By Dr Tana Tan
Research and Evaluation Lead | Safe System Solutions
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) play a key role in the Safe System approach to road safety – but what can we do to ensure drivers don’t ‘switch off’ to these features?
ADAS provides drivers with real-time information, warnings, and automated interventions to prevent collisions; improve situational awareness; and facilitate safer driving behaviour.
Some common ADAS features include Intelligent Speed Advice (ISA), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) for pedestrian and cyclist detection, and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR). Some of these ADAS are now legally required in new cars sold in Australia.
‘Safe Vehicles’ is a pillar of the Safe System approach to road safety, underpinned by the fundamental principle that humans are fallible and we make mistakes – so we need to use everything in our toolkit to both prevent fatal and serious injury crashes.
Research by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) shows that almost one third of all light vehicle crashes occurring in Australia and NZ between 2013 and 2017 could have the potential to be avoided or mitigated by AEB. The research shows that if there was 100% fitment of AEB in Australia, the technology would lead to an estimated reduction of 8% of fatalities, 12% of serious injuries and 12% of minor injuries.
This translates to a reduction of 126 fatalities, 3,731 serious injuries and 11,017 minor injuries each year.
But a challenge we’re facing is that ADAS features can vary from vehicle to vehicle, especially as we transition from older to newer models – and this can lead to drivers becoming confused or distracted, particularly when driving a car that they aren’t familiar with such as workplace vehicles and rental cars.
Many of us would have experienced getting behind the wheel of a new car and feeling overwhelmed by unfamiliar alerts and automations as you hit the road. For example, your car might display the speed limit for the road or street you’re currently travelling, while another vehicle might sound an alert every time the speed limit changes.
Or perhaps your car alerts you to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists crossing your path as you reverse, while another might automatically brake when they’re detected.
If this confusion and distraction when we change vehicles leads us to turn off our ADAS features, then we aren’t achieving the safety benefits of this technology. A UK study of 2,033 drivers found that 41% had turned off ADAS features (AXA UK and Brake, 2023).
One important way we can tackle this issue is through training for staff on the availability, operation, and limitation of each type of vehicle in their fleet from an ADAS perspective.
We provide training on how to set up our desk ergonomically so why don’t we do this with workplace vehicles which have more potential to be harmful?
This training comes under the chain of responsibility for employers. That is, the responsibility for workplace safety starts from the top to the bottom and back up again – we’re all responsible for safety, including on our roads.
Dr Tana Tan
Research and Evaluation Lead
Tana has over 15 years’ experience as a researcher, project manager, consultant and trainer. He is a motorcyclist of more than 15 years, a road and off-road cyclist, and a registered road safety auditor. His specially areas are crash reconstruction, motorcycle safety, passenger vehicle safety, and the biomechanics of crash injuries. His PhD involved the investigation of thorax (i.e. chest) injuries in passenger vehicle rollover crashes. He and Kenn Beer led the 2021 update to the Austroads Guide to Road Safety.
His specialty areas are vehicle safety, motorcycle safety, capacity building domestically and internationally, and strategy development, and he offers Expert Witness services.