ADAS Technology Flaws and Driver Reliance Both Contribute to Greater Danger of Fatal Crash
Technological advances called “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems” (“ADAS”) are designed to make our roads safer and lessen the risk of a serious or deadly car crash. There are all sorts of ADAS available for drivers in Indiana and Illinois today, with more being debuted all the time. We have discussed the varieties of ADAS offered in different car makes and models earlier; see “Car Crashes and Automated Car Technology: The Changing Focus of Auto Accident Claims in Illinois and Indiana.”
From the more commonplace cruise control and anti-lock braking systems, to the latest advances in autopilot features these ADAS are being promoted as important advances in reducing the risk of traffic fatalities. However, as these technological advances gain popularity among drivers, new realities are being exposed regarding how ADAS can contribute and cause deadly accidents due to two main factors.
The first way ADAS can be the cause of a fatal motor vehicle accident involves flaws in the technology itself. Often, the technology comes with systemic limitations.
Secondly, ADAS is being recognized more and more as a contributing factor where drivers are distracted from the task of operating their motor vehicle with deadly consequences. Drivers are becoming complacent with this new technology, falling prey to the temptation to be distracted from the road with dangerous and fatal consequences.
ADAS Flaws and Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents
The ADAS may fail to provide safety for the driver and others on the road simply because of its own limitations. This is true for the latest technology (like Tesla’s Autopilot) as well as more established systems, like automatic emergency braking systems.
Here are three examples of known, intrinsic flaws in current ADAS:
1. Automatic Emergency Braking Systems Don’t Work at All Speeds
AEB systems are designed to alert and brake before the motor vehicle collides with an object in front of it. The AEB takes over the braking system and essentially slams on the brakes. But it’s not always going to work.
Automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems can fail to prevent a crash because they were developed to work when the motor vehicle is operating at a low speed. When the motor vehicle is moving at 60 mph on a highway, AEB systems will not slam on the brakes to avoid a crash as they would in a parking lot with the vehicle moving at a speed of 20 mph.
The reason is an inherent flaw in current AEB technology. The software cannot distinguish an obstruction ahead of the motor vehicle with accuracy (is it a stalled car? Is it in the same lane of traffic?). It cannot be trusted to brake a car moving at high speeds without endangering the driver and occupants, as well as others on the road.
For more, read “Why emergency braking systems sometimes hit parked cars and lane dividers,” written by Timothy B. Lee and published by ArsTechnica on June 8, 2018.
2. Cruise Control Easily Manipulated On Correct Speed Limit
ADAS technology is developing rapidly, often with hacking vulnerabilities that are undiscovered before the system hits the market. For instance, recently there has been the revelation that Tesla’s cruise control system can be easily manipulated by a simple use of duct tape.
Researchers (read their report here) easily toyed with the Tesla cruise control system by sticking tape on roadside speed limit signs (among other things). The cruise control system flaw involves how it reads the road sign. A two-inch piece of black tape to alter the “3” in a 35 mph speed limit sign was all it took for the Tesla ADAS to read the speed limit as 85 mph. And accordingly, it increased the speed of the moving vehicle to 50 mph over the actual speed limit.
For details, see “How a little electrical tape can trick a Tesla into speeding,” written by Rebecca Heilweil and published by Vox on February 19, 2020.
3. Autopilot Radar Failures
Two versions of ADAS technology on the market use radar to allow for an “autopilot” feature. Here, the driver engages driver assistance software which is the next generation from cruise control and automatic braking. Autopilot, as the name suggests, is promoted as “self-driving” technology where the car’s computer is driving the vehicle.
Radar is a critical component of the Autopilot ADAS. However, the radar available for Autopilot systems is not reliable in determining objects on the roadway – either moving objects (like a car crossing at the intersection up ahead) or stationary objects (like concrete barriers or parked cars).
The result has been at least two (2) known fatalities involving Autopilot failures where the motor vehicle slammed into another vehicle, killing its driver. For more, read “Autopilot was active when a Tesla crashed into a truck, killing driver,” written by Timothy B. Lee and published by ArsTechnica on May 16, 2019.
Driver Reliance on ADAS and Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents
Car makers and software developers are predicting ever-increasing demand for advanced driver-assistance systems, especially since government agencies in both the United States and the European Union are enacting laws requiring some forms of ADAS in all motor vehicles (like AEB systems). Marketing campaigns targeting driver safety concerns is also boosting ADAS demand.
More and more of the motor vehicles being driven on the roads of Indiana and Illinois will have at least one form of ADAS available to its driver, with drivers becoming more and more aware of their use and taking advantage of their availability.
This is a good thing, as long as the ADAS works as it should and the driver remains aware of the roadway. However, as more cars offer ADAS and more drivers are using them, it is becoming clear that these safety systems are inviting drivers to be distracted behind the wheel, and fatal accidents are a result.
Twice as Likely to Drive Distracted if Using ADAS
In a recent study performed by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, drivers using ADAS in their motor vehicles were studied for a full year. Read the full report here: Dunn, N., Dingus, T., & Soccolich, S. (2019). Understanding the Impact of Technology: Do Advanced Driver Assistance and Semi-Automated Vehicle Systems Lead to Improper Driving Behavior? (Technical Report). Washington, D.C.: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
It was found that drivers who regularly use advanced driver assistance systems were almost TWICE as likely to engage in distracted driving as when they were opting not to use their ADAS feature while driving.
What is happening? The report warns of drivers becoming used to using their ADAS with a resulting “overreliance and over-trust” that “causes a greater willingness to look away from the forward road.”
Fatal Crashes Involving Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
More and more motor vehicles will be sold, and driven, with a variety of safety features operated by the internal computer system as an ADAS feature. This is known. What is still unknown is how much risk this automation will create for serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents caused by the advancing safety technology.
It is something that the industry is considering, not just for ADAS advancements and product development, but for the corresponding legal liabilities that come with it. For details, read the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform’s discussion of the issue in “Torts of the Future: Autonomous Vehicles” published in May 2018.
ADAS Accident Legal Claims
There will be preventable accidents where people are permanently harmed or killed because of flaws and defects in this automated safety technology. Other tragedies will result indirectly, as the safety technology creates an “overreliance and over-trust” in the ADAS and a resulting crash caused by a distracted driver.
In both Indiana and Illinois, there are negligence and product liability laws in place to help victims of these fatal ADAS accidents. Legal claims may be based on state laws that protect victims who are hurt due to the failure of a product, seeking damages from the manufacturer, third-party distributor or designer, etc. See, e.g., Defective Car Parts: Liability for Fatal Crashes and Serious Injuries in Illinois and Indiana.
For more, read:
- Three New Car Automation Technologies Promoted by NHTSA; Will Your New Car Have Them?
- Are Autonomous Vehicles and Driverless Cars Dangerous?
- Technology and Personal Injury Lawsuits for Serious Injuries and Wrongful Death Traffic Accidents
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in motor vehicles, while publicized as increasing our safety on the roads, can cause horrific accidents when these features fail or malfunction. Please be careful out there!
