The Thatcham Automotive Research Centre has identified several key steps that its says would make roads safer, with the widespread use of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) a top priority.

Speaking following the announcement of the Volvo XC90 as the winner of the 2016 What Car? Car of the Year Safety Award, Thatcham Research Chief Executive, Peter Shaw, praised the excellent safety performance of some vehicles but called for immediate action to further raise standards overall. He said, "Cars are safer today at every price point than they have ever been, but there is still much more that consumers and the automotive industry can do to further improve road safety. We believe that advanced safety features like Autonomous Emergency Braking should be standard on every new car sold, rather than on just 17% as is currently the case.” Shaw continued: "When you have the chance for everyone to gain from the inclusion of a life-saving technology that has been shown in studies to reduce the likelihood of a front-to-rear crash by almost 40%, you simply cannot afford to miss the opportunity.”

In conjunction with its call for AEB to be standard on all new cars, Thatcham Research believes that further action is needed in a number of related areas. The centre believes that car makers should continue to move away from offering individual safety features as options at extra cost, instead making them standard, a view that 82% of new car buyer agree with.

Thatcham also believes that the industry should work co-operatively to agree and introduce generic names for safety technologies in place of a variety of different marketing-led names currently used to describe what are essentially the same features. Car makers and dealers should also strive to provide simpler, clearer information on safety features to help consumers make informed decisions.