Collision Avoidance Technology Purports to Reduce Dependency Upon Driver’s Brain
Sadly, motor vehicle accidents remain the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 1-54 years in this country. Teen drivers suffer the most in these statistics, with kids between the ages of 16 and 19 years facing a risk of being 300% more likely to perish in a crash than drivers who are at least 20 years old. For details, read “Fatal Car Crash Statistics 2024,” by Timothy Moore and Heidi Gollub published by USA Today on January 16, 2024.
Some motor vehicles are also confirmed by research to be deadlier than others. According to one recent study published by Title Max, fatal crashes in this country are reported to include the following motor vehicle models in their top ten, with both Indiana and Illinois reporting the Chevy Silverado as being the most common car or truck involved in a roadway fatality:
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Ford F-150
- Honda Accord
- Toyota Camry
- Dodge Ram
- Honda Civic
- Nissan Altima
- Toyota Corolla
- GMC Sierra
- Ford Explorer.
Furthermore, those working as professional drivers are employed in some of our most dangerous lines of work. Commercial truck drivers account for a shocking 20% of all workplace deaths in the latest workplace fatality statistics, with their fatality rate up 13% compared to 2017. Read, “Workplace Fatalities are on the Rise,” written by Sean McGoey and published on April 12, 2024 by WBAY.
For more, see: What Is The Most Dangerous Job in Indiana and Illinois? and Illinois and Indiana: Both Top 10 States for Most Truck Crash Fatalities.
Accordingly, it should come as no surprise in the face of these statistics that designers and developers are looking for ways to reduce the number of serious or fatal accidents through the use of innovation that reduces the dependency of operating the vehicle on the driver’s human brain.
Today, fleets of commercial vehicles like semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, and delivery vans, as well as cars, sedans, SUVs, pickups, and minivans are being targeted for the increased use and implementation of crash avoidance technology as part of the vehicle’s individual safety system.
What is a Crash Avoidance System?
These evolving technologies come by various names, but all are being designed to help reduce the number of serious or fatal motor vehicle accidents on our roadways. Sometimes, they are referenced or marketed as “crash avoidance systems.” Other names include “collision avoidance” or “driver assistance” technologies.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) promises the following:
Driver assistance technologies hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save thousands of lives each year. In 2022, 42,514 people died in motor vehicle crashes — many of these crashes were tied to human error. Learn more about driver assistance technologies, how they can help you, and what you should know about these technologies when buying your next vehicle.
Collision avoidance technologies use various gizmos and gadgets as well as artificial intelligence (“AI”) and proprietary software to create all or part of an installed safety system on the motor vehicle.
All sorts of things can be used here, including radar, lasers, cameras, and sensors that work with an on-board computer. At their core, they do two things: either (1) they help the driver in the operation of the truck, car, or SUV; or (2) they provide cues or warnings of potential accident risks.
Crash avoidance systems are also changing and advancing almost every week. For instance, the increasing use of artificial intelligence has led to AI-driven dash cams within a trucker’s cab that connects the individual rig with a supervisor miles away.
This allows management to watch the trucker on the job. Very Big Brother, right? See, “Your Boss Put a Dash Cam in your Vehicle. Now what? Dealing with Driver Facing Cameras,” published by GPS Insight.
See: Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois and Truckers: Dangers on the Job; Driving a Big Rig Semi Truck Brings All Kinds of Risks, Just Consider This Weeks News Stories.
Examples of Collision Avoidance Technology Currently Available in Illinois and Indiana
Here are a just a few examples of crash-avoidance warnings and interventions that can be found on our local roadways today:
Driver Warning Systems
- Blind spot warning (BSW): gives visual and/or sound alert to the driver that moving into another lane of traffic is dangerous because of something in the driver’s “blind spot”;
- Cross traffic warning (CTW): gives visual and/or sound alert to the driver that there is something or someone coming towards the vehicle (e.g., vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian);
- Forward collision warning (FCW): visual and/or sound alerts of obstacle ahead in the roadway or traffic lane;
- Lane departure warning (LDW): visual and sound alert that the vehicle is coming close to veering out of its traffic lane.
Intervention Systems
- Adaptive cruise control (ACC): radar and/or lasers are used to automatically change the speed through cruise control so vehicle keeps pre-determined safe distance from vehicle in the lane ahead;
- Automatic emergency braking (AEB): vehicle automatically brakes based upon information from system sensors without driver input in order to lower speed or avoid obstacle or crash;
- Electronic stability control (ESC): system hits the brakes automatically when sensors detect that the vehicle has loss traction on the road, such as a tractor-trailer truck on the road in winter weather.
Collision Avoidance Realities: Limitations on Reducing Driver Error and Serious Accidents
Proponents of these developing technologies are fervent that automation is superior to the human brain in protecting against deadly motor vehicle accidents. For instance, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimated three years ago that using two types of crash avoidance technology on big rigs “…could eliminate more than 2 out of 5 crashes in which a large truck rear-ends another vehicle.” Read, “Study shows front crash prevention works for large trucks too,” published by IIHS-HLDI on September 3, 2020.
However, for safety agencies and advocates of accident victims and their loved ones, things are not so simple. The truth is that crash avoidance technologies may come with their own set of risks and hazards.
Driver Comprehension
For one thing, some of these new protections are only as effective as the driver in the vehicle. If the driver does not comprehend the technology, it may not do any good and fail to protect anyone from harm. Does the driver know the alert means a bicycle is approaching? Have all drivers of the vehicle read and understood the manual instructions?
Invitations to Distraction
Another concern is that some of these crash avoidance systems may be so accepted by the driver that a false sense of security results. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers, posing a threat to themselves and everyone else on the road with them.
Drivers may erroneously assume that the vehicle’s safety system will warn them of any problems in plenty of time, so they are free to eat, drink, or put on makeup while behind the wheel.
Glitches and Failures
Finally, the driver must be aware of any glitches in any technologies within the safety system itself. These are new installations: there will be problems. Maybe a component will fail. Perhaps a camera lens is dirty. Maybe an alert will not be correctly calibrated during a routine service at the dealers. Cold temperatures as well as weather conditions like sleet and snow can gut the effectiveness of one or more of the safety system components.
Reliance by any driver on crash avoidance technology at the expense of being alert and capable behind the wheel is its own danger. Today’s safety systems must be considered as niceties, not necessities, and definitely not powerful enough to replace the human driver on the road.
Car Accident Claims and Collision Avoidance Technology
Any company or individual involved in the development, manufacture, shipping, installation, placement, repair, or maintenance of any aspect of a crash avoidance safety system may be legally liable for an accident that can be attributed, at least in part, to the technology as the cause of a catastrophic or deadly accident.
There may be product liability claims available to the accident victim and their loved ones under the state law controlling the accident location. These claims will be based upon failures or flaws in the safety system itself.
Accident victims also need to know that drivers cannot rely upon collision avoidance technology in their vehicle as a defense to a negligence claim after a fatal crash. Drivers remain responsible for driving at all times in a reasonable and prudent manner; these new technologies do not remove or replace this legal duty of care.
Read:
- Fatal Driverless Accidents Are Here: Injury Claims and Automated Technology
- Car Crashes and Automated Car Technology: The Changing Focus of Auto Accident Claims in Illinois and Indiana
- New Technology Designed to Prevent Car Crashes (or Increase Profits?)
- Automatic Brakes to Be Standard on New Cars Per Federal Government: Will This Reduce Crashes or Create Accidents?
- Three New Car Automation Technologies Promoted by NHTSA; Will Your New Car Have Them?
- Defective Car Parts & Liability for Fatal Crashes and Serious Injuries in Illinois and Indiana.
Indiana and Illinois have established legal avenues which victims of automated technology accidents can use to find justice in the aftermath of tragedy. Please be careful out there!
In both Illinois and Indiana, accident victims and their loved ones have a right to independently investigate a serious motor vehicle accident or truck crash to learn all the reasons why the tragedy happened. Accident reconstruction experts well-versed in collision avoidance technologies may be needed.
More than one legal basis for damages may be available to them. More than one company may be legally liable. Damages may include things like medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
For more, read:
- Driving, the Brain, and Serious or Fatal Injuries: The Neuroscience of Driving in Car Accidents and Truck Crashes
- Distracted Driving, Cognitive Brain Function, and Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Teen Drivers, Adolescent Brain Development, and the Danger of Deadly Car Crashes.
Driving is complicated. Any driver knows how difficult it can be to drive our roads, especially in traffic moving at a high speed and filled with large trucks here in our” Crossroads of America.” Safety technologies continue to advance, but drivers remain responsible for avoiding accidents. Please be careful out there!
