Harrier EV’s Autonomous Emergency Braking Saves Child's Life! (VIDEO)
Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is becoming increasingly popular in India. Now, even mass-market models come equipped with these features. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) is part of most ADAS systems and is very useful on Indian roads. In the past, we have come across multiple instances of AEB saving lives. The most recent one shows how it made a Tata Harrier.EV stop just in time, after a child ran across the road from behind a parked car.
A video recorded by the Harrier.EV’s dashcam shows how dramatic this incident was. The electric SUV is seen moving through a narrow, unmarked road. A lot of vegetation can be seen around. This is likely a rural area.
The EV is moving slowly and carefully. Soon, a white Maruti Dzire appears, parked on one side of the road. An autorickshaw is parked on the opposite side, with a man and two women standing beside it.
As the EV approaches the Dzire, we see a child run towards the road from behind it. She is trying to reach the people standing near the auto. This was completely unforeseen for the Harrier.EV driver, and the timing could not have been worse. The child dashed across the road when the EV was barely a few feet away.
The Harrier.EV’s ADAS suite springs into action. As soon as it detects the kid, the AEB kicks in and stops the vehicle completely just in time. The EV doesn’t even touch the child. Her folks, however, are visibly shaken by the close call she's just had.
This is a textbook case of AEB saving lives. The story may have been very different if the vehicle here were a non-ADAS-equipped car, piloted completely by a human driver. We, as Indians, are familiar with the chaotic nature of Indian roads.
We know that anything can happen at any time even on the finest stretch of highways. Jaywalking cattle, kids running across lanes, random two-wheelers, stray dogs, vehicles driving in the wrong direction- anything is possible! Most drivers in this case, would expect a kid to run from behind the parked car. The timing, in this case, would limit the driver’s ability to react quickly and save the child.
This is where computers matter. ADAS systems are faster to mitigate and respond to tricky situations like the one pictured here. They use cameras and radars to detect objects in front of the vehicle, and calculate the distance to them. The system then mitigates potential collisions and slams the brakes in cases like the one here. Yes, the tyres and brakes need to be in good health for this to be the most effective.
Another thing that worked in the car’s favour here is its speed. The EV here was being driven slowly. Maybe within 40kph or so. Though Harrier.EV’s AEB works at both low (sub 40 kph) and high (80-100 km/h) speeds; the former case will give the best results.
A previous case from Kerala showed how the Autonomous Emergency Braking on a Mercedes GLC luxury SUV saved a biker on a narrow rural road. The SUV in this case, was also being driven at a low speed. The dashcam footage from the Mercedes shows a Royal Enfield approaching it at high speed from the opposite side.
The rider in this case, failed to notice the SUV or brake in time. The car, however, mitigated the crash, and its AEB kicked in on time. The SUV stopped safely while the motorcycle could not. This incident underlines the importance of AEB further.
Previously, we also came across a viral video that showed how a massive Volvo truck’s Autonomous emergency braking kept a child safe. In it, two kids could be seen running across the road from behind a school bus, without noticing the incoming truck. The Volvo’s AEB kicked in just in time and brought the vehicle to a complete halt, without making a scratch on the children. This video now seems to be unavailable on YouTube. You can check out this article for more instances of AEB saving lives.