Adaptive Cruise Control Leads to More Accidents? Here’s How Chinese Brands Work on It Comfort and driving assistance

Comfort and driving assistance features are somehow misunderstood for being autonomous driving systems rather than assistance systems. They often lead to misjudgment behind the wheel. When you activate the Adaptive Cruise Control, you fix the desired speed on which you want to drive your car, and the system will rely on cameras, radars, and sensors, to keep a safe distance, brake, and accelerate, during traffic or on highways.

However, this does not mean that the system will drive the car instead of you; even though it will make your ride more comfortable, it also requires your full attention. It reduces the driver workload, but the latter needs to remain alert and in control of the vehicle.

Reasons Why ACC Might Commit Mistakes

·       Poor Weather Conditions: Heavy rain, fog, dust storms, or other similar factors may interfere with the sensors, causing the ACC to misjudge distances or fail to detect objects.

·       Dirt or debris: Or any other obstructions that block the sensors, radars, or cameras, leading to blocking the ACC’s ability to detect the vehicle or the object in front.

·       Inaccurate object detection: The sensors might fail to detect certain objects, like motorcycles, bicycles, or smaller vehicles. It might also fail to detect a pedestrian or an animal if it is not designed to do so.

·       Sudden braking by the leading vehicle: ACC’s reaction to an unexpected sudden stop might not be fast enough, especially if the sensor systems haven’t detected it in time or the car ahead is behaving erratically.

• Complex traffic scenarios: In heavy traffics, ACC might struggle with multiple vehicles changing lanes in unpredictable ways, or with situations like stop-and-go traffic.

• Varying Road Conditions: On uneven or winding roads, ACC might struggle to maintain a safe distance due to sharp curves, and incline changes. 

• Lane Merging or Lane Changes: if another car changes lane to move in front of you, ACC might not be able to react quickly or might miscalculate the required distance to safely adjust the speed.

• Driver Inattention: Driver’s attention is required, and they have to stay alert in order to interfere in cases of emergencies when the system might be able to react quickly, thus causing accidents.

• System Limitations: some older or basic versions of ACC might not have the required algorithms to react to certain situations.

  

Studies Show That ACC Increases Risks of Fatal Crashes

According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), ACC technology increases the likelihood of speeding, which in turn increases the risk of traffic accidents. The study of 40 participants showed that drivers using ACC exceeded the speed limit 95% of the time, compared to 77% for those using manual control. The study concluded that this increased speeding with ACC led to 10% higher risk of fatal crashes. However, the study did not directly analyze real-world crashes but used a formula to estimate crash outcomes.

How Chinese Brands Are Enhancing Driving Assistance

ACC indeed has its comfort benefits but when used correctly, with the attention it requires. Again, it’s not an autonomous driving system, but a driver assistance system. Many Chinese brands are working on enhancing their driving assistance systems to avoid crashes and make the latter provide the necessary help as they’re required to do. Geely and Zeekr, for example, have worked on integrating DeepSeek AI in their cars, and this AI system is likely to interfere in the car’s dynamics and enhance the human-machine interaction with a better understanding between the car and the driver. BYD, on the other hand, is developing its’ “God’s Eye” that will assist the drivers with valet parking, adaptive cruising, and automated braking.