US, Europe tests show too many cars with driver-assist don’t recognise motorcycles
As radar and camera-based advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) become increasingly commonplace – and even mandated in some countries – many vehicles with automatic emergency braking systems still fail to ‘see’ motorcycles clearly enough.
The latest set of test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US shows that while crash-avoidance tech is generally improving, with 22 out of 30 new car models’ tests earning ‘good’ or ‘acceptable’ ratings, the IIHS still points out that motorcycles are ‘a special area of concern’ because they’re harder for ADAS systems to recognise and their riders are relatively unprotected.
Of the 30 vehicles tested, seven were given a ‘poor’ rating, and all of them failed to avoid hitting a stationary dummy representing a motorcyclist during automatic emergency braking system tests, even at the lowest speed of 50km/h. The IIHS noted that some ‘barely reduced speed or did not issue timely warnings’.
Even among the vehicles rated as ‘acceptable’ there was an issue when it came to motorcycles. While they avoided hitting the bike at the lowest, 50km/h speed test, all the ‘acceptable’ vehicles did hit the stationary bike when their systems were tested at 70km/h, albeit generally having reduced their speed substantially by the time of the impact.
In Europe, tests by Euro NCAP have found a similar pattern, with cars that are capable of detecting stationary cars or large vehicles in front of them often finding it harder to spot the smaller target presented by a motorcycle quickly enough to prevent a crash.
The systems are improving, and quite rapidly, but during this transitional stage when a growing number of vehicles on the road are fitted with ADAS but the tech can’t always be relied on to detect a stationary motorcycle in the road ahead, there’s a concern that it could present a danger, particularly if drivers start to rely on the car’s sensors.
IIHS president David Harkey said: “Vehicles that excel in this new test will save lives, as it addresses the most dangerous kinds of front-to-rear crashes.”
But in respect to motorcycles, he warned: “These results indicate that preventing crashes at higher speeds, especially collisions with motorcycles, remains a challenge for some systems. Motorcycles are a special area of concern because, unlike passenger vehicle occupants, riders have little protection from crash injuries.”
BEN PURVIS
