CR hails plans for forward collision warning systems

RUCKERSVILLE, Va. (Sept. 11, 2015) — Consumer Reports magazine is supporting the plan unveiled by auto makers, insurers and the federal government to make forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking standard on all new vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety made the joint announcement Sept. 11 at the dedication of the expansion of the IIHS Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville.

At the dedication, NHTSA and IIHS officials announced that 10 auto makers — Audi A.G., BMW A.G., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Mazda Motor Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz A.G., Tesla Motors, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen A.G. and Volvo A.B. — have committed to making automatic emergency braking with forward collision warnings a standard feature on all of their new cars, CR said.

In praising the announcement, CR said that rear-end collisions, which forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking are designed to prevent, claim about 1,700 lives and cause 500,000 injuries annually.

“Automatic emergency braking systems could drastically reduce rear-end crashes — either in avoiding them altogether, or at least reducing the velocity of the collision,” CR said.

“The price per car for a frontal collision warning system is $250 to $400 — a fraction of the typical charge for an ambulance ride,” CR said.

In June 2015, CR and the National Transportation Safety Board joined to endorse making forward collision warning systems and automatic emergency braking standard on cars.

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