed the real-world benefits of car safety technology.

Date Posted
08/15/2019
Identifier
2019-B01384
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Real-world benefits of car safety technology

Summary Information

This report highlighted findings from an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety review of technology designed to avoid crashes and improve road safety. Accident reduction rates were analyzed by comparing rates of police-reported crashes and insurance claims for vehicles with and without the following technologies as of June 2019.



Blind spot warning technology detects and warns drivers of vehicles they are unable to see alongside their car. Seventeen (17) percent of vehicle models have blind spot technology as the standard and 57 percent have it as an option.



Forward collision warning with auto-emergency braking uses cameras and sensors to alert drivers if they are approaching a car too quickly. Advanced systems with automatic emergency braking can stop a car to avoid a collision or reduce the collision force of a vehicle traveling at a high speed. Twenty-eight (28) percent of vehicle models have forward collision warning technology as the standard and 36 percent have it as an option.



Lane departure warning systems use cameras to detect lane markings and alert drivers if they begin to drift out of their lane. Use of the turn signal overrides lane departure warnings. Twenty-one (21) percent of vehicle models have lane departure warning technology as the standard and 54 percent have it as an option.

FINDINGS

  • Blind spot warning technology has provided a 23 percent reduction in lane change crashes with injuries.
  • Forward collision warning with auto-emergency braking has provided a 20 percent reduction in front-to-rear crashes with injuries.
  • Lane departure warning technology has provided a 21 percent reduction in injury crashes of the same types.