Target Crashes and Safety Benefits Estimation Methodology for Pedestrian Crash Avoidance/Mitigation Systems

Through the analysis of national crash databases from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pre-crash scenarios are identified, prioritized, and described for the development of objective tests for pedestrian crash avoidance/mitigation (PCAM) systems. PCAM systems address vehicle-pedestrian crashes where a light vehicle is moving forward on a collision path with a detected pedestrian. “Light vehicle” includes any passenger car, van, minivan, sport utility vehicle, or light pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating up to 10,000 pounds. These systems, through the use of driver warning, brake assist, or autonomous braking, will attempt to avoid, or at least mitigate the injury severity of an imminent crash with a pedestrian by reducing the speed of the vehicle prior to impact, thus resulting in a potential safety benefit. An analysis in terms of vehicle and pedestrian maneuvers identified four recommended scenarios to maximize potential safety benefits for PCAM systems. Simple safety benefit estimation is presented in terms of the methodology, equations, assumptions, and key parameters used to estimate potential system effectiveness and safety benefits. Safety benefits, in terms of pedestrian injuries avoided and pedestrian injuries mitigated, are expressed in terms of reductions in annual harm measures.