Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say widespread adoption of some of the building-block technologies needed for fully autonomous vehicles, short of the artificial intelligence, steering controls and advanced sensors they also use, can meaningfully and affordably reduce collisions and road fatalities. In particular, three partially automated crash avoidance features – blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and forward collision-warning systems – can be particularly effective in reducing nearly a quarter of U.S. vehicle collisions annually, say the authors of the just-issued study. Used together, these technologies could potentially stop or lessen the severity of 1.3 million crashes per year, including 133,000 that would otherwise result in vehicle occupant injuries and 10,000 fatal crashes, according to the study.