One of the most vocal new car safety organisations in the US has found drivers are becoming overly reliant on assistance systems, even using the safety technology to help them complete distracting tasks. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – a US organisation funded by insurers that crash tests vehicles – conducted two studies on how drivers reacted to the semi-autonomous driving systems of two vehicles. The first vehicle was a 2017 Volvo S90 equipped with the brand’s Pilot Assist semi-autonomous driving technology, while the second was a 2020 Tesla Model 3 fitted with Autopilot.
Both systems encompass common Level 2 autonomous driving features, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-centring assist, and driver attention reminders. 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal.
Browse now . A total of 29 volunteers got behind the wheel of the Volvo across a four-week period, with researchers finding the “drivers engaged in distracting visual-manual activities, including eating, grooming and using electronics, more often when using Pilot Assist than while driving without it.” This result was universal across the 29 participants who had been split into three groups: the first group had Volvo’s standard lane-centering and attention reminders, the second group drove the S90 after it had improved lane-centring assistance, and the third group received improved attention reminder updates.
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