May 1, 2019 — With the feature of autonomous emergency braking systems in new model vehicles, auto recyclers may see an increase in bolts on parts sales and fewer supply parts, according to the managing director of Salvage Wire Andy Latham.
“Auto recyclers may see an increase in bolts because there are more vehicles being repaired, but they will also see fewer vehicles being written off, so the supply parts may be reduced,” he said.
The safety features on vehicles have been proven to prevent the event of collisions. According to Thatcham Research, autonomous emergency braking is the most important development in a car since the invention of seatbelts.
Autonomous braking is a safety feature put in newer model vehicles, that monitors the road ahead and will automatically brake the car if the driver doesn’t respond to a potential collision threat. It leads to a 38 percent reduction in real-world rear-end crashes.
Latham said this will overall impact not only auto recyclers but collision repairers as well. The obvious is that the frequency of accidents will be reduced, therefore fewer repairs might be needed. The number of vehicles suffering heavy damage will also reduce, so more vehicles will be repaired. “Autonomous emergency braking is very effective in stopping accidents at low speed (less than 20mph); at higher speeds the vehicles will still impact but the severity of the impact will be significantly reduced because of the intervention of AEB, this will mean that the damage will be less severe so repairs are cost-effective,” said Latham.
