Reports of ‘phantom braking’ by cars on French roads raise safety concerns

Drivers in France are being warned over the risk of cars suddenly coming to a halt when driving at high speeds, with several recent cases being reported. 

Known as ‘phantom braking’ (freinages fantômes), the technical error can see cars activate their brakes at high speed without the driver using the brake pedal. 

In some cases this has happened to vehicles travelling at over 100 km/h on an autoroute, putting both the driver of the car as well as following traffic in danger.

No official warning over the issue has yet been given, however reports from drivers indicate that several makes and models of car that use automatic braking systems could be implicated. 

Campaigners are now attempting to have the problem officially acknowledged by vehicle manufacturers and the French government. 

It comes as millions of vehicles in France have been affected by faulty airbags, which need to be replaced. 

In some cases drivers whose car has one of these airbags are being asked to stop driving it until the issue is repaired. 

Hundreds of drivers report phantom brake issue

A driver who was involved in a car crash following a suspected case of phantom braking is now attempting to see the problem officially investigated, after the courts refused her request to have her car appraised.

Joanna Peyrache was driving her Peugeot 208 on a motorway near Lyon when it suddenly came to a halt, dropping from a speed of around 120 km/h to a complete standstill in a few seconds. 

The car behind crashed into her vehicle, leading to major damage but no severe injuries. 

“An investigation was opened and the police requested that the vehicle be appraised. However the prosecutor's office refused this appraisal because they felt it was too expensive,” Ms Peyrache said.

Both her insurance company and that of the other driver also declined to appraise the vehicle, leading Ms Peyrache to research if others had faced similar issues. 

So far, some 300 drivers have responded to the request, highlighting similar accounts or issues with their vehicle. 

“There are several brands that come up. The common theme is that these are vehicles equipped with driver and braking assistance systems [systèmes d'aide au freinage],” she said.

Ms Peyrache is now considering a class action lawsuit against vehicle manufacturers over potential danger to drivers on the road.

“We can see with the Takata airbag affair that the sum of bad individual experiences can lead to a more general technical problem,” she said.

“I experienced this accident firsthand and it concerns me to think that other cars can do this, potentially causing deaths, and that I did nothing to prevent it,” she added. 

Another driver, Aurélie Tormos, who responded to the callout, saw a friend travelling with her die after the brakes of her vehicle activated when driving at high speed on a motorway. 

Ms Tormos was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. 

“We cannot change the past, it will not bring [my friend] back. However we can allow her accident to be counted as a technical defect and not wait until there are [several] deaths before reacting,” she said to FranceInfo. 

All new cars have system in place

When asked about the issue, vehicle manufacturer Stellantis – who produce vehicles under marques including Peugeot, Citroën, Alfa Romeo, and Vauxhall – said the system is in widespread usage.

“The emergency braking system is activated when the driver fails to see or identify an obstacle or hazard. It is designed, approved, and functions solely for that purpose,” it said.

The system has been mandatory for all new vehicles for a year. 

In older models the system was optional although most modern vehicles include the system to some extent.

The system has been known to struggle with certain conditions where it believes an object – such as a piece of tyre debris on the road – is an obstacle, leading the system to come into force when it is not needed.

What to do if you believe you have braking problem 

As this has not been identified as an issue by a manufacturer there are not any details of potentially affected models as is the case for vehicles that potentially have faulty Takata airbags.

Anyone who has an automatic braking system in their vehicle and feels there is an issue can take their car to a garage for this to be checked. 

The sensitivity of the system can be deactivated or reduced until assessed by mechanics. 

Instructions vary on make and model, but can usually be done through the vehicle’s system settings (available through the interactive interface on the dashboard). 

You can add your experience to those of others by emailing Ms Peyrache via incident.freinage@gmail.com.