The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term “irony” as, “An incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result.”
There’s no other way to describe the latest findings coming from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) with regard to the passenger-detection technology used in today’s high-tech driver-assist safety systems.
It its most recent testing of vehicles equipped with pedestrian-detecting auto-braking, the IIHS found that – ironically – the type of reflective clothing that’s otherwise recommended for pedestrians and bicyclists to best be spotted by motorists when venturing out after dark, actually dumbfounds the systems that are otherwise designed to avoid collisions with them.
The Institute’s study looked at the performance of pedestrian-spotting auto-braking systems in three popular compact SUVs, the 2023 Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester, to gauge the technology’s effectiveness at identifying pedestrians after dark under varying road-lighting conditions and with them wearing different types of clothing.
In the’ IIHS’ prior evaluations, in which separate ratings were given for daytime and nighttime pedestrian detection, the Forester earned its highest superior rating, while the CR-V received a second-best advanced rating; the CX-5 was not evaluated. For those assessments, both the child and adult pedestrian dummies used wore black shirts and blue pants.
But this time around the organization took a deeper dive into the technology’s effectiveness via multiple evaluations with an adult dummy wearing all-black clothing, and both all-white and all-black attire that incorporated reflective strips similar to those used by roadway construction workers. All tests were run at 25 mph with no added roadway lighting and again with 10 and 20 lux of added ambiance as a dummy crossed the test track perpendicular to the subject vehicle’s direction.
The study found that detection technology’s effectiveness varied somewhat when conducted under the three illumination scenarios, but consistently fared worse when the dummy was wearing what would otherwise be considered a safer reflective outfit.
The CR-V and MX-5 tended to collide with the roadway-crossing dummy most of the time regardless of what it was wearing, but at least both slowed down a bit when the dummy was wearing all-black garments. The systems failed to work altogether with the reflective stripes added to either the black or white alternatives. While the Forester was in fact able to avoid striking the pedestrian in all but one run, that was when he/she was wearing the reflective garb, though to its credit the SUV was at least able to slow down by 80% before contact was made.
The IIHS has yet to determine why the tested systems had more trouble recognizing the reflective elements than without them.
“These results suggest that some automakers need to tweak their pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems,” says IIHS President David Harkey. “It’s untenable that the clothes that pedestrians, cyclists and roadway workers wear to be safe may make them harder for crash avoidance technology to recognize.”
Of note, in previous testing the IIHS found that during daylight hours pedestrian collisions were 27% lower for vehicles equipped with detection systems than for unequipped vehicles. However, on unlit roads at night, the evaluation found zero difference in crash risk for vehicles with or without the technology.
Clearly the technology still has a long way to go before motorists can let down their guard when driving at any time of day and under any conditions.
The IIHS’ full report can be found here.
