High-Visibility Clothing May Thwart Pedestrian Crash Prevention Sensors - IIHS

A recent IIHS evaluation highlights how certain pedestrian crash prevention systems may struggle to identify individuals wearing high-visibility clothing. For example, Subaru’s Forester performed better than Honda’s CR-V and Mazda’s CX-5 in avoiding nighttime pedestrian collisions. However, the reflective clothing used in the tests caused issues for some radar-based systems, leading to potential misidentifications. This raises questions about the reliability of these systems in varied real-world scenarios.

Subaru’s use of stereo vision seems to outperform radar-based systems used in the CR-V and CX-5. Radar’s inability to handle spatial resolution as effectively might explain why these systems filter out reflective strips, similar to how they ignore road signs. It highlights the need for diverse technologies like CV and lidar, although cost remains a barrier for affordable vehicles like the CR-V.

@Maxwell
You’re correct. Subaru’s Eyesight system leverages multiple cameras for stereo vision, while Mazda and Honda combine radar with a single camera. It seems the programming of object detection algorithms is key here. Radar’s sensitivity to reflective surfaces complicates its reliability in such scenarios.

@Maxwell
Great point about radar possibly mistaking reflective strips for road signs. It’s a bit like IR motion sensors reacting differently based on placement and material. More advanced tech would definitely help, but at what cost?

Subaru’s Eyesight consistently outperforms radar systems at this price point. This test further supports the idea that computer vision should be the primary system, with radar and other technologies as supplementary for niche cases.

Worth noting that newer Honda models have shifted to camera-only systems. Radar has been phased out in favor of simpler designs.

If cars can’t detect pedestrians in high-visibility clothing, it defeats the purpose. Drivers can still spot them more easily, but this does raise concerns about tech reliability.