Investigation publication

As the name suggests, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are systems that assist the driver in carrying out the primary driving task. ADAS observe the environment using sensors and are able to take over control of speed or driving direction, subject to the responsibility of the person at the wheel. Systems of this kind are also able to warn the driver in situations that the system considers dangerous.

Design

Manufacturers introduce new systems because technology makes it possible and to make their cars more attractive for their customers. Road safety is not a basic principle in the design process right from the start and insufficient account is taken of the driver who is required to operate the innovation. Moreover, vehicles today are not designed in such a way that safety is maintained throughout their lifecycle. The exchange of knowledge and transparency are not common practices within the sector.

Policy

Dutch and European policy are aimed at encouraging and indeed making the installation of ADAS obligatory. This is based on the ambition of reducing the number of road traffic accident victims. However, there is no elaborated vision on the required level of safety in relation to the desired extent and direction of innovation. There are no systematic risk analyses and no determination has been made of how the risks can be mitigated or what is needed to arrive at mitigating measures. Furthermore, within the policy, there is insufficient focus on the current generation of systems. Government attention is above all aimed at the distant future in which vehicles may be able to operate fully autonomously. Current measures from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management aimed at filling the knowledge gap among drivers are a step in the right direction, but are not sufficiently binding.

Black box

At a whole number of levels, ADAS are something of a ‘black box’. Following an accident, the police are often unable to access the data and there is no knowledge at all of which cars are equipped with precisely which ADAS and whether the systems were activated. It is also unclear for all types of ADAS what effect they have on road safety. There is a lack of sound monitoring and evaluation following the introduction of these new technologies. The monitoring of accidents involving ADAS could be integrated in regular accident investigations. One positive development in this connection is that from now on Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) has commissioned the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research to investigate fatal accidents on national highways. This offers a basis for investigating the role of ADAS in the occurrence of fatal accidents, thereby boosting overall learning capacity.