Safety first: User needs analysis of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to determine learning preferences

Adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and forward emergency braking are some examples of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) currently available in many automotive vehicles on the road today. As the capabilities of ADAS in vehicles continue to grow, is the driver’s understanding of these advanced features and their limitations also growing? We administered a 15-item online survey gauging familiarity, perceived importance, comfort using, and learning resource preferences of ADAS to 956 participants. These participants were drivers with experience in owning or renting ADAS-equipped vehicles. In brief, findings indicated that drivers perceive ADAS as important, but lacked an understanding of key safety precautions for optimal use and preferred non-corrective features. Based on the results of this study, future research should consider a method of consolidating learning to increase user knowledge and use of ADAS in vehicles.