Self-Driving Car Reality Check - 'We Aren't There Yet ' Posted on : Aug 14 - 2018

For people hoping to rely on cars to do all of their driving, it’s too early to completely check out.

Many new vehicles can help drivers perform some tasks, like maintaining following distance and lane centering, but no car can handle every driving task on a full range of roads and conditions.  Autonomous vehicles aren't substitutes for human drivers, and ones that can “go anywhere, anytime” aren’t available at the local car dealer and won’t be for quite some time.

Those are the highlights a of new report that evaluated the crash history and current research on self-driving cars and concluded that there is a “need for caution on road to full driving autonomy.” Reducing deadly crashes and increasing mobility are among the goals of autonomous vehicles, it found, but despite an industry-wide push that has been characterized by glitches, misfires and even deaths, cars can’t safely drive themselves, not yet anyway.

The special issue status report was released on Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit financed by the insurance industry.

"Designers are struggling with trade-offs inherent in automated assistance," David Zuby, the institute’s chief research officer, said in the report. "If they limit functionality to keep drivers engaged, they risk a backlash that the systems are too rudimentary. If the systems seem too capable, then drivers may not give them the attention required to use them safely."

Researchers examined and evaluated advanced driver assistance features like adaptive cruise control and active lane-keeping in track and on-road tests for: the BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Volvo S90. The results revealed some of the inherent challenges with partial automation, specifically that performance was inconsistent in typical driving situations, like approaching stopped vehicles and negotiating hills and curves.

Zuby said it is too early to say which company has the safest driver assistance systems, “but it's important to note that none of these vehicles is capable of driving safely on its own." The goal of the analysis and testing, the institute noted, is to develop a consumer ratings program for advanced driver assistance systems.

The report detailed the recent deadly Tesla and Uber crashes to draw attention to the risks of partial automation, the hazards of testing self-driving vehicles on public roads, and the dangers of putting too much trust in technology. Other issues discussed in the report include: how the current “ patchwork of state laws and voluntary federal policy guidelines lacks the safeguards” necessary to protect the public; how advanced crash avoidance features impact insurance claims for property damage and injury liability; and the importance of good headlights, noting that some sensors used by the Uber vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian relied on ambient light, just like human eyes. View More