Owners of new vehicles equipped with driving assistance technology may understand it better after six months of use, but their depth of knowledge is limited compared to drivers who experienced a brief hands-on training session, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
“Today’s sophisticated vehicle technology may require more than trial-and-error learning to master it,” said Alec Slatky, Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Northeast. “You can’t fake it ‘til you make it at highway speeds. New car owners should receive training that is safe, effective, and enjoyable before they hit the road.”
For this study, the Foundation looked at adaptive cruise control (ACC), which assists with acceleration and braking to maintain a driver-selected distance from the car in front, and found that:
- During the first six months of new vehicle ownership, many drivers demonstrated an improved understanding of the ACC system’s limitations
- Despite this improvement, these drivers failed to achieve the same level of understanding as another group of drivers that received short but extensive instruction on the system
- Alarmingly, a sub-group of overconfident drivers emerged. These drivers failed to grasp ACC but were highly self-assured in their knowledge.
Some of the gaps in understanding include:
- Falsely believing that the ACC system will react to stationary objects in their lane, such as construction cones or other obstacles
- Falsely believing that the ACC system will provide steering input to keep the vehicle in its lane
- Falsely believing that the ACC system can operate in all weather conditions
The AAA Foundation has previously documented gaps in drivers’ understanding of these technologies and the resulting safety implications. Less is known about how a driver’s grasp of new technology develops and changes over time, which is the focus of this new report.
AAA recommends that researchers, automakers, and government agencies collaborate to better understand driver responses to advanced vehicle technologies.