There’s a massive stash of ADAS-performance data out there, and I had no idea it existed. Thanks to Swaroop Dinakar for tipping me off.

The IIHS performs both vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian automatic emergency braking [AEB] tests with video and detailed data acquisition. The protocols are detailed here.

For peds, they run tests between 20 and 60 kph (~12 to 37 mph) with an adult ped crossing at night, an adult standing still at night, and with a child crossing from behind an obstruction during daylight.

The vehicle-to-vehicle tests are performed between 50 and 70 kph (~31 and 44 mph) with the test vehicle approaching a stationary passenger-car target, motorcycle target, or (a real) semi-trailer, with varying offsets.

The amount of data the IIHS provides is astounding. The following are especially interesting:

  • Initial speed

  • Impact speed (if one occurred)

  • Deceleration

  • Yaw Rate

  • Forward collision warning [FCW] timing

  • AEB activation timing

I analyzed data from a 2025 Tesla Model 3 and a 2025 Toyota Camry to get a feel for the system. For the 70 kph passenger-vehicle target, both vehicles came to a complete stop prior to AOI, with the Tesla achieving a maximum deceleration of -0.97 g’s and the Toyota achieving -0.92 g’s.

On average, the Tesla FCW was activated 3.27 seconds prior to contact [PTC] and the Toyota 2.59 seconds PTC. The Tesla AEB was activated 1.59 seconds PTC and the Toyota 2.34 seconds PTC. Great info that can be incredibly useful when reconstructing a collision where ADAS might be at play. The video below is one of the Tesla runs.

So, how do you access the data? It’s not available through the public-facing IIHS site, but at IIHS Tech Data instead. Initially, it doesn’t seem like it’s a publicly accessible portal. However, if you scroll down and click on the link to the registration page, you can get instant access. Sweet, sweet, endless data.

Thanks to Swaroop for letting me know! On that note, we just launched his Data Driven episode. Please check it out on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, etc., and leave a review if you’re feeling generous.

Thanks for reading, keep learning!

Lou Peck
Lightpoint | JS Forensics

P.S. “The average person spends 2 weeks of its life waiting for a traffic light to change.” Remember Snapple Real Facts?

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