New testing standards for assisted driving: drivers can drive more safely if they focus on driving

Intelligent driving seems to be getting closer and closer to the public.

Tesla FSD has obtained software registration from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, sounding the prelude to its entry into China. Domestic players' NOA, NCA, NGP, and NOP (pilot assisted driving) have appeared frequently, and continue to increase their investment in intelligent driving. According to data, in 2023, the total sales volume of China's new energy passenger cars will be 7.2865 million, of which 3.6842 million will be equipped with L2 assisted driving functions as standard, with a penetration rate of 50.56% (the penetration rate in 2022 will be 43%).

The increase in penetration reflects consumers' growing interest and acceptance of assisted driving features (ADAS) that can maintain vehicle speed and automatically change lanes. However, a certain brand of vehicle misjudged a small truck image on a billboard and suddenly braked, causing a rear-end collision; a certain brand of vehicle rear-ended a road maintenance vehicle in front of it while driving in the fast lane, and other "hot search" accidents related to smart driving are also reminding consumers and automakers that the argument that smart driving is safer and can reduce human errors is still "debatable."

Recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) of the United States tested 14 driver assistance systems of different brands with new standards. The brands involved are BMW, Ford, GM, Genesis, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Tesla and Volvo. The results showed that only one system scored "acceptable", two systems "barely passed", and the remaining 11 systems scored "poor".

In the past, the focus of assisted driving system testing was on how to identify risks, how to help drivers, how to avoid accidents or minimize the impact of accidents, while the new IIHS test focuses on how to ensure that drivers are "focused" on driving during driving. IIHS believes that in fact, because drivers believe that ADAS systems can drive "autonomously", they will be distracted and create new risks.

IIHS President David Harkey pointed out that as many accidents related to assisted driving have shown, when assisted driving systems lack appropriate protection measures, they may bring new risks. Most of the assisted driving systems tested do not take adequate measures to prevent abuse and prevent drivers from distracting driving. The inability of drivers to concentrate on driving has become an "unfortunate" reality.

One of the criteria for confirming that the assisted driving system is safe and reliable is that the system can always detect whether the driver's eyes are looking at the road and whether their hands are on the steering wheel, which can usually be achieved through the front camera and steering wheel sensors in the car. However, none of the 14 systems tested fully met the above requirements. In some cases, the on-board camera could not give a reminder when it was partially blocked, and one brand of car models even had no on-board camera at all.

At the same time, most systems failed to confirm and ensure that drivers were always paying attention to the road, or to alert drivers when they were found to be inattentive to prevent them from being distracted. In some cases, the IIHS said, some systems could be activated without the driver wearing a seat belt.

When the driver's eyes are not focused on the road ahead, the ADAS system should issue a "visible" and "audible" alarm within 10 seconds and activate the emergency deceleration system within 20 seconds. However, in actual tests, 7 (half) of the tested systems failed to provide the above "dual-mode" alarm within 15 seconds. The system allows a long period of time without driver feedback, which will encourage drivers to give up driving, which is very dangerous.

The test believes that the driver's failure to respond to the warning for up to 35 seconds is the critical critical point for the driver to lose his ability to act or deliberately abuse the system. At this time, the response of the assisted driving system should be that the vehicle automatically decelerates and alerts the local emergency service department (emergency department or car manufacturer). Among the 14 systems tested, only one system met the above requirements.

The more powerful the assisted driving function is, the higher the probability that the driver will do other things. However, before the L3 autonomous driving system is officially put on the road, the accident responsibility is 100% on the driver. Therefore, if the driver cannot be guaranteed to focus on driving, the assisted driving system cannot achieve the goal of safer driving.

As one of the most authoritative automotive product endorsement organizations in the industry, IIHS's new testing standards will guide automakers to take more measures to monitor drivers' driving behavior, prevent drivers from distracting themselves and "intentionally abusing" assisted driving systems. At the same time, it will also affect the direction of future automotive safety feature development.