US Insurance Group Rates Most Driver Assistance Systems 'Poor'
2024-03-14
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1An American insurance industry group has given most driver assistance systems "poor" ratings after a series of safety tests.
2The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) carried out the tests.
3The group released a report this week describing its findings.
4The tests involved 14 different driver assistance tools.
5Such tools offer partial driving automation as a way to improve safety and reduce accidents.
6The systems are equipped to assist drivers with things like staying inside road lines and automatically slowing or stopping the car when possible dangers are identified.
7The IIHS is a nonprofit organization financed by America's insurance industry.
8The group carries out numerous crash tests each year as it seeks to persuade automakers to design safer vehicles.
9Automakers follow safety ratings issued by the group and often make changes to products based on them.
10The IIHS noted there is a lack of effective tools to monitor drivers and provide warnings when they need to pay better attention or take immediate corrective action.
11David Harkey is president of the IIHS.
12He told the Associated Press his group aims to set guidelines for manufacturers to make up for a lack of regulation over the systems by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration.
13Harkey noted that most current driver assist systems do not have effective measures "to prevent misuse and keep drivers from losing focus on what's happening on the road."
14All automakers advise drivers using assistance tools not to fully depend on vehicle technologies to keep them safe.
15The companies say the tools are meant to improve, or enhance, overall safety, rather than take over certain driving duties.
16The IIHS said it tested 14 different driver assist systems.
17Of those, 11 received an overall rating of "poor."
18Two other systems were rated "marginal," while one was considered "acceptable."
19Harkey said the 14 systems are among the highest quality technologies currently on the market.
20The driver assist system used in the Lexus LS model earned the acceptable rating.
21The marginal declarations were given to systems in General Motors' GMC Sierra and Nissan's Ariya electric vehicle.
22Other systems from Nissan, Tesla, BMW, Ford, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo received ratings of "poor."
23Harkey said the high-level of technology sophistication in today's driver assist systems provides a lot more automation possibilities.
24But these tools can cause drivers not to pay attention for longer periods, presenting new, dangerous risks.
25"That's why the focus is on how do we make sure that the driver remains focused on the driving...," he added.
26The IIHS has warned that manufacturers advertise their vehicles in a way that gives drivers the false idea that they are fully automated, or autonomous.
27"The one thing we do not want is for drivers to misinterpret what these things can or cannot do," Harkey said.
28The IIHS is calling for automakers to build additional tools into their systems.
29These would be designed to observe whether or not a driver's eyes are directed at the road and whether their hands are on the wheel or ready to immediately take control.
30The institute suggested the systems should have built-in tools that send warnings to drivers within 10 seconds if their eyes and hands are not in the right positions.
31At 20 seconds, the IIHS said the system should add another warning or start an automatic emergency process to slow down the vehicle.
32Toyota, which makes Lexus vehicles, said it considers IIHS reports when it creates safety guidelines, while General Motors called the ratings important.
33Nissan said it will work with the institute on proposed changes.
34Mercedes said it takes the findings seriously, while Hyundai Genesis said it was quickly improving its system, including plans to put a camera inside vehicles.
35BMW said while it respects IIHS's efforts, it differs on the use of technology to monitor drivers inside the vehicle.
36Ford said its driver assist system monitors drivers and sends repeated warnings. While Ford said it disagrees with the institute's findings, it will consider the suggestions in future development.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An American insurance industry group has given most driver assistance systems "poor" ratings after a series of safety tests. 2The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) carried out the tests. The group released a report this week describing its findings. 3The tests involved 14 different driver assistance tools. Such tools offer partial driving automation as a way to improve safety and reduce accidents. The systems are equipped to assist drivers with things like staying inside road lines and automatically slowing or stopping the car when possible dangers are identified. 4The IIHS is a nonprofit organization financed by America's insurance industry. The group carries out numerous crash tests each year as it seeks to persuade automakers to design safer vehicles. Automakers follow safety ratings issued by the group and often make changes to products based on them. 5The IIHS noted there is a lack of effective tools to monitor drivers and provide warnings when they need to pay better attention or take immediate corrective action. 6David Harkey is president of the IIHS. He told the Associated Press his group aims to set guidelines for manufacturers to make up for a lack of regulation over the systems by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration. 7Harkey noted that most current driver assist systems do not have effective measures "to prevent misuse and keep drivers from losing focus on what's happening on the road." 8All automakers advise drivers using assistance tools not to fully depend on vehicle technologies to keep them safe. The companies say the tools are meant to improve, or enhance, overall safety, rather than take over certain driving duties. 9The IIHS said it tested 14 different driver assist systems. Of those, 11 received an overall rating of "poor." Two other systems were rated "marginal," while one was considered "acceptable." Harkey said the 14 systems are among the highest quality technologies currently on the market. 10The driver assist system used in the Lexus LS model earned the acceptable rating. The marginal declarations were given to systems in General Motors' GMC Sierra and Nissan's Ariya electric vehicle. Other systems from Nissan, Tesla, BMW, Ford, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo received ratings of "poor." 11Harkey said the high-level of technology sophistication in today's driver assist systems provides a lot more automation possibilities. But these tools can cause drivers not to pay attention for longer periods, presenting new, dangerous risks. "That's why the focus is on how do we make sure that the driver remains focused on the driving...," he added. 12The IIHS has warned that manufacturers advertise their vehicles in a way that gives drivers the false idea that they are fully automated, or autonomous. "The one thing we do not want is for drivers to misinterpret what these things can or cannot do," Harkey said. 13The IIHS is calling for automakers to build additional tools into their systems. These would be designed to observe whether or not a driver's eyes are directed at the road and whether their hands are on the wheel or ready to immediately take control. 14The institute suggested the systems should have built-in tools that send warnings to drivers within 10 seconds if their eyes and hands are not in the right positions. At 20 seconds, the IIHS said the system should add another warning or start an automatic emergency process to slow down the vehicle. 15Toyota, which makes Lexus vehicles, said it considers IIHS reports when it creates safety guidelines, while General Motors called the ratings important. Nissan said it will work with the institute on proposed changes. 16Mercedes said it takes the findings seriously, while Hyundai Genesis said it was quickly improving its system, including plans to put a camera inside vehicles. 17BMW said while it respects IIHS's efforts, it differs on the use of technology to monitor drivers inside the vehicle. Ford said its driver assist system monitors drivers and sends repeated warnings. While Ford said it disagrees with the institute's findings, it will consider the suggestions in future development. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 20_________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22insurance - n. an agreement in which you pay a company regularly, and it pays some of your costs if you have an accident or injury 23automate - v. to control something using machines and not people 24monitor - v. to watch closely 25regulation - n. an official rule that controls how something is done 26focus - n. the person or thing that is getting the most attention 27marginal - adj. small and not important 28sophisticated - adj. very advanced in development 29misinterpret - v. to understand something in the wrong way