National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 19237:2026. It supersedes BS ISO 19237:2017, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee EPL/278, Intelligent transport systems.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 19237:2017), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

clarification that a hazardous situation is not limited to a pedestrian crossing a straight road through the addition of road curvature requirements;
reduction in minimum subject vehicle velocity;
new requirement that all PDCMS be capable of twilight and night-time activation, which was previously optional.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

The fatality and severe injury rates of traffic accidents involving pedestrians are significantly high, resulting in the loss of many lives.

Pedestrian detection and collision mitigation systems (PDCMS) reduce the severity of pedestrian collisions that cannot be avoided and can reduce the likelihood of fatality. By a collision warning (CW) and automatically activating emergency braking, PDCMS assist in slowing a vehicle when a collision is likely.

Functional elements of a PDCMS are shown in Figure 1.

A PDCMS detects pedestrians ahead of time, determine if detected pedestrians represent a hazardous condition, and warn the driver if a hazard exists. A PDCMS estimates if the driver has an adequate opportunity to respond to the hazard. If there is inadequate time available for the driver to respond, and if appropriate criteria are met, a PDCMS determines that a collision is imminent. Based upon this assessment, a PDCMS will activate CWs and vehicle brakes to mitigate collision severity. This document, while not a collision avoidance standard, does not preclude a manufacturer from implementing collision avoidance with a PDCMS.

System designers and other users can apply the provisions of this document to stand-alone PDCMS or to the integration of the PDCMS functions into other driving assistance and support systems.

1 Scope

This document specifies the concepts of operation, minimum functionality, system requirements, system interfaces and test procedures for pedestrian detection and collision mitigation systems (PDCMS), which can reduce the likelihood of fatality and severity of injury. A PDCMS requires information about range to pedestrians, motion of pedestrians, motion of the subject vehicle (SV), driver commands and driver actions. It specifies the behaviours that are required for PDCMS, and the system test criteria necessary to verify that a given implementation meets the requirements of this document. Implementation choices are left to system designers wherever possible.

Systems that include other countermeasures such as evasive steering are not within the scope of this document.

Responsibility for the safe operation of the vehicle remains with the driver.

This document applies to light duty passenger vehicles. It does not apply to other vehicle categories such as heavy vehicles or motorcycles. PDCMS are not intended for off-road use.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Symbols and abbreviated terms

5 Requirements and other provisions

5.1 Minimum enabling capabilities

5.2 Operating model — State transition diagram

5.3 Performance requirements

5.4 PDCMS Operation

6 Test procedures

6.1 General

6.2 Test procedure requirements

6.3 Test requirements for daytime

6.4 Test requirements for night-time

Bibliography