AAA automotive engineers recently evaluated low-speed-capable Active Driving Assistance (ADA) systems (also known as Traffic Jam Assistance), which are becoming more and more common on new vehicles.
According to the engineers’ findings, these systems don’t work well in all driving scenarios. They had trouble every nine minutes on average in heavy traffic.
These systems control the vehicle’s speed, maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle in front, and keep the vehicle centered in the lane in low speed, congested traffic. In short, Traffic Jam Assistance is the use of a vehicle’s adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assistance.
“Testing by our AAA Automotive Engineers shows that while ADA systems can help in certain driving situations, they never replace an engaged driver,” says Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho. “While Traffic Jam Assistance is designed to work in congested traffic, these systems can have trouble every nine minutes, which means that drivers need to always stay alert and be ready to take over control of the vehicle.”
The testing involved hands-on and hands-off systems on five different vehicles. Overall results showed that notable events were recorded every 3.2 miles, or approximately every 9.1 minutes on average. A “notable” event was defined as any situation in which the ADA system failed to handle the driving conditions adequately, as determined by the research drivers.
The most common incidents were inadequate responses to cut ins, which required a researcher to intervene 90% of the time. Cut ins are defined as instances when a vehicle enters the lane directly in front of the test vehicle.
The second most frequent issue was inadequate lane-centering assistance. Lane centering is a system that uses cameras and other sensors to keep a vehicle centered within its lane, providing steering assistance to prevent drifting.
Engineers reported a difference between hands-on and hands-off ADA systems.
Hands-on systems require the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel while the ADA system is in use. The ADA system utilizes cameras and radar to monitor the driving environment (road condition, lane lines, etc.).
Hands-off systems allow the driver to remove their hands from the steering wheel in most situations but might require them to put their hands back on in certain conditions. These systems use similar sensors, but they also commonly rely on roads that are pre-mapped in the system.
The findings revealed that drivers of vehicles with hands-on systems had to intervene due to driving events three times more frequently than those of vehicles with hands-off systems.
Though hands free most of the time, drivers using hands-off systems were asked to re-engage by placing their hands back on the wheel approximately once every 5.5 miles or every 15.3 minutes, requiring continuous driver engagement.
Advanced vehicle technologies have the potential to reduce crashes and save lives, but AAA testing shows that none of these systems is foolproof. AAA recommends the following:
· Remain in control and be prepared to intervene by braking or steering at all times while using ADA systems. Evaluated ADA systems are never a substitute for an engaged driver.
· Eliminate distractions, including interacting with a smartphone. The need for the driver to intervene while using ADA systems can be frequent, especially in high-traffic areas.
· Maintain awareness, stay engaged, and remain in complete control of the vehicle at all times, regardless of the advanced driving assistance systems in use.
· Be familiar with how the systems operate. Read the vehicle owner’s manual to learn when, where, and how to use them.
· Select a following distance that suits the driving situation to allow for more time to react to a situation and intervene when needed.
Collaboration is key to enhancing testing and expanding consumer education about advanced driver assistance technologies as they become more widely available. To that end, AAA shares its research and testing with industry leaders and automakers. AAA’s full report is available online.
