The transport ministry received reports on 72 cases last year in which the failure of automatic braking systems had resulted in accidents, it has been learned.
This is the first time the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has tallied the number of accidents involving automatic braking systems, which are designed to prevent collisions by detecting vehicles and people.
The ministry cautions people not to overly rely on automatic brakes, as there have been cases such as those in which the devices failed to work in time due to excessive speed.
An automatic braking system is designed to stop a vehicle automatically to prevent it from causing damage. It detects obstacles and other objects in its path using a camera and radar built into it.
In Japan, vehicles equipped with automatic braking systems have been available on the market since 2003 and have rapidly spread in number. Of all passenger cars produced in 2016, automatic braking systems were equipped in 66 percent of them, or about 2.48 million vehicles.
According to the transport ministry, there were 340 total cases last year involving automatic braking system troubles that were reported by drivers, automakers and other entities.
As a result of an analysis by the National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory, which is affiliated with the independent administrative institution the National Agency for Automobile and Land Transport Technology, there were 88 cases in which automatic braking systems did not fully function, and 72 of these cases resulted in incidents, such as minor scrapes and rear-end collisions. One of the reported cases involved an accident in which a pedestrian was hit and killed.
A survey by the laboratory has also found a case in which an automatic braking system failed to work in time as the car exceeded the prescribed speed, which is set differently according to the type of vehicle. In another case, obstacles ahead were not detected due to darkness and rain.
Meanwhile, of the 340 cases reported, 249 involved the automatic braking system activating arbitrarily, and 10 of these cases led to the car with the malfunctioning system getting hit in rear-ended collisions and other accidents.
As these cases were self-reported, the actual number could be much higher. The transport ministry has released a video on its website that shows examples of automatic braking system malfunctions.
"Automatic braking systems can be relied on," said a ministry official in charge, "but they are not at all perfect."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
