“Who’s Driving?” Spotlights Driver Roles and Responsibilities in Vehicles with Automated Technologies
WASHINGTON, DC — The Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) today launched a PSA highlighting the role of the driver in cars with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The PSA – titled “Who’s Driving?” – is part of a safety campaign, whoisdriving.org, aimed at reducing injuries and crashes due to driver misuse of, or over-reliance on, ADAS.
Over 90% of new cars today are equipped with ADAS features such as automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance, and adaptive cruise control. These safety features can greatly enhance highway safety; studies have shown that automatic emergency braking, for example, reduces front-to-rear crashes by 50% by automating some driving tasks. However, regulators have found significant safety risks associated with drivers becoming overly reliant on the technology or misunderstanding its limitations.
The “Who’s Driving?” PSA aims to educate the public that an attentive driver is required behind the wheel in any vehicle sold today. The 2-½ minute video urges viewers to stay attentive when driving and understand – even with very sophisticated technology – the human driver is responsible for safe operation of the vehicle.
“ADAS can dramatically reduce injuries and deaths on our roads, but the words ‘driver assistance’ are key: these safety features can help the driver, but the driver is still ultimately in control,” said Tara Andringa, Executive Director of PAVE. “Unfortunately, we see too many crashes, injuries, and deaths that occur when drivers misuse or misunderstand these technologies. This PSA is intended to educate drivers about their critical role, even with sophisticated ADAS technologies.”
Even as ADAS and automated driving technologies are present in nearly all vehicles sold today, driver education on their functions is limited, and studies have shown that drivers using ADAS systems can become complacent, fail to monitor the system, and even sleep while the system is engaged. Whoisdriving.org is intended to clarify the need for active driver engagement while using ADAS systems. When asked “who’s driving?” the PSA’s answer is clear: you.
“Way back in 2021, Alliance for Automotive Innovation released our Level 2 Driver Monitoring Principles – a framework to safely integrate advanced driver assistance systems into a vehicle with policy recommendations to ensure they’re used responsibly and as intended,” said Hillary Cain, Senior Vice President of Policy at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. “This new PSA campaign and our partnership with PAVE is an extension of that work and a good reminder: ADAS technology is meant to support a human operating behind the wheel. It requires the driver to be attentive and engaged – not just some of the time, but ALL of the time. By the way, NHTSA and Congress should take a look at those recommendations. They’re more important than ever.”
PAVE and Auto Innovators launched the PSA at the Governors Highway Safety Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. For additional information, visit whoisdriving.org to view the PSA, download resources, and more.
