The research was carried out by Euro NCAP and ANCAP, the independent safety bodies for Europe and Australasia, and found that AEB is one of the more promising safety technologies that is becoming increasingly common on modern passenger cars – however it needs widespread fitment for maximum benefits.

Commenting on the report, Andrew Miller, chief technical officer of Thatcham Research and president of Euro NCAP said: “Clearly, at this level of effectiveness, low speed AEB is potentially a hugely important active safety technology and widespread fitment through the vehicle fleet should be encouraged in the interest of improved vehicle safety – a key recommendation since 2014.

“These findings strongly support Euro NCAP’s decision to make AEB technology a key discriminator in the safety rating of new vehicles – which is reflected in insurance group ratings. And from next year, Euro NCAP will include in its assessments AEB systems that recognise pedestrians.

“We would like to see the new government take a lead in the UK – just as Swedish and Australian Governments have done – and mandate only AEB-equipped cars across its own fleet and champion the take-up of AEB across the all-important fleet market.”

Thatcham Research yesterday led a group of top fleet operators in a Round Table discussion at the Silverstone Fleet Show on the theme: Towards the World’s First Crash-Free Fleet.

The discussion will be reported in the June issue of Fleet World and will be part of a more extensive report from Thatcham in the autumn.