When the assistance system pulls the emergency brake

Emergency brake assist is one of the assistance systems that can prevent particularly serious accidents. Frequently, the reported accidents occurring at the ends of traffic jams concern trucks rear-ending other vehicles, often involving fatalities. For this reason, lawmakers turned their attention to this issue some time ago and mandated the obligatory outfitting of automatic emergency brake assists in trucks. An informal working group at the UNECE is currently revising the current regulations. Furthermore, as of mid-2022/24, all new vehicle types, all first-time registered passenger cars, and all light commercial vehicles must also be equipped with an emergency brake assist.

Emergency braking is the last step in a chain of action to prevent a rear-end collision, or to at least minimize its consequences. The advanced emergency braking system (AEBS) actively supports the driver in the event of inattentiveness by warning of the risk of collision. If necessary, the emergency brake assist can also automatically trigger emergency braking with the aim of avoiding a possible collision. Even if a rear-end collision does occur, at least the force of the impact can be reduced and thus the risk of injury to everyone involved can be reduced. 

In any case, the emergency brake assist helps to avoid or mitigate collisions and also significantly reduces the risk of injury.