While present-day vehicles may not yet be “driverless”, the car industry is including a multitude of features to help give drivers a taste of the future, enabling a safer system. In a current project, ARRB, ConnectEast and LaTrobe University, on behalf of VicRoads, has engaged with a variety of vehicle manufacturers to understand and assess the driver assist features included in market-available vehicles.
"One interesting observation is that drivers are often more interested in knowing how to switch off these additional driving features than they are in understanding how to use them, or how they can benefit from them" says Ms Danielle Berry, a Network Operations Engineer at ARRB.
So, exactly what are these features and how can they assist you?
The following list summarises some of these features and outlines how you can benefit from them:
In understanding these features, it is important to note that while they are already giving us an insight into the future of autonomous vehicles, they are currently supporting aids for your driving and not a replacement for you in operating your vehicle. While diverse, these features and the many others that exist (e.g. parking assist, and autonomous lane change), all serve the same purpose of making driving easier and to make our roads safer. These features can only do this if we embrace them, take some time to learn about them, and drive with them switched on.
For further information of this study, contact danielle.berry@arrb.com.au
Acknowledgements
ARRB has been working with project partners ConnectEast and La Trobe University, all of whom are grateful for the invaluable in-kind contribution of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Audi, Honda, Toyota/Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Volvo in providing loan vehicles for trialling on Eastlink.