Assessment of the current requirements and testing procedures of Regulation no. 131 of the UNECE : Advanced Emergency Braking of three heavy-duty vehicles

This report summarizes a research testing campaign on three Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDV) for the Advanced Emergency Braking system (AEB), in the framework of the Commission's Market Surveillance activities on vehicle safety and the related pre-normative research activities. The aim was to identify shortcomings in current requirements, gain ADAS testing experience, and analyse the performance of different braking systems. We tested the vehicles according to Regulation no. 131 of the United Nations' Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and performed additional tests with varying speeds and scenarios. We recorded vehicle kinematics, reviewed crash investigations, and used AI to gain insight on common knowledge. The first vehicle consistently stopped, the second vehicle avoided impacts up to regulatory speed, and the third vehicle just met the regulatory requirements. This suggests different system's objectives and strategies. Our conclusions recommend future AEB Regulation modifications to focus the assessment on real driving conditions and real-world environments. We urge the inclusion of our tested scenario in approval and surveillance tests. Priority should be given to AEB systems that effectively stop vehicles in various situations, rather than relying on driver warnings and last minute interventions to mitigate impacts.