New cars are full of car safety features designed to make your driving more convenient and safer. The question is whether they actually do. Some drivers say they’re not always convenient and research suggests they’re not always that safe. Find out why.
What are car safety features?
Car safety features are also known as Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS) features. They include adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assistance and reverse cameras. AEB, for example, is compulsory in new cars from March 2025.
These features are designed to reduce the chance of crashes caused by human error. European researchers measured how much they could reduce the chance of crashes by 2025 and 2040.
- AEB would reduce the chance of a crash by 18-26%.
- Lane assistance would do so by 3-18%.
- Parking assistance would reduce property damage crashes by 38-44%.
However, they concluded by saying these systems could only work well if drivers learn to use them correctly.
Shift in responsibility for driving
It looks as though a shift in responsibility takes place. As soon as you introduce a car safety feature that does something useful, the driver tends to make that feature responsible. Unfortunately, relying heavily on these systems means the driver tends to switch off:
- Drivers stop defensive driving and anticipating potential hazards.
- They are less aware of their surroundings and react more slowly if they have to intervene.
- Drivers think these systems will save them in a difficult situation.
- They get bored.
- Drivers starts multitasking and game the system.
Drivers learn to game the system
Once drivers learn how the system works, they’re more likely to game it. As Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found, participants in a study learned how to play by the rules of the attention requirements. They learned all they had to do was ‘nudge the steering wheel every few seconds’ to trick the system they were paying attention.
At the same time, they were checking their phones, eating sandwiches, grooming or using electronics. As they grew more accustomed to the technology, they became increasingly distracted. One group of drivers was distracted more than 30% of the time!
Drivers using Tesla’s Autopilot learned the timing interval of its attention reminder alerts. They were quickly able to stop these alerts from escalating without really paying attention. Their continued lapses of attention eventually added up to long periods of not watching the road.
Poor handover from machine to human
One UK study confirmed how much drivers are distracted when using a partially automated system. They were chatting to their passenger, using their phones, watching videos and even playing online chess.
Unfortunately, when the car requested driver intervention, they were slow to respond. During the first 10 seconds, drivers accelerated and braked harshly and even wavered in their lanes. This was so marked that some passengers told their drivers to pay attention.
Researchers were concerned that the handover from machine to human is not smooth or fast. They wondered whether such a handover process can ever be safe.
Are these systems really safe or just convenient?
The way you look at these features determines how you behave. Calling them car safety features teaches drivers to think the car will keep them safe. Perhaps it would be better to think of them as convenience features rather than safety features.
It’s also arguable whether driving assistance features are always convenient. Many drivers complain about having to respond to constant beep beep alerts. Others have had to override these features when they won’t let them drive in a safe way for the conditions, eg, driving out of your lane for a cyclist.
There is more to be done about car safety systems, especially teaching drivers how they should be used.
Meanwhile, safer drivers continue to get cheaper green slips.
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