Despite the fact that new vehicles for sale in Spain have more and more driving aids and assistance, the level of ADAS systems equipment in the car park is medium-low, especially in those older people who have to avoid road accidents, such such as lane keeping systems, automatic emergency braking (in addition to different versions), blind spot detection, or fatigue detection systems, among others. Part of the blame lies with the average age of the cars that circulate on our roads, over 13.1 years.
Apart from this consideration, 70% of drivers think that they react better in case of performing an action on the road than a technological assistant. More than 40% of the Spanish driving population acknowledges that they do not have the necessary knowledge about ADAS systems (Advanced Driving Assistance Systems). The remaining 60% do not claim to know them, when asked for an in-depth definition, they show large gaps, as well as confusion between different systems and their functions. These are some of the conclusions of the study "Knowledge of ADAS systems by the Spanish population" which is part of the VIDAS project (road safety and ADAS), promoted by Bosch and FESVIAL.
Younger drivers are less willing to use these types of systems because they probably trust their own abilities. Meanwhile, among older users, although they recognize the usefulness of ADAS, they are more concerned about knowing how they are used.
The equipment of ADAS systems in vehicles is considered a secondary value, with little weight, when purchasing a new vehicle, especially aggravated, by dealers and points of sale where, in 65,5% of sales, these systems were not highlighted as an important argument in explaining the advantages of the vehicle, when due to its efficiency and safety improvement, it could be one of the most important. Despite this, the amount of information related to the ADAS provided to the seller is considerable and ultimately proportional, in most cases, before the closing of the sale of the vehicle and not so much at the time of delivery.
Whatever the level of knowledge, most ADAS systems are known by more than 60% of drivers. ADAS systems that fall below this level of awareness are the most innovative or recent: signal detection, fatigue detection, junction assistance, and wrong-way driver warning, while the best known are generally the most equipped.
“It is commonly accepted among drivers that ADAS provide more security to the vehicle than providing systems with that, and that they help the person driving in unexpected situations. Even so, 40% of drivers do not have an opinion on the level of effectiveness of ADAS systems, especially in comparison with human response, and on the level of reliability in their operation and protection against hacking", according to the technical director of FESVIAL.
“On the other hand, drivers mostly assign positive attributes and values to ADAS systems: especially safety for drivers, pedestrians, and other users, agility and efficiency in traffic management, coexistence between road users, etc. Lijarcio continued.
"This positive activity with ADAS systems translates into great user intention: more than 60% of drivers prefer to drive a vehicle with ADAS systems or the properly equipped driver will drive a vehicle equipped with these systems," says José Ignacio Lijarcio. .
The most common ADAS
The most common ADAS systems that Spanish coaches equip with their automatic control, pneumatic pressure control, intelligent speed limit (ISA) and adaptive cruise control, so in this case it is most likely that there is confusion in drivers and equipment is non-intelligence speed limiting and/or cruise control, but not adaptive.
In relation to the perception of safety, the level mayors are assigned to the ADAS systems designed to avoid collisions and crashes: frontal collision warning, automatic car-to-car emergency warning, automatic pedestrian and cyclist emergency warning, automatic crash warning pedestrians and cyclists, fatigue detection system and warning of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. Although it is very likely that this attribution is largely intuitive and based on the ADAS number itself, since many of them have a low level of knowledge.
