Road safety is still a big concern for logistics firms and many are adopting new technology in the hope that it will help their drivers avoid crashes.

One such example is autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which uses radar or lidar-based systems to detect any obstacles that may lie ahead. A warning is then issued to the driver and the vehicle will also be slowed down in order to minimise the impact of a collision.

According to insurance research organisation Thatcham, this particular development has the potential to be as important to road safety as the seat belt.

The organisation stated that 75 per cent of all crashes in the UK occur at less than 20 mph and many of these incidents could be avoided if AEB was involved.

Insurers have already started to offer discounts to customers who have installed the technology and many new models come with the technology fitted as standard.

Having analysed data provided by the US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Thatcham found people who drove the Volvo XC60 - which comes with AEB - made 25 per cent fewer insurance claims than those who owned similar vehicles that did not have the braking system.