15 Features of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 37,133 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2017—and 3,166 of those were distraction-related crashes in the United States. In-vehicle automation technology can help reduce a number of negative driver behavior and potential errors, contributing to safe vehicle operations via the simplification of driving tasks.

The trucking industry is joining the consumer automotive industry in tracking an autonomous driving future. And while it’s important to remember that, no matter the size or shape of the vehicle, safety is something that can never be fully automated, there are features that can help organizations across a number of vehicle-dependent industries.

Many of these helpful features are already implemented into current vehicle technology or GPS fleet tracking solutions, which work to improve safety for both trucking fleets and the vehicles with which they share the road.

What does ADAS stand for?

Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are automotive electronic systems within a vehicle that are intended to help promote safety by aiding a driver with a variety of difficult or repetitive tasks, including parking and driving. They can be built into a new vehicle by the automaker or OEM, or added to existing fleet vehicles using sensors like dashcams to provide computer vision and early warning systems for commercial drivers.

An ADAS is a stepping stone towards fully autonomous, self-driving cars and commercial vehicles, which are still in early stages of development—while ADAS technologies are critical for safe autonomous vehicles, they still require a human driver to do the majority of the driving and decision making behind the wheel. The goal of an ADAS system is to automate and bolster vehicle safety by making drivers aware of possible issues, helping to avoid collisions and simplifying daily vehicle operation.

ADAS and fleet management

The changing landscape of the commercial driving industry places equal responsibility on drivers to improve their time-honored operator skills with newly available information, and on business owners to organically cultivate a culture of safety within each of their carriers. Whether your fleet is large or small, safety needs to be priority number one to ensure the growth and longevity of your business.

Critical ADAS features that can improve driver safety

When it comes to ADAS features, some safety features are already commonly used, while new technologies are on the horizon to be widely adopted by the automotive industry in the future. With this in mind, here are fifteen ADAS features that can help improve driver and road safety:

1. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): This helps a driver stay at both a safe speed and a safe following distance by automatically changing cruising speed in relation to the speed of other vehicles on the road.
2. Adaptive Light Control Systems: To help keep other drivers from being impacted by a vehicle’s headlights, this technology automatically dims headlights to a lower beam when oncoming traffic approaches and then brightens them once the traffic has passed.
3. Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): Autonomous emergency braking systems automatically apply brakes, without waiting for the driver to react, if an imminent forward collision is detected.
4. Automatic Crash Notification: This technology is a communication system which is designed to alert emergency responders that a crash has occurred, as well as the location of the incident, if air bag deployment is detected.
5. Automatic Parking: This ADAS technology helps reduce the area needed for parking by helping a driver fit into a space via turn radius and other automatic assistance. This makes parking faster and safer, even in situations where parallel parking or reverse parking are warranted.
6. Automatic Navigation System: This uses sensor technology and integrated applications to supply real-time GPS and location data to a driver. For instance, Google Maps help with navigation and travel time when implemented via a fleet management solution.
7. Blind Spot Monitoring: The blind spot monitor is a warning light that appears on side view mirrors, letting a driver know if there is an obstruction or another vehicle alongside which might prevent safely changing lanes, turning or exiting a parking space.
8. Collision Avoidance Systems: These are designed to help prevent avoidable crashes. They can include front- and back-end collision warnings that stop the vehicle for a driver, as well as lane departure warnings.
9. Driver Drowsiness Detection: This technology can learn driver patterns, monitor facial state via sensors and detect steering movements—all to ascertain if drowsy driving is occurring. If detected, it can alert a driver that it’s time to pull over and rest.
10. Forward Collision Warning (FCW): This detects a possible collision in front of a vehicle, and provides some form of a warning to the driver, whether from an audio signal, flashing warning or other alert mechanism.
11. Hill Descent Control: This automatically applies brakes to maintain a pre-set speed to eliminate vehicle acceleration from occurring without a driver purposely pressing the accelerator.
12. Intelligent Speed Adaptation: This technology reminds drivers to remain within posted speed limits by combining map information with GPS location to understand the speed limit where a driver is operating a vehicle and then alerting the driver to the maximum and minimum speeds to be driven in that area.
13. Lane Departure Warning Systems(LDW): This tracks lane markings and informs drivers when they’re unintentionally drifting into another lane so that they can course correct.
14. Night Vision Systems: This uses infrared light to help drivers see more clearly in low-light and no-light driving conditions by sensing “warm objects” ahead in the road, like animals or pedestrians, and conveying that information to the driver.
15. Tire Pressure Monitoring: This uses sensors to continuously monitor tire air pressure and warn a driver if pressure is getting low, or if a tire goes flat, to help maintain safe driving conditions.

When it comes to improving fleet safety, nothing can replace drivers who are aware and focused on their own safety as well as that of the drivers around them. Each member of your team, from fleet managers to individual drivers, should aim to strike the right balance of automation, tracking and trust, supplemented with the right technology for your unique business.

Find tactical strategies you need to help improve driver and vehicle safety, download our eBook "7 Secrets to a Safe Fleet."