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New Cars’ Pedestrian-Safety Features Fail in Deadliest Situations, Study Finds - WSJ

Oct. 3, 2019 12:01 am ET

New safety features being rolled out by auto makers to keep drivers from hitting pedestrians don’t work at times in some of the most dangerous situations and frequently fail at night, according to a new study by AAA.

The uneven performance highlights the challenges the auto industry faces as it looks to automate more of the car’s driving functions and roll out new crash-avoidance technologies that rely on sensors and software to detect road hazards.

“Pedestrian fatalities are really becoming a crisis,” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering. While such pedestrian-detection systems have the potential to save lives, drivers shouldn’t become overly reliant on them to prevent accidents, Mr. Brannon said.

Like other advanced safety features becoming more widespread, pedestrian-detection technology uses cameras, radar and other sensors to identify people in the vehicle’s path and alert drivers to the danger ahead. If the driver doesn’t react quickly enough, the car can brake for them.

When buying a car, do pedestrian-detection systems influence your decision? What do you think about these features in general? Join the conversation below.


Car makers have started to advertise this technology more aggressively, and often it is marketed under different names. For instance,

Toyota Motor Corp. offers its pedestrian-detection feature as part of a larger package of crash-avoidance technologies, called Safety Sense. Honda Motor Co. ’s suite of advanced safety features is called Honda Sensing, and it recently highlighted its pedestrian-detection system in a television ad.While industry analysts say auto makers have made strides in improving safety for those inside the vehicle, fatalities involving pedestrians have climbed in recent years.

Nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed in U.S. traffic accidents in 2017, the latest year data were available, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That was up 35% from 2008, even though fatalities involving vehicle occupants were down 7% in the same period, NHTSA data show.

For the AAA study, testers picked four sedan models—the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Tesla Model 3—and put the cars through scenarios meant to replicate some of the most dangerous situations for pedestrians. One test, for instance, simulates a child darting out from between parked cars, and another involves an adult crossing the road as the vehicle turns right.

At 20 miles an hour, the cars struggled with each test, AAA found. The child was struck 89% of the time, and all of the cars hit the pedestrian dummy after making a right turn. The systems were generally ineffective if the car was going 30 mph. The systems were also completely ineffective at night, Mr. Brannon said, the deadliest time for pedestrians. Three-quarters of all pedestrian fatalities occur after dark, according to AAA.

When testers drove the cars directly at a dummy crossing the road in the dark, however, the system failed not only to stop or slow the car but also to provide any alert of a pedestrian’s presence before a collision.

Honda said it takes steps to warn customers of the technology’s limitations in the owner’s manual and recommends drivers pay attention and maintain control of their vehicles at all times. General Motors Co. , maker of the Malibu, said its active safety technologies benefit customers but the features don’t replace the primary responsibility of the driver.

Toyota and Tesla Inc. didn’t respond to requests for comment.

AAA worries that the way the industry advertises these features can leave drivers with the impression they are more effective than real-world testing shows.

“It’s going to be a little while before the effectiveness of the system catches up with the marketing, unfortunately,” AAA’s Mr. Brannon said.

Write to Ben Foldy at Ben.Foldy@wsj.com