AEB pedestrian detection found deadly at night

New semi-autonomous driving aids designed to automatically apply the brakes if a driver fails to spot a pedestrian straying out in the road don't work, or frequently fail, at night.

Those are the findings from a new US study undertaken by the American Automobile Association (AAA).

According to the AAA, during low-light conditions (when statistically most deadly impacts with pedestrians occur) four of the 2019 vehicles tested failed to react or even detect the hazard.

The tests, that took place on a closed course, with 'simulated pedestrian targets', included a Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and a Tesla Model 3.

Researchers found all of the cars' systems were ineffective at speeds over 50km/h regardless of the conditions.

Even at lower speeds of around 30km/h researchers still found a collision occurred 89 per cent of the time when a child-sized dummy dashed out between two parked cars.

Using two adult-sized dummies, meanwhile, standing along the side of the road with their backs to traffic, led to a collision with the pedestrians 80 per cent of the time at speeds of around 30km/h.

Similar impacts happened every time after encountering a pedestrian after a right turn, according to the study.

The AAA said the AEB system worked best when an adult crossed in front of the cars at speeds below 30km/h but, even then, a collision was still likely 40 per cent of the time.

Most disturbing was the fact that darkness – when 75 per cent of pedestrian deaths occur – all the vehicles tested failed to react.

Following the US tests, the AAA advises drivers of cars with AEB pedestrian detection should never rely on the safety system to detect people crossing, with extra caution advised during night driving.

The US safety body also warned against the recent trend of drivers putting too much faith in semi-autonomous driver aids, with many drivers frequently overestimating the emerging technology's abilities.