Curves on the road are posing a problem for drivers with access to advanced driver assistance technology such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and other automation systems, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The curves might limit the safety benefits of the features for which consumers are purchasing these cars. However, it is also possible that drivers are more hesitant to use these features on sharp curves.
The IIHS is an independent non-profit organization funded by multiple insurance companies. They serve to reduce fatalities, personal injury, and property damages on the road from motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes. This organization uses data from policymakers and industry safety experts in order to provide everyday safety information for today’s drivers on American roads.
In some cases, drivers are turning these features off during lane centering and curves on the road. In other cases, features such as ACC and other advanced partial automatic features that work with ACC are being automatically deactivated. IIHS Senior Research Transportation Engineer Wen Hu, the lead on the study, points to driver engagement with these features saying,
“We know that advanced driver assistance features may help prevent crashes, but obviously can only do so if drivers use them. This study suggests that these technologies will only be able to reach their full potential if drivers can trust them to handle curves.”
The Technology
Adaptive cruise control works much like the cruise control that has been in most vehicles since the mid-twentieth century. Cruise control is a feature that drivers already have to activate or deactivate on their own that helps drivers to maintain a set speed on the roads. To change speeds with cruise control, the driver has to turn the feature off.
Adaptive cruise control is a feature that is slightly more intuitive than that. Using cameras and radar technology, ACC helps a driver maintain speed, but it assesses the traffic in front and around the driver to maintain speed and a safe following distance. With this feature comes lane centering, enabling the driver to stay in the middle of the lane, a feature also known as Pilot Assist.
The Study
The research team at IIHS used data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium. They looked at onboard data collected from four vehicles driven by 39 drivers over a four-week period. The cars were two 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and two 2017 Volvo S90.
The Range Rovers had ACC, while the S90’s had both ACC and Pilot Assist features. When driven on curves, both vehicles used ACC and Pilot Assist less. The Range Rover drivers were 72 percent less likely to use ACC on the sharpest curves. Researchers defined the sharpest curves as those with a radius less than 2,292 feet or just under one-half mile radius.
The S90 vehicle drivers were 66 percent less likely to use ACC and 75 percent less likely to use Pilot Assist on sharp curves. The researchers could not determine if the features were automatically deactivated or if the drivers turned them off themselves. The researchers know that lane-centering features often become automatically deactivated when a driver uses the turn signal or turns the wheel a certain way.
Many drivers will do this on sharp curves as an intuitive response to turning a car into a new direction. Other times, the ACC will automatically deactivate when the brake is applied. Drivers will do this frequently on sharp curves. Still, IIHS researchers say this feature being automatically deactivated by the vehicle’s technology or the driver itself will pose a safety limitation either way. Hu said,
“The fact that Pilot Assist was frequently inactive on the sharpest curves is an important limitation since the kinds of crashes lane-centering could help prevent are more likely to occur on curves than on straightaways.”
Lane centering technology is in a constant state of study for organizations such as the IIHS and auto manufacturers. A 2016 study by the IIHS found that when front crashes are prevented, rear-end crash rates are reduced, as are rear-end crash injuries at a rate of 56 percent. IIHS estimated that technology such as ACC could reduce those injuries and crash rates even more.
Lane centering was estimated to be significant in other crashes in a related study, where lane departure warnings were assessed. These warnings tell the driver when the car is drifting. Car drifting contributes to single-vehicle collisions and head-on collisions.
Lane departure technology is said to reduce these crashes by 11 percent and injuries by 21 percent, just another example of how lane-centering technology can help to save lives and prevent property damages. ACC and Pilot Assist will also do the same. This new study is saying that some data indicates that when these two models are used, the benefits of these safety features can be reduced on sharp curves with a radius of up to one-half a mile.
Contact a California Car Accident Attorney Today for a Free Consultation
At Arash Law, we look at all of these factors when looking at your car accident. We know there is so much that goes into investigating what happened and when it happened when your car crashes. If you have been a car accident victim, call our California car accident lawyer today at (888) 488-1391 for a free review of your case, or contact Arash Law online and let us know what happened.
