By Lance Oliver
Most new passenger vehicles today come with front crash prevention systems that have been shown effective in keeping cars from rear-ending other cars. But motorcycles? Not so much. And surprisingly, the systems don’t work as well with large trucks.
Research released last year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that most systems, which typically include forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, aren’t as good at preventing crashes with motorcycles, or even large trucks, as they are with other cars. And those can be the deadliest rear-end crashes, either for the occupants of a car hitting a semi or for motorcyclists hit by a car.
“Deadly underride crashes often occur when the struck vehicle is a large truck, and motorcyclists are frequently killed when they’re rear-ended by a passenger car,” said IIHS Senior Research Scientist David Kidd, who led the development of the new evaluation.
So, the IIHS — which has crash tested vehicles since 1995 — updated its front crash prevention test by increasing speeds and by testing the systems’ ability to detect a motorcycle or the trailer from a tractor-trailer, not just another car. The IIHS started by using the new testing standards on 10 small SUVs and you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the results were mostly discouraging. Only one of the 10 SUVs received a “good” rating and even it did not prevent all rear-end collisions with the motorcycle. But it did show that it’s possible for car makers to build a system that does a better job of keeping drivers from running over motorcyclists.
The Mazda CX5 was one of the cars that was not stopped by its automatic emergency braking system in time to avoid hitting the simulated motorcycle and rider. IIHS photo.
The testing and the results
The IIHS’s original test was developed when the technology was relatively new and only tested low-speed crashes, with test runs at 12 and 25 mph, and it only tested cars. The new test includes runs at speeds of 31, 37, and 43 mph and includes a motorcycle and a semi as targets. The scoring system gives two-thirds weight to speed reduction by the automatic emergency braking system and one-third weight to the collision warning alert, which was required to come on at least 2.1 seconds before impact.
Of the 10 small SUVs tested under the new standards, only the Subaru Forester earned a “good” rating. The Subaru gave a warning in time and avoided hitting the motorcycle in the 31 and 37 mph tests. In the 43-mph test, it slowed by 30 mph but didn’t avoid hitting the motorcycle.
By comparison, the Chevrolet Equinox, which received a “poor” rating, gave a late warning or no warning “and with the motorcycle target it barely reduced speed at all.”
The small SUVs tested under the new standards were rated good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. IIHS illustration.
Is there anything positive in this?
We know, both anecdotally and from statistics, that distracted driving is a problem. It could be argued that at least we have these warning systems and automatic braking in cars, something that didn’t exist that long ago. But it also could be argued that drivers may feel less need to pay close attention because they have these safety systems.
In either case, it’s reassuring that the IIHS is considering motorcycles more in its testing, especially since the U.S. regulatory authorities have lagged behind European governments in requiring that advanced driver assistance systems in cars consider motorcycles.
The bottom line is mostly the same as it was back when there were no forward collision warning systems to reduce risk and no cell phones to distract drivers and increase risk: Those of us riding on the streets have to take responsibility for our own safety through eternal vigilance. So, watch your six.