ADAS systems would have prevented 40% of road accidents

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are safety features that assist driving and help prevent traffic accidents, making travel on the road safer.

During the Easter holiday period of 2023, worrying road accident figures were recorded, with 34 fatalities, which makes immediate action necessary on the factors involved in road accidents, such as the human factor, vehicle and road infrastructure.

The 80% of errors behind traffic accidents are due to the human factor. Driver assistance systems (ADAS) are effective tools for mitigating human error. In Europe, some of these systems have already become mandatory since July 2022 for all newly type-approved vehicles. Among the most important ADAS systems are the following:

• Automatic emergency braking
• Lane keeping system
• Rear cross-traffic detection camera
• Intelligent speed assistant
• Driver fatigue and drowsiness detector
• Rear seat belt reminder
• Blind spot information systems
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Event data recorder (black box)
• Pre-installation for alcohol interlock system

As indicated by Ignacio Lijarcio, technical director of FESVIAI: “If all vehicles were fitted with these systems, approximately 40% of traffic accidents could be prevented or mitigated, 37% of serious injuries and 29% of deaths.”

In the Spanish car fleet, the level of ADAS equipment is medium-low, as many cars on Spanish roads are very old and do not have the technology of the most recent models. Lorenzo Jiménez, marketing manager at Bosch Mobility Solutions states: “Urgent action is needed to facilitate the renewal of a car fleet that is highly aged, poorly equipped and, at times, poorly maintained.”

Main causes of accidents

Accidents caused by running off the road increased this Easter Week compared with last year, with 15 more victims. The incorporation of ADAS systems could greatly help reduce this type of accident and its fatal impact. It should be noted that vehicles leaving the road are responsible for one third of all deaths in traffic accidents.

However, side and front-side collisions are the second type of accident that caused the most deaths this Easter Week. Although it remains at the same figure as last year, causing 5 fatalities, collision warning, automatic braking or lane change alert systems would prevent some of these accidents, which in 2021 accounted for three in ten accidents.

Head-on collisions are the most worrying: the probability of dying is three times higher than in other accidents. However, this year the number of victims has fallen, four fewer than last year. Wrong-way driver warning or frontal collision alert are features integrated into these systems that can help reduce the number of accidents from this cause.

Another situation in which ADAS systems can enhance driving is night driving, including fatigue detection systems, automatic headlight activation and automatic high/low beam switching. Between 00:00 and 07:00, 7 fatalities have been recorded this year, an increase of 4 victims compared with last year.

These measures are expected to have a significant impact on reducing traffic accidents, saving more than 25,000 lives and preventing at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038. Furthermore, this aligns with the EU’s long-term goal of approaching zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2050, also known as “Vision Zero”.

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