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How safe are cyclists around Subaru vehicles traveling along the road? Subaru's EyeSight safety technology is designed to keep bicycle riders safe when in close contact with the Subaru Crosstrek, Forester, Legacy, Outback, Impreza, and WRX models outfitted with the first and second versions of the EyeSight system.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says Subaru's EyeSight system reduced parallel crashes with bicycles by 29 percent but had a minor impact on crashes with bicyclists overall.
The IIHS says early EyeSight crash avoidance versions prevented real-world crashes with bicyclists traveling parallel to the road, a new study shows. However, they were only modestly successful in reducing impacts with bicyclists crossing in front of the vehicle," said Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research at the Institute and the study's author.
In the recent tests, Cicchino compared bicycle crash rates for Subaru models with EyeSight with crash rates for the same models without the system across 16 U.S. states over 2014-2020.
The IIHS says, "As expected, the systems were better at preventing the parallel crashes they were designed to avoid than crashes of other types. Rates of police-reported parallel crashes were 29 percent lower for vehicles equipped with EyeSight than for unequipped vehicles. Perpendicular and overall crash rates were 5 percent and 9 percent lower for equipped vehicles, respectively, but neither of those reductions was statistically significant."
Next-gen EyeSight gets new improvements.
The IIHS says Subaru Corporation recently rolled out changes to the EyeSight system that could make it more effective at recognizing cyclists in the most common crash scenario when bicycles cross in front of the vehicle.
The third generation of EyeSight is designed to prevent both crossing and parallel crashes and is available now on the 2022 and newer Forester and WRX in the U.S. market. The 2023 Ascent, Legacy, and Outback also have the latest version and a third camera that expands the system's field of view, though the IIHS still needs to test its real-world effectiveness.
Bicycle collision avoidance at intersections
In preventive safety performance, the next-gen EyeSight comes with a broader viewing angle and is standard equipment on Subaru's new models. They also come with the new electric brake booster, which improves the responsiveness of braking assist to support collision avoidance at intersections.
Subaru says it also supports collision avoidance with oncoming vehicles going straight when turning right, pedestrians turning left and right, and bicycles crossing in front of the car.
Subaru Corporation is the leader in bicycle crash avoidance. The IIHS revealed the first and second versions of EyeSight were effective in reducing accidents with bicyclists traveling parallel to the road. The next-generation EyeSight in the 2023 Subaru Forester, Ascent, and WRX, and 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, Impreza, and 2024 Outback will likely be even better at reducing crashes with bicycles crossing in front of the vehicle. We will bring the information here when the IIHS releases the new testing data.
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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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