Have you ever driven your car and pressed the accelerator instead of the brake? This happens more often than you might think and is a cause of serious accidents that road safety experts from a United Nations agency have found a solution to.
In collaboration with car manufacturers and member states, the United Nations Working Group on Automated, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) has adopted a new regulation that prevents sudden and unwanted acceleration, using technology that can detect objects in front and behind vehicles.
The new Regulation on Acceleration Control in the Event of Pedal Error (ACPE), is expected to significantly improve road safety, while regulatory provisions for new braking systems for electric vehicles aim to improve energy efficiency.
This new braking technology is seen as an important element in advancing the transition from vehicles using internal combustion engines to electric-powered alternatives.
Hydraulic and pneumatic braking systems currently regulated by UN Regulations No. 13 (heavy-duty vehicle braking) and No. 13-H (light-duty vehicle braking) have achieved a high level of safety, reducing the risk of dangerous accidents, particularly for heavy-duty vehicles and those carrying dangerous goods.
Pedal misuse more common among older drivers
Until then, hydraulic systems, typically used in passenger cars, rely on the driver’s muscular energy for basic braking function, but can use reserves of stored energy for advanced safety functions.
Under these conditions, drivers sometimes mistakenly press the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal, causing serious accidents.
Relevant data from Asia and Europe suggests that older drivers tend to make this mistake more often than younger drivers. In Japan, they are eight times more likely to press the wrong pedal than other generations, prompting Tokyo to propose a draft UN regulation to address the problem.
UNECE, the United Nations agency responsible for regulating road safety worldwide, has noted that an increase in the number of such accidents can be expected in the future, as given that the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to double worldwide by 2050.
In Japan, for example, the number of drivers over the age of 75 is expected to rise from 4% in 2009 to more than 9% next year.
Automatic vehicles frequently associated with cases of pedal misuse
The UN agency also warned of the global increase in sales of cars with automatic transmissions, which is another factor likely to contribute to the increase in the number of accidents due to pedal error.
This assessment is based on UK accident data showing that seven out of eight episodes of ‘pedal misuse’ involve automatic cars.
The new UN regulation will therefore only apply to automatic passenger vehicles. It is expected to come into force in June 2025, although this is not a mandatory entry into force date.
In a related development, the same UN Working Group on Automated, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA), meeting in Geneva, also approved new, safer and greener braking systems for electric cars.
Unlike the braking systems of combustion engine vehicles – whose pneumatic or hydraulic systems rely on energy converted from fossil fuels – electric cars cannot do this efficiently, the task force said.
Therefore, experts have examined and adopted new braking technology that uses stored electrical energy and provides a comparable level of safety.
The new regulations apply to light and heavy vehicles and are expected to come into force in June 2025. “Some manufacturers are expected to introduce new braking systems that comply with the provisions from the end of 2025”said the UNECE.
