Intrusive car warning systems on notice

Autonomous driving technologies, many of which are related to safety, do not always deliver the desired results.

Most fall under the ‘advanced driver-assist systems’ (ADAS) umbrella, meaning they are designed to detect and respond to hazards around the moving vehicle.

But failures to do so accurately, or as originally intended, have caught the ire of safety bodies around the world, while courting widespread controversy and dissatisfaction amongst owners.

The technologies’ value to improving road safety is not in question. Blind-spot monitors will set off a light near the exterior mirror area to warn of looming cars, cyclists and pedestrians and then flash repeatedly if an indicator is activated or steering wheel motion executed. If fitted, the interconnected lane-keep assistance tech might nudge the wheel away slightly to actively prevent a collision. Many lives have already been saved by this.

The same applies to autonomous emergency braking (AEB) tech that apply the brakes in a fraction of the time a human can react.

But over-zealous systems that bombard the driver with loud warnings, unsolicited steering wheel corrections and/or sudden braking when there is little or no danger present, have led to potential new dangers identified, beyond obvious driver frustration, distraction and fatigue.

In many cheaper vehicles, some drivers have experienced unintended sudden braking at freeway speeds, risking high-speed rear-end impacts from vehicles following behind; or traction control systems that cut engine power at exactly the wrong moment, such as when overtaking a semi-trailer with on-coming traffic bearing down up ahead because sensors detect brief wheel-spin under hard acceleration; or a driver-fatigue monitor that sounds distracting alarms because it thinks a driver avoiding a pothole is a sign of erratic vehicle operation.

Most of the ADAS tech only requires local-environment tuning to operate more intuitively and greatly reduce unwarranted warnings and interferences. But, to save money, only a handful of vehicle manufacturers invest in tuning vehicles to specific regional conditions.

Which is where vehicle crash-safety performance assessors, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), has stepped in, following recent similar moves by international affiliate Euro NCAP in forcing carmakers to improve ADAS operation parameters if they are to earn the full five-star crash-test rating.

Starting from January 1, 2026, identified renegade ADAS tech, for example, will result in points being deducted for new models, and could also lead to some existing five-star vehicles being downgraded if they fail to meet the updated standards if or when they are re-tested.

While this is bad news for some brands, the upshot should lead to safer vehicles overall, as manufacturers strive for the maximum score as an all-important marketing tool, particularly to government and fleet organisations that demand the highest-possible safety results.

And it’s not just ADAS tech coming under scrutiny by ANCAP.

From 2026, electrically-actuated door handles must still be functional in post-crash situations, to allow occupants to safely get out or emergency services to get in. This will likely involve a secondary or separate power supply, or even a mechanical connection acting as a redundancy, as per some Toyota and Lexus models.

Also, the current phenomenon of placing many if not all vehicle functions within a touchscreen display may soon be a thing of the past, since Euro NCAP and now ANCAP will stipulate the return of physical buttons and switchgear.

This is for many reasons. Some screens are slow or stubborn to react to fingertip inputs. Some require the driver to scroll through multiple menus. And some are difficult to find in the first place.

As a result, drivers are taking their eyes off the road more often as they attempt to fumble with fiddly touchscreens, dramatically increasing the chances of a collision. The confusion and frustration can also lead to driver fatigue and tiredness, reducing their abilities to operate a vehicle safely.

This has come to the fore over the past few years with the dramatic uptake in Chinese vehicles, with most of them featuring touchscreen controls over buttons in order to save their manufacturers time and money in development costs, which in turn has led to cheaper – but at-times compromised – vehicles.

Soon, no buttons mean no five stars. Simple.