What happened
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent nonprofit funded by auto insurers. On 21 February 2019, it published its first ratings of automatic braking for pedestrians, for 11 small SUVs. Pedestrian detection is standard on the 2019 Toyota RAV4 through Toyota Safety Sense. IIHS ran three track scenarios: a child running out from behind parked cars, an adult crossing and an adult walking along the road. Scores came from average speed reductions over five runs. The RAV4 avoided the child and adult dummies in every crossing test, at 12 and 25 mph. It also avoided the walking adult at 25 mph and cut its impact speed by 23 mph at 37 mph. Its warning came 1.5 seconds before impact, short of the 2.1 seconds that IIHS credits. Only the Forester and RAV4 avoided the dummies in every crossing test, and IIHS rated the RAV4 superior. IIHS writes that algorithms in such systems classify objects as people, bicyclists or animals but does not say whether they learn from data. No crash avoided on public roads is reported.
Sources
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Assessment report, by authors with no tie to the system.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. New ratings address pedestrian crashes. News release, 21 February 2019.
Only the Forester and RAV4 avoided hitting the dummies in every perpendicular test.
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Assessment report, by authors with no tie to the system.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 2019 Toyota RAV4, front crash prevention: pedestrian (day). Vehicle ratings page, rating for 2019-21 models, read on 1 November 2026.
In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 23 mph. A warning was issued 1.5 seconds before impact.
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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Pedestrian detection was standard on the 2019 RAV4. IIHS scored the average speed reduction over five runs of each test on dry pavement. The crossing tests ran at 12 and 25 mph and the walking-adult test at 25 and 37 mph.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The pedestrian is in one of the tested situations, such as crossing in front of the car or walking in its lane. The rating applies to 2019-21 RAV4 models.
Entry details
- Sector
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Road vehicle crash avoidance.
- Purpose
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Toyota built the Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection in Toyota Safety Sense to warn the driver and brake automatically when a collision with a pedestrian is imminent.
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Cite this record
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Toyota Safety Sense on the RAV4 earns IIHS's top pedestrian rating (AIBD-0963). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 1 November 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0963.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 7.0)