Autobrake Slashes Rear-end Crash Rates For Pickups, But Few Are Equipped

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) reduces rear-end crash rates for pickups dramatically, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows. But despite the heightened danger they pose to other road users, pickups are less likely to be equipped with the crash avoidance feature than cars or SUVs.

‘Pickups account for 1 out of 5 passenger vehicles on U.S. roads, and their large size can make them dangerous to people in smaller vehicles or on foot,’ said study author Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research at IIHS.

‘Nevertheless, manufacturers have been slow to equip them with AEB and other crash avoidance systems.’

Cicchino examined police-reported crashes from 25 states for 2017-20 and calculated the rate at which pickups rear-ended other vehicles per registered vehicle year.

She found that the rate was 43 percent lower for pickups equipped with AEB than for those without it. Rear-end injury crash rates were 42 percent lower.