Safety in the truck sector is a top priority, and from November 1 all newly registered trucks over 3.5 tonnes with two or three axles, as well as all new type approvals, will have to be fitted with autonomous emergency braking.
The aim is to reduce the number of accidents involving trucks, most of which are serious, and to bring more safety to European roads.
Using technologies such as radar, lasers and optical sensors to identify other vehicles and in many cases pedestrians, AEB automatically applies the brakes if the driver does not respond in time to avoid or mitigate a collision, saving countless lives, injuries and inconvenience.
Why is this technology so important? AEB reduces the occurrence of low speed accidents by around 20 per cent. On addition systems are most effective at lower speeds, and finally, it is effective in mitigating the devastating effects of higher speed crashes.
From 2001 to 2008, road fatalities were reduced by 35 per cent in the original EU 15 member states. Across the EU 27, the reduction was 27 per cent. Accidents involving rear-end collisions with trucks are among the most devastating because of the sheer masses involved, so tackling these kinds of accidents has become a stated priority for the EU.
