Collision avoidance systems should be standard equipment, NTSB says

The National Transportation Safety Board is renewing its push to have collision avoidance systems as standard equipment for new commercial and passenger vehicles.

In 2012, there were more than 1.7 million rear-end crashes on the nation's highways which resulted in 1,705 deaths and about 500,000 injuries. As many as 80 percent of the crashes could have been prevented or had less severe consequences had rear-end collision avoidance systems been in place, according to a special investigation report out Monday.

"You don't pay extra for your seatbelt," said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart. "And you shouldn't have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision altogether."

The NTSB has made 12 recommendations over the past 20 years in favor of forward collision avoidance technologies, including 10 recommendations resulting from an earlier Special Investigation Report in 2001. The systems give drivers warning that a crash is about to occur, and some also include autonomous emergency braking, which automatically applies the brakes.

The adoption of these technologies has been very slow. A lack of action on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop performance standards for these technologies as well as a lack of incentives for manufactures and limited consumer awareness has contributed to the slow deployment of these life-saving technologies, Hart said.

Only four out of 684 passenger vehicle models in 2014 included a complete forward collision avoidance system as a standard feature. When the systems are offered as options, they are often bundled with other non-safety features, making the overall package more expensive, according to the report, "The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes."

"Safety should be a basic feature and not an option that we have to purchase, and that only the wealthy buyers can afford," Hart said in a video statement. "Today's report is a wake up call."

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA develop tests and standards in order to rate the performance of each vehicle's collision avoidance systems and to incorporate those results into an expanded NCAP 5-star safety rating scale.

The NTSB is encouraging consumers in the market for a new vehicle to buy one that is equipped with collision warning and autonomous emergency braking. It's also encouraging owners of commercial vehicles to transition their fleets equipped with the warning and braking systems.