The technology that could prevent thousands of accidents, tested in 10 brands: three of them 'need improvement'
The German ADAC has focused its latest safety tests on a well-known technology that still needs refinement. We are talking about emergency braking while reversing. 10 brands tested, with very diverse results.
Road safety studies have shown that one in four collisions between pedestrians and vehicles occurs with the rear of these. Every year, insurers also lose millions of euros to cover incidents during reversing and parking maneuvers.
Something that could be reduced if the emergency braking technology (AEB) for reversing were implemented on a widespread basis. This technology already exists in cars, and is mandatory in Europe when moving forward.
The funny thing is that practically all brands and models have the necessary technological elements to be implemented in reversing maneuvers, but these are still not legally required and are far from perfect.
The latest tests from the German ADAC, while demonstrating that the technology has evolved dramatically, also reveal that there is still much work to be done. In these tests, ten models from ten different brands were taken, and these were the results.
10 brands and 4 honors
BMW X3, Volvo EX30, Ford Puma, VW Tiguan, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Mercedes Class E, Skoda Enyaq, BYD Seal, Renault 5, and Tesla Model Y were chosen for these tests that covered a total of six scenarios for three different categories, analyzing each of these vehicles at speeds of 4 and 8 km/h with mobile and static obstacles in between.
The first involved three experiments with human dummies and, due to potential injuries, they were given the highest weighting. The second consisted of recognizing objects, such as a toy vehicle or a toy car. The third, with the second highest weighting, involved a cyclist crossing at 15 km/h.
In the tests, BMW, Volvo, Ford, and VW not only achieved the best score, but they nailed it completely, obtaining a hundred percent score in all three categories. Hyundai, Mercedes, and Skoda, behind, performed well in two of the tests, losing ground in the second category for the first two (barely passing in the case of the German car), and the Enyaq dropping to 75 percent in the most important category.
And we enter the category of "needs improvement": the BYD Seal achieved a perfect score in the third category, but clearly failed in the other two. Renault 5 and Tesla Model Y obtained similar results, failing in the third category with a 0 and with a decent score in the human dummy tests.
The ADAC's AEB reversing technology tests, in video.
ADAC's recommendations
The ADAC wanted to send a clear message with these tests: this technology has an enormous potential and there are already systems ready for the market with a high level of protection, they are cost-effective and robust. Furthermore, the use of wireless updates would allow these functions to be relatively easily expanded in cars that do not yet have them.
The German association also urges that this technology become mandatory and standard in all new cars, just as the AEB system for moving forward has been since mid-2024 in the European Union.
Fuente: ADACFotos: ADAC
