The Future of Auto Safety

Vehicles of the future are here right now, and more of them have gee-whiz safety features that aim to avoid crashes altogether – or at least help some drivers avoid some crashes by supplying critical information at critical times. These features may alert a driver who has become distracted, for example, or improve a driver’s ability to see a hazard lurking just around a bend. In the wake of the huge success of electronic stability control, designed to help drivers maintain control in emergency maneuvers or on slick roads, expectations for the new features are high. However, their benefits are hard to predict.

It’s tempting to become cheerleaders for any new feature promising to address drivers’ mistakes, since drivers make a lot of them. But for the most part the features being installed in current models simply give drivers information. How will the drivers respond? Will they use the information correctly? Will it elicit the right response? Will drivers become annoyed by too much information? The Institute is conducting research to try to answer those questions.

SAFETY FEATURES

Features available on some vehicles, especially luxury ones, include:

Forward collision warning with automatic braking

More occupant deaths occur in frontal crashes than in any other kind of crashes. Some of these collisions could be avoided. The severity of others could be reduced if appropriate action were taken sooner. A new vehicle feature addresses this by detecting, usually by radar, when a driver is headed for trouble. Then the driver is alerted. In some cases, braking is applied.

The systems differ among manufacturers in terms of when and how they activate. Forward collision avoidance on some models begins by sounding alarms and/or flashing lights to warn drivers of hazards. In some cars, safety belts are tightened. When a crash is imminent, brakes are applied, often with progressively more pressure.

Emergency brake assistance

Some frontal crashes could be avoided if hazards were detected sooner, but others involve drivers who did see and brake for hazards but couldn’t stop in time to avoid crashing. Crashes like these might be avoided if drivers had technology that senses panic braking, or a situation in which a driver might be about to apply brakes hard. Brake assistance readies the brakes for activation and/or applies extra pressure. This kind of technology is being introduced now.

Lane departure warning

When a drowsy or otherwise impaired or distracted driver drifts out of a travel lane, either into another lane or off the road, the result can be serious. A new feature, usually mounted on or near the rearview mirror, can help by detecting when a driver begins to depart from a travel lane without apparent intent (for example, when the turn signal isn’t on). The system alerts the driver by vibrating the steering wheel, emitting an audible and/or visual warning, or other means. Some systems also brake selected wheels to nudge a vehicle back in lane.

Blind spot detection

Side and rearview mirrors help drivers keep track of nearby motorists, but blind spots on either side still allow adjacent vehicles to “hide.” To warn drivers of the presence of hiding vehicles, features are being added to some Audi, Buick, Cadillac, Mazda, Mercedes and Volvo models that sweep nearby lanes, looking for vehicles approaching from behind and entering blind spots.

A light comes on to warn a driver of a hiding vehicle. In some cases, the light flashes or becomes brighter if the driver activates a turn signal in the presence of a conflicting vehicle. Some of the systems include a beep as well as a light. We don’t know if people will notice the lights. Some people don’t use their side mirrors, where the warnings usually are located. These factors could limit the safety potential. Drivers who often navigate in heavy traffic might get so used to the lights and beeps that they pay little attention to them.

Adaptive headlights

High beams on all passenger vehicles help drivers see better on dark roadways. The active lights introduced on some models can help even more, by pivoting in the direction of travel when drivers steer around curves and corners. The purpose is to help drivers see sooner what may be looming around the bend.

Other features automakers are introducing include rear cameras to reveal hazards when drivers back up (such as small children); warnings for drivers who become drowsy, as indicated by eyelid movement; and heads-up display to reduce the need to look away from the road to consult the instrument panel.

Forward collision warning, lane departure warning, blind zone detection and adaptive headlights have a lot of potential. In a best-case scenario, if the systems work as designed, the Institute estimates they could prevent or mitigate as many as 1 of every 3 fatal crashes and 1 of every 5 serious or moderate injury crashes.

In addition to these safety features, others are designed more for convenience. A few vehicles, for example, have technology that automatically guides a car into a parallel parking space.

DRIVER RESPONSE

Driver response is key to the success of any crash avoidance feature. If drivers see and respond to features and don’t compensate by taking more risks behind the wheel, crashes can be reduced. But if motorists respond by changing how they drive, potential benefits may not pan out.

Drivers don’t change their behavior in response to many safety features but do respond to those that give direct and immediate feedback – for example, when acceleration is boosted or brakes are improved. This could be the case with studded snow tires, which have delivered a less-than-expected benefit (possibly because drivers who think they won’t skid go too fast for conditions). Some motorists will respond to emerging crash avoidance features the same way. They’ll drive faster or pay less attention to the possibility of a hazard ahead if they think a gadget will alert them if needed.

Previous experience indicates more automatic features – those that apply brakes automatically to avoid a collision, for example – will be the most effective. Yet many of the features being introduced on current cars give motorists feedback by activating a warning light. Then drivers have to take appropriate action to avoid crashes. Such features might not live up to their hype.

Of course, benefits will be disappointing if drivers simply turn off crash avoidance features that are annoying or don’t seem to help. This could be the case with blind spot detection systems, which could activate continuously in heavy urban traffic.

A cautionary tale comes from anti-lock brake technology. When anti-locks were introduced on passenger vehicles, expectations were high for crash reductions, based on how cars with the systems performed in tests by the Institute and others. But the initial outcome on the road was to increase crashes, and anti-locks never have produced a large safety benefit. The problem could be the tests involved skilled drivers in controlled settings, but real-world driving is fraught with unforeseen circumstances for motorists whose skills may be limited. Drivers also might compensate for anti-locks. Assuming they can stop quicker if they need to, they drive faster and/or delay brake application.

We’ll have to wait for research examining on-the-road performance of the new crash avoidance systems. They are proliferating as technology becomes more accessible and affordable. Eventually the idea is to link technologies designed for both vehicles and roadways, building an interactive communications system. Then the future really will have arrived.