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Partial driving automation systems from major automakers such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Ford (NYSE:F), and General Motors (NYSE:GM) received dull ratings from a study, which noted that most of such systems did not include adequate measures to prevent misuse or retain driver focus.
A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested about 14 partial driving automation systems from BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY), Ford, General Motors, Genesis, Lexus (TM), Mercedes-Benz (OTCPK:MBGAF), Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY), Tesla, and Volvo (OTCPK:VOLAF) and found only one of them to earn an acceptable rating. Two were rated marginal, and 11 were rated poor.
“Some drivers may feel that partial automation makes long drives easier, but there is little evidence it makes driving safer,” said IIHS President David Harkey.
“As many high-profile crashes have illustrated, it can introduce new risks when systems lack the appropriate safeguards,” Harkey added.
IIHS' study found the Teammate system available on the Lexus LS to be the only system tested that earns an acceptable rating. Meanwhile, the GMC Sierra and Nissan Ariya were both available with partial automation systems that earn marginal ratings.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, Genesis G90, Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, Tesla Model 3, and Volvo S90 got poor ratings, in some cases for more than one version of partial automation, the study noted.
"No single system did well across the board, but in each category, at least one system performed well. That means the fixes are readily available and, in some cases, may be accomplished with nothing more than a simple software update,” said David Harkey.
The study awarded scores based on a battery of tests conducted over multiple trials, and some performance areas were weighted more heavily than others.