Renault was the first manufacturer to have a five star car in its line-up, the 2001 Laguna, a car which is just as safe as any modern car, yet it was first built 11 years ago. The Laguna achieved this feat with bodily reinforcement, airbags and crumple zones, mostly, but from 2014 onward, the five star rating will also require the cars to be fitted with the auto-braking system.
In order for it to catch on, though, they needed to give it an acronym so that people wouldn’t have to say Autonomous Emergency Braking every time, and can just say AEB. The system is already fitted by several manufacturers to their cars, though not as standard. Of these, the most advanced systems are being used by Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, but it’s only a matter of time before others catch up.
According to a study conducted by Euro NCAP, they have arrived at the conclusion that the system could reduce accidents by up to 27%, though it has limited availability, on only 21% of all cars sold in Europe. They want to impose this new, much higher standard, as the European Union (EU) wants to cut the rate of fatalities by half, until the year 2020.
Official Euro NCAP Video
Video showing how the system works in various situations
Google News