Mazda SUV With Automatic Braking Crashes in Japan Drive Test

I am not putting this up to slag on Mazda, I put this up as a point to having driver input be the final thing needed when incorporating this kind of safety tech, sure -- alert us, but let the driver stop, this tech is capable of false positives (stopping when on a roundabout with parked cars on the inside part) or just not working.  Relying too much on a machine to decide what is best for us has potential for big consequences....

By Anna Mukai and Yuki Hagiwara - Nov 11, 2013

 

A Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) sport-utility vehicle equipped with an automatic-braking system crashed in Japan on Nov. 10 during a dealership test drive, injuring the driver and front-seat passenger, according to the police.

The Mazda CX-5 was being driven by a prospective buyer on the dealership’s parking lot when it crashed through a urethane barrier set up to demonstrate the SUV’s automatic braking feature, according to the Saitama Prefectural Police, which is investigating the accident. The customer suffered a neck injury while the dealership employee sitting in the front passenger seat fractured his arm, the police said.

Mazda is investigating the case and will cooperate with police if asked to, Makoto Watanabe, a spokesman for the Hiroshima, Japan-based automaker, said by phone today. The company can’t comment on whether there have been previous cases where the auto-brake system for the CX-5 didn’t work, he said.

“For any safety function, it’s impossible to be 100 percent free of accidents,” said Hiroshi Ataka, a Tokyo-based auto parts analyst at IHS Automotive. “These technical functions aren’t always the easiest to understand.”

Mazda, based in Hiroshima, Japan, fell 0.2 percent to 423 yen as of 10:25 a.m. in Tokyo trading. The benchmark Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose 1.2 percent.

Automatic braking first appeared in premium brands and is part of a move toward automated driving systems that carmakers are developing to help reduce human error and accidents.

Car Communication

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), the world’s largest automaker, said last month it will introduce systems in about two years enabling cars to communicate with each other to avoid collision.

“When it comes to automation technology for driving through tight curves and changing lanes, I really feel that Japan’s technology is the No. 1 in the world,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Nov. 9, after riding in cars from Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. during test drives of their automatic safety technologies.

Mazda’s system, called Smart City Brake Support, uses a laser sensor to detect obstacles in front of the car to avoid or mitigate collisions by automatically applying the brakes, according to its website. If the driver speeds up when an obstacle is detected, the system is designed to sound an alert while curbing engine output to stop unintended acceleration.

The automaker offered the technology as an optional safety feature for an additional price in the CX-5 when the car was first introduced in February 2012, and made it a standard setting after the model was refreshed in Japan last month, according to Mazda.

Source (via www.autoblog.com);
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-11-11/mazda-suv-with-auto-braking-crashes-during-test-drive-in-japan.html

NHTSA confirms new deputy, considers push for automatic braking

I for one am not a fan of the Auto Braking, I am a fan of a Collision Warning System, I think that having a Automated system could cause an accident in a false-positive situation.... (ie:  going around a round a bout with parked cars on the side curb)....

WASHINGTON -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed David Friedman, previously a transportation analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, as its new deputy administrator.

Friedman, an engineer by training who has pushed for stricter fuel economy standards and lower oil consumption while working at the advocacy group, replaces Ron Medford, who left NHTSA last year to lead Google Inc.'s self-driving cars project.

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland made the announcement today during a congressional hearing on crash-prevention features and other new technologies that could boost the safety of cars.

During the hearing, Strickland said the agency is getting closer to calling for automatic braking.

Automatic braking systems use a camera or radar system to detect oncoming vehicles and objects and then apply the brakes if the driver fails to do so.

Automakers such as Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have started to offer such features in their high-end cars or as optional equipment, earning praise from groups such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which says Volvo's "City Safety" system appears to be effective at preventing crashes in stop-and-start traffic.

In a report released last month, the institute said insurance claims are being filed about 16 percent less often for S60 sedans equipped with the feature than for other mid-sized luxury cars and 15 percent less often for the XC60 than for comparable luxury SUVs.

In an effort to hasten the adoption of such technologies, NHTSA ordered automakers to outfit all cars with electronic stability control starting in the 2011 model year.

A similar mandate for automatic braking could be next. Strickland told reporters after the hearing that NHTSA could end up ordering the use of automatic braking or merely recommend it through the federal government's New Car Assessment Program.

The agency also could decide to do more research on the subject.

Strickland said agency staffers "are working through that right now, and they'll be bringing it to me for an agency decision this year."

Source;
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130515/OEM11/130519924/nhtsa-confirms-new-deputy-considers-push-for-automatic-braking#axzz2TSOZRP5V