New passenger automobiles are increasingly fitted with safety and driver aid technologies. With a new EU law, some assistance may soon even become required. An outline of which systems they are and how they function.
The introduction of a significant number of driving aides in new vehicles will become necessary on July 6, 2022, as part of an EU rule aimed at reducing the number of traffic incidents while simultaneously increasing road safety. This implies that in order to be certified in the EU, all new automobiles must be equipped with assistance systems as standard equipment. Here's a high-level summary.
Emergency braking assistant
In a perilous circumstance, the emergency brake helper detects impediments and instantly applies the brakes to the vehicle. Distance and speed measurements are made by means of radar, lidar, and cameras — in Germany, windshield cameras are already fitted as standard in automobiles above the small car class. New automobiles' emergency brake assistants must be able to distinguish between objects and moving vehicles. The technology will be further developed in the future to allow for the identification of bicycles and pedestrians as well. It is possible to manually turn off the helper, however it will automatically turn on again the next time the engine is started up.
Lane Departure Warning
When a lane departure warning system detects a danger, it actively intervenes in vehicle control to prevent it from happening. Many lane departure warning systems are presently equipped with warning tones, but this will no longer be sufficient in the future, according to experts. For example, if the automobile seems to be about to leave its lane or if it comes into contact with oncoming traffic, the system steers aggressively. It is often reliant on clearly visible lane lines, without which the assistance deactivates and does not function. A matching message is then shown in the cockpit for the driver to review. The mechanism is automatically reactivated once the engine is restarted for the second time. Hard shoulders are also recognized in more recent versions, on the other hand.
Speed Assistant
The driver is alerted if he or she exceeds the maximum speed limit by the speed assistance. In order to do this, he throttles the engine power but does not use the brakes. The guidance values are used by the system via the use of traffic sign recognition and/or navigation technologies. The assistance may be deactivated manually by the driver, however it will be reinstated automatically the next time the engine is started by the driver.
Adaptive Break Light
Other road users are alerted to the presence of a significant braking delay by the emergency brake light, also known as the adaptive brake light. When you apply regular braking pressure, the brake lights illuminate. The brake lights, on the other hand, flash numerous times per second in the case of an emergency braking situation involving a deceleration of more than 6 m/s at a driving speed more than 50 km/h. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop, the danger warning lights are triggered and the brake lights are illuminated continually.
Accident Data Storage
As is well known from the black box in an aircraft, the so-called event-related data recorder records a variety of driving data soon before, during, and after a collision is experienced. The assistant, among other things, captures the vehicle's speed, braking, location, and inclination, as well as information from the eCall system. The information gathered will remain anonymous. They are not meant to aid in the determination of who was at responsibility, but they may be made accessible to national authorities for the purpose of accident investigation. It is not possible to turn off the system.
Fatigue warning
To identify a probable lack of focus, many automobiles now record their driver or his/her behavior - such as frantic steering motions or an increasing number of braking operations, but also eye or eyelid movements. Audible or visual messages are used to advise the driver to take breaks if the system detects indicators of fatigue or a loss of attention in the driver.
Reversing Assistant
The reversing aid employs sensors and/or cameras that are already installed in the vehicle to identify people and obstructions behind the vehicle. Finally, the system informs the driver when he or she is reversing in order to avoid an accident from occurring.
Alcohol immobilizer device
There are currently procedures in place that will only enable the engine to start if the driver has already shown his or her sobriety by undergoing a breath test. New automobiles must be equipped with an interface that will allow them to be retrofitted with an alcohol-sensitive immobilizer in the future.
Tire pressure monitoring
Vehicles equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system have been required to have one since 2014. Depending on the technology that has been installed, it either checks to see whether the circumference of a tire has shrunk or directly monitors the tire's internal pressure. The driver is then alerted to the current tire pressure by means of a display or a warning signal on the dashboard. Commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, as well as big truck trailers, will be required to be fitted with it as of this year.
For the time being, the EU legislation that goes into effect impacts only those vehicles that were type-approved after the deadline. In this case, it refers to freshly created automobiles, i.e. fully new model vehicles. For the time being, however, the EU legislation does not apply in certain rare circumstances; nonetheless, it will become essential for all new automobiles starting in 2024.