Why didn't a car with ADAS brake automatically and still crashed into two drivers arguing on the highway?

A serious traffic accident involving three cars occurred on the morning of July 11 on the Hanoi - Hai Phong highway, making many people "shudder" at the dangerous situation.

From an initial collision that was not too serious, the driver of the 16-seat passenger van and two people in the pickup truck were ready to get off the road, standing in the middle of the highest speed lane (120km/h), without any warning signs... to argue about right and wrong, forgetting that this action was too careless, no different from "suicide". In just a moment, two people had to pay with their lives when a 7-seat SUV rushed towards them.

Preliminary results show that the cause of the tragic accident was violations of the Road Traffic Law, the carelessness, subjectivity and hot-temperedness of the two drivers of the pickup truck and the passenger car, and the lack of observation and keeping a safe distance of the driver of the 7-seat SUV.

However, many car users also wonder why the advanced driver assistance technology - ADAS on this SUV could not prevent the crash from happening?

According to the manufacturer, the ADAS system on the 7-seat SUV has up to 25 features, including forward collision warning and advanced automatic emergency braking. However, images from the accident video show that the car was still going very fast and crashed into the 16-seat passenger bus, meaning that the car did not activate the automatic emergency braking...

So, is ADAS a "talisman" for drivers to avoid all collisions?

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Deputy Head of the Department of Automobiles (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - University of Transport) said that ADAS (short for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) includes a series of driver assistance features equipped by manufacturers on vehicles such as: lane departure warning, blind spot warning, automatic emergency braking,... to avoid collisions.

These features are mainly based on the principle of detecting obstacles, measuring the distance of the vehicle and the surrounding context through the camera's eye sensor, radar/lidar and ultrasonic waves. Based on the received signal, the computer system on the vehicle makes calculations and gives appropriate warnings and interventions.

However, according to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, the nature of the control systems here is mechanical - electronic, affected by many factors, so there are always certain tolerances and do not always operate accurately as the theory suggests.

"The ADAS system works to provide additional support to the driver to improve safety as well as increase convenience to help the driver feel more comfortable. Therefore, ADAS cannot replace human driving. The driver still has to proactively handle situations that arise on the road," said Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Cong.

From the perspective of a safe driving expert, Mr. Nguyen Hong Vinh - Chairman of Redline Racing Club said that, first of all, the accident on the Hanoi - Hai Phong highway was mainly caused by the driving skills of the driver of the 7-seat SUV.

It is also possible that many drivers, when driving a modern car with ADAS safety driver assistance system, may be subjective, trusting and dependent on technology.

"The full English name for the ADAS system is "Assistance", which means support, and support means it cannot replace humans. It is not known whether the driver turned off this feature at that time or not, but when driving, one must observe and anticipate dangerous situations and cannot "bet" one's life on a support feature," said Mr. Vinh.

Sharing more about his experience with ADAS, Mr. Nguyen Hong Vinh said that a few years ago, he himself had a collision with a truck in front of him while driving because he trusted ADAS too much. At that time, the car did not brake automatically (when detecting the car in front) as he thought but still sped forward. When the distance to the truck was too close, he suddenly braked but the collision still happened. Luckily, the airbags in the car deployed, keeping him and the people in the car safe.

"After responding to the car company, the technical department held a meeting and explained to me that the car's ADAS driver assistance system could only see part of the rear of the car, so it could not recognize that there was a truck in front, so the automatic emergency braking was not activated even though other features on the car were working normally," Vinh shared.

According to this driving safety expert, drivers should not abuse ADAS, absolutely should not be subjective when driving a car with ADAS function but must always have complete control, including speed and steering. Because we cannot know when this function works perfectly and when it does not. In other words, ADAS is not a "talisman" for drivers and cannot completely replace humans in emergency and unexpected situations.