Government Report Highlights Consumer Confusion Regarding Driver Assistance Systems
WASHINGTON (7News) — A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that consumers are often misinformed about advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), potentially leading to misuse or over-reliance on these features. The report, which examined consumer knowledge and dealership practices, suggests that both automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) need to do more to educate the public.
Andrew Von Ah, the author of the GAO report, emphasized the potential consequences of a lack of consumer understanding. “If drivers aren’t well informed, it could lead to misuse of the technology or overreliance on features that aren’t perfect,” he stated.
The report’s key findings include:
- One-third of drivers surveyed had little to no knowledge about the driver assistance technologies on their cars.
- 79% didn’t know that blind spot warnings do not detect cars passing at extremely fast speeds.
- One-third of drivers were unaware that sensors and cameras for automatic emergency braking can be blocked by dirt, ice, or snow.
As part of the investigation, GAO representatives visited 10 car dealerships in Virginia and Maryland to assess the information provided to potential buyers. The investigation revealed that some salespeople were overstating the capabilities of ADAS features.
“Some dealerships were a little bit better about talking about some of those limitations, and others really kind of glossed over the limitations quite a bit,” Von Ah said.
The GAO report also criticized NHTSA for insufficient efforts to inform consumers about ADAS. The report recommends that NHTSA:
- Communicate on its website the test conditions and performance criteria used to determine if a vehicle’s crash avoidance technologies qualify for a checkmark.
- Provide more information on partial driving automation systems to clarify their intended use and the driver’s responsibility.
- Finalize its roadmap for the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and include updated timeframes for changes.
- Communicate progress on meeting time frames established in its roadmap for recommending additional crash avoidance technologies.
- Communicate progress on developing a system for rating the technologies and redesigning the new car sticker.
Von Ah noted that NHTSA has been slow to act on previous recommendations. The agency has until September to provide a detailed response to the GAO.
With consumer confusion still prevalent, the report suggests that more needs to be done to educate drivers. According to the report, roughly half of the automaker’s websites reviewed by the GAO provided “partial or no information” on the limitations of ADAS.
“I think there’s more that NHTSA could do to bring information about what’s known onto their website and provide a one-stop shop for consumers,” Von Ah concluded.
