The American Automobile Association (AAA) has conducted a series of tests aimed at the driving safety aids that activate when reversing. Two scenarios were tested: with a second moving car and a child-sized mannequin standing in the road. Hyundai Tucson, Lexus RX, Mazda CX-30 and Volkswagen Tiguan have been picked for the trial.
The first test involved drivers backing up from a parking pocket in limited visibility conditions with another car moving down the road. The emergency braking system was activated 65% of the time, but only 2.5% of the time the car stopped in time to avoid the collision. In the rest of the situations, the brakes were applied too late.
The other test involved simulating a car backing up and hitting a child. It was a notably bigger success with the emergency brake applied 3 times out of 4 and the car stopping before hitting the mannequin exactly 50% of the time.
Still, commenting on the results, AAA emphasized that the driving assists were only doing what they were supposed to do – assisting the driver. They do not trigger properly all of the time, and even when they do, they are not 100% efficient.