Drivers side eye in-car safety assistance systems
April 02, 2025 by Siobhan Doyle
Car changing is a big deal
Drivers lack trust in autonomous systems in their cars due to confusion about their capabilities, says a new report.
Advanced tech such as automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist are eroding public confidence and raising safety concerns, as drivers struggle to trust the technology, according to mobility experts at DG Cities.
A DG Cities survey reveals that 40% of drivers feel they aren鈥檛 getting enough information about Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) when buying their cars. A follow-up investigation found dealership sales staff often lacked knowledge and, in some cases, exaggerated system capabilities.
ADAS technologies have been mandatory in new vehicles across the EU since July 2024. While new UK cars are equipped with these features by default, the country has not yet adopted Europe鈥檚 鈥楪eneral Safety Regulation 2,鈥 which requires all new vehicles sold in the EU to include specific safety technologies and systems to enhance road safety. DG Cities has warned that oversight and standardisation in the UK are lagging behind.
Examples of ADAS technologies from a safety aspect include:
- Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): Uses sensors to detect potential collisions and automatically applies brakes to mitigate or avoid accidents.
- Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM): Uses sensors to detect vehicles in your blind spot and alerts them with visual or audible warnings
- Lane Keeping Assist (LKA): Assists you in maintaining the vehicle within its lane, sometimes through steering interventions.
- Pedestrian detection: Identifies pedestrians in your path and can initiate actions to avoid or mitigate potential collisions.
- Driver drowsiness detection: Monitors your behaviour for signs of fatigue or distraction and alerts you accordingly.
Although 70% of ADAS users recognise its benefits, the lack of information drivers are being given leads to dissatisfaction with how the systems operate. This could potentially undermine the shift toward autonomous vehicles.
鈥淚f people don鈥檛 understand or trust ADAS today, we cannot expect them to embrace autonomous vehicles (AV) tomorrow,鈥 said Balazs Csuvar, director of Innovation & Net Zero at DG Cities. 鈥淎DAS technologies are the stepping stones to full autonomy. The UK鈥檚 transition to a self-driving future relies on building public trust and confidence in these systems.鈥
Csuvar urges immediate government action to regulate ADAS more closely.
鈥淐urrently, manufacturers are not required to pass thorough regulatory ADAS tests to sell vehicles in the UK,鈥 said Csuvar. 鈥淐onsumers and fleet operators must rely on non-compulsory Euro NCAP ratings, which require manufacturer participation and cover limited test scenarios. Testing must expand to real-world edge cases.鈥
DG Cities鈥 research indicates only 30% of drivers trust manufacturers to self-assess their ADAS systems. However, public support for AV adoption rises significantly when linked to safety benefits 鈥 jumping from under 50% to nearly 75% when participants were told a 5% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities could be achieved.
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