A Good First Step
June is National Safety Month and, to celebrate, we’re collecting unique perspectives from colleagues working on advanced safety technology, ranging from insights on important progress to why they show up to work every single day. Stay tuned each week for a fresh viewpoint.
Continental has been pursuing the long-term strategy of Vision Zero for years, innovating solutions that contribute to greater road safety. In an effort to raise awareness about the life-saving potential of automotive safety technologies, the #SafelyThere campaign was launched.
A key goal of the #SafelyThere campaign is to help consumers understand advanced safety technologies – like lane keeping assist and automatic emergency braking – found on vehicles today. Amit Kapoor, head of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for Continental North America, firmly believes that achieving Vision Zero starts with consumer education.
"Understanding the limitations of ADAS features is just as important as understanding what they are designed to support," Kapoor explained. "Based on numerous studies, we know that consumer confidence in ADAS and automated technologies is low. In order to achieve Vision Zero, we need consumer acceptance of and confidence in ADAS technologies, and that starts with ensuring consumers understand the scope of these functions."
Automakers use varied terminology to describe ADAS, which can make it challenging for people trying to understand the safety features on their vehicle. To help consumers better understand these features, SAE International, along with several other organizations, recently introduced common naming and descriptions of key ADAS technologies available on the road today. The effort, "Clearing the Confusion," is designed to help eliminate confusion and ensure that drivers are aware that these systems are designed to assist, not replace, an engaged driver.
Ensuring that we all speak the same safety language is a good first step toward helping us achieve our goal of Vision Zero."
"The next step should be to commonize the deployment of these systems and functions so that the driver's experience is similar, regardless of vehicle make and model," Kapoor added.
When it comes to progress in safety, Continental uses a building-block approach. This also shapes the company's pathway to automated driving – building one advanced driver assistance technology on top of another; a true evolutionary process. Similarly, the "Clearing the Confusion" effort is an essential building block in creating consumer trust and ensuring these safety technologies can effectively support safer roadways.
Click here to see the "Clearing the Confusion" the common naming outline.
