It does not matter how well human beings may drive. There will always be someone saying too many people die in traffic – which is true – and trying to offer a magic solution for the problem. That's why the promise of selling an autonomous car made an obscure manufacturer turn into the world's most valuable one in market cap. The deal is that removing drivers from driving can actually increase car crashes.
That's what a study from SWOV (Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid, or Foundation for Scientific Research into Road Safety) confirmed on January 29. Published by ScienceDirect, the study revealed that some forms of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) make driving more unsafe than if they were not used. They do that because they induce distraction and overreliance on the system.
The study's main goal was to rethink the taxonomy of ADAS. The researchers argue that the current classification does not help engineers and policymakers address what could really improve safety. To change that, they have classified these systems according to their urgency and level of control, which makes a lot of sense.
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