AUTONEWS

Do driving assistance systems make drivers more distracted behind the wheel?

Driver assistance systems were designed to support humans while also making cars safer. However, they must be used properly to provide real added value.

Yet, not everyone uses this technology ideally. A study conducted in Germany by AXA Deutschland found that nearly half of young people aged 18 to 24 (48 percent) have used these systems to focus on other things while driving—particularly men (63 percent).

This behavior is more prevalent among those living in urban areas, with 22 percent of respondents engaging in such practices, compared to eight percent of those living in rural areas.

The same data indicates that about one in five male participants (19 percent) admitted to using assistance systems to divert their attention from driving (for tasks such as eating or checking their phones). Among women, only seven percent admitted to doing so.

Do these systems prevent incidents? Driver support systems aim to enhance safety. Among the respondents, 41 percent of urban residents reported that assistance systems helped prevent a potential hazard on at least one occasion (compared to 34 percent in rural areas).

While 77 percent of Germans believe these systems have a positive effect on road safety, the survey also reveals a concern: 44 percent feel that the availability of these aids leads drivers to rely too heavily on them, resulting in less attention being paid to the road and the task of driving.

Over 2,000 respondents...The study, conducted as part of AXA Switzerland’s Mobility Day, took place from July 24 to 27 via online interviews with members of the YouGov panel. A total of 2,032 people participated, representing a sample of the adult German population.

From Reuters: Driver assist systems are letting Us get distracted...Drivers are way more likely to be distracted behind the wheel, doing non-driving activities like looking at their phone or eating, when using partially automated driving systems. The problem is being made even worse by some drivers who have figured out loopholes to defeat the rules meant to limit distractions when they're behind the wheel.

This new information comes from months-long studies conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that looked into two systems: Tesla's Autopilot and Volvo's Pilot Assist. The organization aimed to look at driver behavior when the tech was activated and how it evolved over time. 

Partial automation – a level of "advanced driver assistance systems" – uses cameras, sensors and software to regulate the speed of the car based on other vehicles on the road and keep it in the center of the lane. Some enable lane changing automatically or when prompted.

Drivers, however, are required to continuously monitor the road and be ready to take over at any time, with most systems needing them to keep their hands on the wheel.

What the IIHS found out was a bit troubling. People will do the bare minimum to keep their system from yelling at them, but they aren't exactly active monitors of what is going on around them.

"These results are a good reminder of the way people learn," said IIHS President David Harkey. "If you train them to think that paying attention means nudging the steering wheel every few seconds, then that's exactly what they'll do."

"In both these studies, drivers adapted their behavior to engage in distracting activities," Harkey said. "This demonstrates why partial automation systems need more robust safeguards to prevent misuse."

The study with Tesla's Autopilot used 14 people who drove over 12,000 miles (19,300 km) with the system, triggering 3,858 attention-related warnings. On average, drivers responded in about three seconds, usually by nudging the steering wheel, mostly preventing an escalation.

The study with Volvo's Pilot Assist had 29 volunteers who were found to be distracted for 30% of the time while using the system – "exceedingly high" according to the authors.

Listen, I really don't mind a lot of these partial self-driving systems. My real issue is that, as they're set up right now, they do just let you text and drive and be generally distracted behind the wheel. Automakers need to figure out a way to get that to stop happening because we're just creating worse drivers overall.