AEB has been highlighted as a major step forward in vehicle safety.

European vehicle safety rating agency Euro NCAP has completed its first round of testing into autonomous emergency braking systems (AEB), with the organisation set to give additional credit to manufacturers who incorporate this technology into their vehicles as standard from January.

Results of the testing programme have been positive to date, with eight vehicles undergoing real world examinations of AEB in comparison to test track data by Euro NCAP.

Broken down into two categories – AEB City and AEB Interurban – the first attempts to mitigate the likelihood of low-speed collisions and has been credited with helping to reduce minor injuries like whiplash to vehicle occupants, while the latter is used at higher speeds and reduces the chances of fatal and serious crashes.

Both systems were put to the test by Euro NCAP, with each of the models under examination rated for the performance of their AEB offerings.

In test of up 50 km/hour, AEB City models were broken down into two further groups rated as ‘good’ or ‘adequate’. Of the six vehicles tested, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Volvo V40 and Mitsubishi Outlander were shown to perform better than the Volvo XC60, Fiat 500L and Ford Focus.

Meanwhile, the Interurban vehicles tested were also categorised in a similar manner, but this time at speeds of up to 80 km/hour. The E-Class, V40 and Volkswagen Golf VII all achieved good ratings in this area, while the Outlander and Honda Civic were rated as adequate.

Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP secretary general, commented: “With the limited number of systems available and tested, we can already see real differences in their performance and expected real world benefit.”

Each of the manufacturers has their own interpretation of AEB fitted to their models and across the tests Euro NCAP was able to reveal the E-Class’s City Safety & Collision Warning with Full Auto-Brake technology was the most effective at mitigating both high and low-speed collisions.

Mr van Ratingen concluded from the extensive testing programme that despite the differences witnessed in performance among some of the vehicles, the overall premise of AEB that it can help to reduce the severity of accidents are their overall likelihood is actually sound and therefore this is a technology that could hold considerable benefits for all road users in the future.

In response to the announcement, Thatcham Research also offered its own assessment of the impact AEB can have on overall vehicle and road safety in the coming years, having completed its own examinations of AEB over the last three years.

Peter Shaw, chief executive of the company, said: “The evidence from our testing is undeniable, and combined with a growing body of real world research and evidence we firmly believe that AEB and other advanced driver assist systems have a critical role to play in avoiding both common low-speed bumps … and mitigating injuries and fatalities from medium-speed crashes.”

Overall, the organisation has carried out hundreds of tests on a range of models, with AEB demonstrating time and again its ability to reduce the severity of accidents.

The system works by automatically sensing an approaching collision and applying the brakes in such a manner to reduce the speed of the vehicle while at the same time ensuring the driver can remain in control.

Most systems use radar or lidar to identify potential obstacles ahead of the vehicle. When AEB senses a collision is imminent it will automatically apply the brakes, with real world data from Euro NCAP revealing the system has the potential to reduce the number of instances of rear-end collisions by up to one-quarter.

Furthermore, the potential severity of injuries caused in this type of accident could also be reduced and with whiplash a major issue that both the Department for Transport and insurance providers across the UK are keen to clamp down on this could be a welcome new addition to road safety across the country.