On March 13th, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) unveiled its ratings for driver monitoring systems, and the results were surprising, to say the least.
Among the 14 brands tested, only Lexus received an "acceptable" rating, with two brands falling into the "marginal" category and 11 brands rated as "poor."
Participating brands included BMW, Ford, General Motors, Genesis, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Tesla, and Volvo, among others. Lexus stood out as the sole brand to earn an "acceptable" rating, with GMC and Nissan falling into the "marginal" category, while the rest were deemed "poor."
It's worth noting that many new vehicles come equipped with intelligent driving assistance systems capable of functions like autonomous following, but these systems do not equate to fully autonomous driving. Drivers are still required to maintain attention and be prepared to take control of the vehicle at any time.
The role of driver monitoring systems is to continuously assess the driver's state to ensure they remain alert and focused on driving, rather than engaging in distractions or nodding off.
Experts emphasize the importance of sustained attention reminders. If the system detects that the driver's eyes are not on the road, it should issue an audible or visual alert within 10 seconds. However, based on the test results, only the intelligent driving systems from Ford, Lexus, and General Motors met this requirement.
IIHS also noted that while these driver monitoring systems showed poor performance, improvements could be made through software upgrades. Some automakers have already begun addressing the test results with software updates.
