Expensive vehicle safety tech is out of reach for too many

Automotive innovations are saving lives. While crash fatalities remain unacceptably high — with about 100 people dying on our roads every day — today's new car models include some of the safest vehicles ever created, in part because of crash-avoidance systems that are proved to yield significant safety benefits. But these systems aren't valuable if they aren't on vehicles. Too often, this happens when buyers are presented a false choice between safety and affordability.

Research by Consumer Reports has found that millions of America's most popular vehicles come off assembly lines every year without lifesaving technology that should be standard. Vehicles with blind-spot warning are estimated to prevent up to 26 percent of fatal lane-change crashes, according to insurance claims data. But these systems come standard on just three of the 15 top-selling 2020 models in the U.S. and are completely unavailable on one of them. Instead, buyers usually must pay about $2,500 extra. Getting blind-spot warning on the Ford F-150 costs over $12,000 above sticker.

Clearly, the feature doesn't cost $12,000 — so what's going on? Some automakers are packaging safety systems with add-ons such as premium sunroofs and stereo systems, so the only way to get blind-spot warning is to pay much more. This is upselling on the basis of safety: taking advantage of some buyers who are just trying to protect themselves and their families, and putting lifesaving technology out of reach for others.

We're seeing a similar story for pedestrian detection, an enhancement of automatic emergency braking that can help drivers see pedestrians and hit the brakes sooner than they might otherwise. In 2018, 6,283 pedestrians died after a vehicle ran into them, an increase of 53 percent since 2009.

Many of these deaths are preventable, with research finding that Subaru vehicles with pedestrian detection had 35 percent fewer pedestrian-related bodily injury insurance claims than the same vehicles without the feature. Pedestrian detection now comes standard on 13 of the 15 top-selling models in the U.S. — a new and welcome development — but of the two remaining models, the system isn't available at all on the Ram 1500, and you can only get it on the Chevy Silverado 1500 for an extra $16,000.

Consumer Reports incorporates advanced safety technology into our scoring, which has helped move the market on systems such as pedestrian detection. But too many automakers are still moving slowly on too many safety features. That's why Consumer Reports is calling on Congress to pass legislation requiring blind-spot warning, pedestrian detection and other proven systems to come standard on all new vehicles.

More than 36,000 people die on our roads every year, yet access to safety technology is too often limited to those who can afford expensive upgrades. Our roads are much more dangerous than they should be, and automakers are letting their own innovations go to waste. Congress should put an end to this untenable situation for safety.