Fleet drivers need guidance to correctly use ADAS systems
Fleet drivers need guidance to correctly use advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) or risk the technology being counterproductive, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
Members of the industry body are reporting the devices – including automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control – can lead to a problematic “lazy” style of driving and an overreliance on the technology.
Lorna McAtear, AFP vice chair and head of fleet at National Grid said her experience showed ADAS was often being used incorrectly by drivers.
“We are potentially deskilling drivers by encouraging them to rely on ADAS but this is a misunderstanding of how the technology is intended to work. It is designed to act as a limited driving aid or an emergency safety net, not to take responsibility for aspects of driving.
“Increasingly, we are seeing situations where the driver blames the car for errors that caused accidents – arguing either the technology should have stopped the incident or indeed, that ADAS actively caused it. Sometimes, of course, this is just shifting the blame but in other cases, the driver appears to have completely misunderstood how the devices operate.
“A key issue is that ADAS works differently from car to car. Adaptive cruise control, for example, is implemented in distinct ways by each manufacturer, while the degree of pressure on the steering wheel applied by lane departure ranges from gentle to genuinely aggressive. Drivers understandably find this confusing.”
Aaron Powell, AFP board member and director of fleet and logistics at Speedy Hire, said there were question marks over whether ADAS was working in the real world as intended.
“We have seen an increase in car accidents and believe the new technology is playing a role in this trend. It’s important to qualify this statement by saying the rise is more often in less serious incidents – such as car park manoeuvring – but they are more numerous and every accident is time consuming and expensive to deal with from a fleet point of view.
“In our opinion, these low speed collisions especially are occurring because ADAS makes some drivers lazy. Driving is seen as less of a proactive skill and more as something that is secondary to a series of devices that will automatically keep them safe.”
Lorna said that with the fitting of a range of ADAS devices mandated on new cars – and more to come in 2026 – it was difficult for fleets to make criticisms.
“It’s very difficult to push back against the introduction of safety technology. Safety and technology are both seen as positives, so to argue they might not be working as planned is a controversial point to make, but we think there are problems.
“Especially if you have been correctly taught to drive defensively with a high degree of anticipation, these devices tend towards the problematic. Most intervene very late during situations and a jerkiness is imposed on your driving style, which is not desirable. Also, the interventions are quite frequently incorrect.
“It’s common, for example, to have automatic emergency braking slam the brakes on for no apparent reason. Now, research shows that this device is effective at reducing rear end collisions, but false positives do little to inspire confidence and can be quite disturbing, especially if you have another vehicle close behind.”
Aaron said Speedy were in the process of creating a range of training videos designed to underline the fundamentals of safe driving.
“We’re reacting to the issues we perceive with the technology by taking a ‘back to basics’ approach that reminds drivers the responsibility for safe driving on the road is theirs.”
Lorna added: “There’s no doubt some of this technology is useful and effective but we need to develop a greater understanding of how to help drivers integrate it into their existing driving style. ADAS has been introduced with limited guidance about how those who created it thought it should be used in everyday driving.”