Meanwhile, AAA warns Drivers may Crash because of Vehicle’s Automated Safety System
Everyone agrees the number of preventable accidents and avoidable deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes must be reversed in this country. It’s understood that motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death and serious bodily injuries in the United States.
For more, see:
- From NIOSH: Motor Vehicle Crashes are the Number One (#1) Cause of Public Service Worker Deaths
- Top Causes of Fatal Accidents and Avoidable Personal Injury Deaths
However, the question of how best to reverse this epidemic is not an easy one. The federal government is promoting increased automation within both commercial and passenger vehicles to combat the problem.
This week, the National Transportation Safety Board announced a one-hour webinar on April 18, 2019, entitled “Collision Avoidance Technologies – Why You Need Them in Your Trucks Today!”
The NTSB webinar will “… discuss the benefits of this technology and why we put this issue on our Most Wanted List. Additionally, representatives from the heavy-duty truck industry will discuss the rate of implementation and current industry perspectives, and carriers will discuss why they installed collision avoidance systems in their fleets and the benefits that resulted.”
NTSB Wants Standardization of Computerized Safety Systems in All Motor Vehicles
According to the NTSB, supplanting the human driver with a “collision avoidance system” will work to reduce the number of fatal collisions. “They can stop a crash before it happens or mitigate its severity,” explains the NTSB.
The position of the federal government is clear. The official position on automated safety systems is to encourage manufacturers to standardize the computerized technology in all motor vehicles. Consumers are also officially encouraged to buy motor vehicles that are equipped with collision avoidance technology.
Why the fever to automate cars, trucks, buses, SUVs, minivans, pickups, etc., across the nation? The government’s perspective is that it is the human being behind the wheel that is the reason behind most serious or deadly motor vehicle accidents. The NTSB: “Humans make mistakes and bad decisions, such as driving when they’re impaired, distracted, or fatigued.”
Commercial Trucks
The government is particularly fixated upon commercial trucks and the implementation of safety automation in big rigs, semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, etc. The NTSB points out that safety automation began with commercial motor vehicles. Today, however, it is much more common as a feature offered on passenger vehicles. The NTSB: “This is concerning, considering that the number of combination trucks involved in fatal crashes in 2017 increased by nearly 6 percent from 2016.”
There is a reason for the emphatic position taken by the federal government. A NTSB research study released in 2015 (SIR-15/01) found that nine (9) different types of “catastrophic commercial vehicle crashes” can be “prevented or mitigated” if the big rig /semi-truck / 18-wheeler / tractor-trailer truck is being driven with installed automated safety technology.
See, National Transportation Safety Board. 2015. The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes. Special Investigation Report NTSB/SIR-15-01. Washington, DC.
AAA Warns of Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes Caused by Automated Collision Avoidance Systems
Meanwhile, the private researchers at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety have conducted their own study of automated safety systems in motor vehicles, and how they may impact the likelihood of a serious or fatal car crash.
Last September, AAA warned that simply installing this advanced technology into a motor vehicle is not a magic wand that waves away the risk of a deadly accident.
According to AAA findings, “[l]ack of understanding or confusion about the proper function of ADAS technologies can lead to misuse and overreliance on the systems, which [can] result in a deadly crash.”
- 80% of drivers with Blind Spot Technology did not know the technology’s limitations or incorrectly believed that the systems could monitor the roadway behind the vehicle or reliably detect bicycles, pedestrians and vehicles passing at high speeds.
- Nearly 40% of drivers driving vehicles with Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking did not know the system’s limitations, or confused the two technologies- incorrectly reporting that forward collision warning could apply the brakes in the case of an emergency when the technology is only designed to deliver a warning signal. Moreover, roughly one in six vehicle owners in the survey reported that they did not know whether or not their vehicle was equipped with automatic emergency braking.
- About 25% of drivers using Blind Spot Monitoring or Rear Cross Traffic Alert Systems report feeling comfortable relying solely on the systems and not performing visual checks or looking over their shoulder for oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
- About 25% percent of vehicle owners using Forward Collision Warning or Lane Departure Warning Systems report feeling comfortable engaging in other tasks while driving.
From Dr. David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety:
“When properly utilized, ADAS technologies have the potential to prevent 40 percent of all vehicle crashes and nearly 30 percent of traffic deaths. However, driver understanding and proper use is crucial in reaping the full safety benefits of these systems. Findings from this new research show that there is still a lot of work to be done in educating drivers about proper use of ADAS technologies and their limitations.
“New vehicle safety technology is designed to make driving safer, but it does not replace the important role each of us plays behind the wheel. The prospect of self-driving cars is exciting, but we aren’t there yet. Automakers have an ethical and important responsibility to accurately market, and to carefully educate consumers about the technologies we purchase in the vehicles we drive off the lot.”
Deaths in Semi-Truck Crashes and Passenger Vehicles Resulting From Computerized Safety Systems
Reducing the fatality rate for motor vehicle collisions in this country must occur. Far too many people are being severely injured or killed in preventable accidents on the roads of Indiana and Illinois as well as the rest of this country.
However, it is not enough to simply insert a gizmo into a commercial semi-truck or big rig, or add software into a passenger vehicle, and assume that this alone will make our roads safer.
As the AAA Foundation study warns the manufacturers have a duty to educate drivers about these new technologies, and this is not happening today. Sadly, the result will be fatal accidents where a contributing factor to that deadly crash will be its automated “safety system.”
Accordingly, today’s fatal motor vehicle accidents and truck crashes must be investigated with a consideration of the potential impact computerized technology has had upon the event. Manufacturers of the vehicles as well as the technology, as well as distributors and sellers of these automated vehicles (commercial and passenger) may have legal liability for what has happened. Please be careful out there!
