LISTEN: Reflective Clothing Might Make it Harder for Cars to Not Hit Pedestrians

Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) is a fairly common feature in production vehicles from the Honda Civic to the Ford F-150. It’s shown to have a material impact on preventing impacts. But according to new research, some AEB systems may contain worrisome blind spots.The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) just released findings from its recent research into the effects of high-visibility clothing – like the reflective gear worn by construction workers and runners – on AEB systems. While reflective clothing can substantially help human drivers spot people on or near the road, especially while driving at night, it seems to have the opposite effect on some AEB systems.