Which cars have the best driver assist technology? If you guessed Tesla, or maybe even Mercedes, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says you’re wrong. The winner is Lexus. According to the IIHS, automakers have a long way to go when it comes to self-driving tech.
The IIHS tested and rated 14 different driver-assist systems from Lexus, GM, Ford, Genesis, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Volvo, and Tesla. The IIHS’s evaluations go beyond simply seeing if these technologies can keep a car centered in its lane and from crashing into other vehicles. The IIHS’s tests also look at things like how well the systems monitor drivers, how well they alert them when their attention is needed, and how the technologies react when drivers ignore those warnings.
The latter is important because drivers may not always be willfully “ignoring” warnings but instead incapacitated by a medical emergency, meaning the car needs to slow itself down for safety.
A surprising 11 of the 14 driver-assist systems the IIHS rated “Poor,” including Tesla’s widely lauded Autopilot system and the automaker’s expensive Full Self-Driving tech.
Mercedes’ Level 3 Drive Pilot system wasn’t rated (no car on the market yet has Level 3 self-driving capability), but the automaker’s Distronic system in the C-Class—which lacks a driver-monitoring camera—was rated Poor. Likewise, Ford’s BlueCruise system on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover was also rated Poor, despite the system earning praise for prompting drivers to look at the road.
“The shortcomings varied from one driver-assist system to another,” said Alexandra Mueller, IIHS senior research engineer. “Many vehicles don’t do a good enough job of making sure the driver is paying attention and ready to take control.”
Only Lexus earned an Acceptable rating, for its Teammate technology in the LS sedan.
“Some drivers may find that partial automation makes it easier to drive on long trips, but there is little evidence that it makes driving safer,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “As several high-profile crashes have shown, driver-assist systems can create new risks if they lack appropriate safeguards.”
Harkey also pointed out that while no system stood out, each system performed well in different areas, meaning automakers are likely capable of building safer systems with nothing more than software updates.
Trang Nguyễn (Forum.autodaily.vn)
