By Dave Bean, Content Editor, FMW
April 3, 2024
In a detailed report aimed at various congressional committees, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) needs to up its game in regard to informing the public about exactly what Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can and can’t do, as well as how to properly operate them.
Drivers who ignore, disengage, or even become overly reliant upon these now ubiquitous new vehicle safety components may actually be increasing their odds of having an accident. The GAO is recommending that NHTSA hasten updates to its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), a primary educational tool used to disperse information about vehicle technology. The most recent updates remain ‘in progress’ after more than a decade.
According to various GAO research findings, anywhere from one-quarter to three-quarters of new vehicle owners lacked genuine knowledge of what their ADAS elements were supposed to do, let alone how to operate them properly. Furthermore, a solid lack of understanding exists among many drivers about the difference between a system that is intended to merely assist a driver and a system that offers essentially autopilot capabilities.
Prompting the GAO to dig deep into the data and synthesize it into an actionable congressional report was the fact that, in 2022, vehicle accidents resulted in nearly 43,000 drivers and passengers losing their lives on American roads. Many of these fatalities can be linked to lack of knowledge, underuse, or misuse of ADAS equipment.
Specifically, the GAO recommends that NHTSA needs to take the following actions to better inform and, therefore, enhance the safety of consumers about their new vehicles’ ADAS capabilities:
- Disperse vehicle rating information on NHTSA website that includes how well properly operated ADAS equipment contributed to or detracted from crash test performance.
- Offer detailed information on NHTSA website clarifying how much engagement is necessary by a driver when utilizing ADAS components that are only intended to offer partial assistance.
- NHTSA should improve its lagging timeframe of updating NCAP vehicle education tool to keep current with where vehicle technology is now, including ADAS components and capabilities.
The full GAO report is available and can be downloaded here: https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106255.pdf
