Drivers baffled by in-car safety assistance systems

There’s a significant trust gap developing between drivers and the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) fitted to their cars, with widespread confusion about the capabilities and limitations of the increasingly prevalent tech.

The lack of understanding among drivers is eroding public confidence in ADAS, and creating safety concerns, according to mobility experts at DG Cities. They’ve carried out a survey that reveals 40 per cent of drivers aren’t getting sufficient information about assistance systems when purchasing their cars, and say their subsequent investigation found sales staff at dealerships not only lacked knowledge, but in some cases were also guilty of exaggerating the capabilities of the features. 

The roster of ADAS tech includes Emergency Lane Keep Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking and Intelligent Speed Assist, and because they’ve all been mandatory in new vehicles sold in the European single market since last July, drivers in the UK effectively get them by default - although the UK has not yet adopted Europe’s ‘General Safety Regulation 2’, which leads DG Cities to suggest “oversight and standardisation is lagging”.

When it comes to actual driver engagement, the firm says its representative poll found that while 70 per cent of ADAS users appreciate the benefits such tech can provide, the lack of information drivers are being given leads to dissatisfaction with how the systems operate, which could “undermine the transition” to greater autonomy in the future.

"If people don't understand or trust ADAS today, we cannot expect them to embrace autonomous vehicles tomorrow," said Balazs Csuvar, Director of Innovation & Net Zero at DG Cities. "ADAS technologies are the stepping stones to full autonomy. The UK’s transition to a self-driving future relies on building public trust and confidence in these systems.”

Csuvar says the Government and regulators need to act now, including by regulating ADAS technology more closely. 

“Currently, manufacturers are not required to pass thorough mandatory regulatory ADAS tests to sell vehicles in the UK,” said Csuvar. “Consumers and fleet operators must rely on non-compulsory Euro NCAP ratings to assess and compare ADAS performance. However, this requires participation from the manufacturer, and the test scenarios the vehicle is subjected to are limited. Testing must be expanded to cover more scenarios and real-world edge cases,” he says.

The firm’s research suggests that only 30 per cent of drivers trust manufacturers to self-assess their ADAS systems.

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