There’s a lot to be done about advanced driver assistance technology to reduce road fatalities. The global market is expected to reach $60 billion by 2026. Although this is a concentrated area of ​​development for many automakers, only 20% of drivers begin the buying process looking for a vehicle equipped with driving assistance. This figure demonstrates the consumer education gap and should represent a turning point for car manufacturers. If only 20% of buyers buy a vehicle with driver assistance technology, how can automakers continue to justify investing in improved safety features, and how do they change consumer perceptions to pass critical safety value?

The industry needs to start with transparency so consumers can understand a vehicle’s capabilities and limitations. Camera technologies are most common today in vehicles with advanced driver assistance features, but they are limited to analyzing visible conditions in front of and around a vehicle. Similar to the human eye, a camera is subject to the environment in which it operates: intense lighting, adverse weather conditions and obstructed views distort the performance of the technology, putting the driver and pedestrian at risk.

GPS and Global Navigation Satellite System sensors, which operate from a satellite interface, are popular for determining where a vehicle is on Earth, but do not work where centimeter accuracy is required and may be unreliable in areas where service is blocked, such as urban canyons, parking garages and off-road sites.

Lidar technology is tiptoeing into luxury vehicles operating at Level 2+ and Level 3 autonomy due to stubborn cost levels and common issues with cameras, such as identifying objects unobstructed by common road conditions, including rain or snow. Consumers’ understanding of these performance trade-offs will help consumers view driver assistance systems as helpful, not distracting or harmful.