Research and Testing to Accelerate the Adoption of Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Systems in Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)

To determine the technical and market barriers to nationwide adoption of AEB systems and to recommend measures to overcome those barriers in order to accelerate adoption of AEB on commercial vehicles (in all segments) weighing more than 10,000 pounds. The ultimate goal is to develop a strategic plan for obtaining voluntary commitments from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to install AEBs on 90 percent or more of all newly manufactured commercial vehicles.

An AEB is a system which uses forward-looking sensors, typically radars and/or cameras, to detect objects, especially vehicles ahead on the roadway. There are three subsystems associated with AEB: (i) forward collision warning, (ii) crash imminent braking, and (iii) dynamic brake support. Forward collision warning uses information from forward-looking sensors to determine whether a crash is likely and warns the driver so the driver can brake and/or steer to avoid or mitigate a crash. Crash imminent braking uses information from forward-looking sensors to automatically apply brakes when a crash is likely and the driver does not attempt to avoid the crash. Dynamic brake support uses information from forward-looking sensors to automatically supplement the output of brakes when a crash is likely and the driver applies insufficient brake pedal pressure to avoid the crash.

To reap the maximum safety benefits of AEB systems, it is pressing to accelerate deployment of AEB on commercial vehicles in all segments over 10,000 pounds. Effective deployment of AEB systems requires research to understand and overcome current technology and market barriers, which is the subject of this project. The final deliverable in this project will be a report on the findings and recommendations of measures (i.e., a strategic plan) to accelerate the adoption of AEB on commercial vehicles in all population segments over 10,000 pounds.

Project complete. The published report is available and can be read here: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/49335