Electronic driving aids
It has been pointed out in recent years that the initial quality of vehicles continues to improve. According to US firm J.D Power, 2018 was the fifth consecutive year that we have seen the industry improve. Yet there is a cloud on the horizon called electronic driving assistance. There are a lot of complaints from homeowners who are having problems. These systems, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, collision avoidance / warning and blind spot warning, have become commonplace on many models.
But with every new technology, there are its own set of problems. J.D. Power sees consumer problems increase significantly with these technologies. Is this an obstacle that automakers must overcome? Absoutely ! Especially when these same technologies are the basis of even more sophisticated systems that are arriving quickly, including autonomous vehicles. Driver assistance problems increased by 57% in 2017, as measured by J. D. Power's initial quality study. And since the start of 2018, the number of problems has increased by 17% more. As these technologies spread into more and more models, the problems are bound to continue on the rise. The blind spot detection system which increases its market penetration rate by 9-10% per year causes problem levels that increase by 66% year over year. The same goes for the collision avoidance / warning system, which increases its market penetration rate from 12 to 14% per year, with problems increasing by 50% from one year to the next.
The lane departure warning system penetration rate has increased by 14% per year, with problems increasing by 50% year over year.
It is an alarming pattern that must be addressed. How can anyone ever wish to have autonomous vehicles on the road with so many problems coming from relatively simple systems in comparison? It is true that part of the problem stems from the lack of awareness of driving aids. Many buyers are exposed to it for the first time and are confused. In addition, nearly half of new vehicle owners leave the dealership unsupervised on how to use the systems. Driver assistance systems have extremely complex parameters defining the operating conditions, and these vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Even we, as journalists, sometimes lose our Latin. With the democratization of these driver assistance systems, it is in the interest of every automaker to teach consumers how to use these systems and to give them the appropriate level of confidence to improve overall vehicle safety. This will inspire the next evolution or what the industry will call the next level of automation.
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