Car accident fatalities are on the decline, dropping 40% since their peak in 1972.
Experts credit a variety of factors for the improvement including better road designs, improved safety technology in vehicles, and increased awareness and enforcement of dangerous behaviors like drunk driving. Still, more than 30,000 people are killed on American roads each year, proving that there is plenty of room for improvement. Many automakers are taking on that challenge, and have begun to set their sights on a future with zero car accident fatalities; while some have already achieved that goal.
IMPROVED VEHICLE SAFETY
The last three years have seen a sharp and significant drop in fatal car accidents. Active and passive safety features present in newer vehicles are helping to prevent car accidents, while improved structural designs of vehicles are protecting passengers in the event of a crash. Federal policy-makers have also been making their mark. Specifically, a 2008 federal rule that required electronic stability control (ESC) to be a standard feature in all new vehicles is likely to have contributed to a 20 % decline in road fatalities between 2007 and 2013.
According to a study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), a record nine models sold during the 2011 model year had a death rate of zero during the 12-month study period. Importantly, these vehicles included some mainstream models like the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Honda Odyssey. Electronic stability control was the most likely source of the improved safety, but other features, such as automatic emergency braking and radar-guided cruise control that adjusts itself according to traffic conditions, may also be making a difference. As these types of features become available outside of the luxury market, they will likely lead to even greater declines in road deaths.
A FUTURE OF ZERO FATALITIES
Looking ahead, automakers are setting goals to increase the improvement of safety technologies. Volvo has set a goal of zero fatalities by model-year 2020. Moving towards that goal, Volvo opened AstaZero (Active Safety Test Arena), a $70 million, 500-acre vehicle safety testing facility located near their headquarters in Sweden. The facility will serve as an open, international platform for manufacturers, suppliers, legislators, universities and technical institutes to share and test their ideas.
While advanced technologies such as blind spot detection, lane departure warning, and brake assist continue to become more widely available, some say that totally self-driving vehicles will become the norm within the next decade. These technologies are sure to increase the safety of our roads, but it is doubtful that a true zero will ever be achieved. Self-driving cars may eliminate driver error that leads to car accidents, but there will always be the danger that defective auto equipment or other unforeseen conditions could cause a car accident.
