After spending billions of dollars and years of time chasing the dream of autonomous vehicles, the auto industry is beginning to realiz...
Last month, Consumer Reports analyzed crash data and determined 16,800 to 20,500 lives in the U.S. could be spared annually if widely available driver-assist technologies were standard across the industry. The organization estimated that automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, blind-spot warning and pedestrian-detection system standardization would save 11,800 lives annually. Another 1,300 lives would be saved through vehicle-to-vehicle communications, and up to 7,400 deaths could be avoided with technology to prevent intoxicated driving.
The total economic impact of automobile crashes in 2018, according to the organization, was estimated close to $800 billion. Several automakers find value in making driver-assistance technologies standard on their offerings because it gives them a competitive edge and drives down development and supply costs. Yet for the most part, insurers do not yet reward consumers with lower premiums. If they did, or were forced to through regulation, those savings could underwrite broader standardization of driver-assistance systems by allowing automakers — or at least their new-vehicle customers — to recoup their investments and see a return.