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Automatic Braking

The news in March 2016 is that 20 auto manufacturers and counting have agreed to roll out automatic braking in their cars by the 2022 model year. These are terrific systems and a technology we love and we only argue that there is little reason other than cost to wait a full six years for full roll out.

Regardless, here are three things to know about these systems.

1) Naming

Pre-collision System, Auto Braking, Automatic Emergency Braking, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Collision Avoidance – these are all names for the same thing and serve only to pump up the egos of manufacturers. There is simply no reason for multiple naming schemes that confuse the average driver who has more than enough to remember about his or her car. Anti-lock brakes has satisfied everyone from the start and never needed embellishment. The trend that somehow allows each manufacturer to give its own moniker to every new safety system is senseless and needs to stop.

Standardize on one name. Period.

2) Presentation

Subaru gets a gold star here. It has been advertising its Eye Sight system for some time, using unmanned cars aimed at static obstacles. By contrast, Nissan and Infiniti have been advertising their systems using drivers in traffic who are simply not paying attention. Hyundai went this route with its Super Bowl ad featuring Ryan Reynolds and Volkswagen has recently got into the distracted driver act. Mercedes has gone both ways, using an obstacle course in one ad and a driver who actually puts a child in the driver’s seat of a fully autonomous vehicle in another. Have the airbags been removed??

We’ve taken Mercedes-Benz and Nissan to task for their advertising in the past. Safety systems are no substitute for paying attention while behind the wheel and certainly not an excuse for essentially teaching drivers that their new car doesn’t need them to pay attention to the road or to the safety of their passengers.

3) Liability

A self driving Google car, with a driver on board but not in control, was recently involved in an accident in California while in testing and Google said a very funny thing. Its car turned into a city bus and the company said “In this case, we clearly bear some responsibility…”. Some responsible? Who else is there to blame?

The industry says that liability issues surrounded autonomous systems have yet to be ironed out. Months ago, Volvo said flatly that it would take responsibility for any accidents that result from a failure of its autonomous features. The roll out of automatic braking is underway and there is no more time to decide. If auto manufacturers are going to install systems that they will claim will stop a vehicle before a collision, then those manufacturers have placed themselves in the path of liability.

This is a collision that cannot be avoided.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

M Favreau

The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY

Volvo Steps Up

Back in July, in an article on recalls of electronic and safety systems, we asked “When your car gets to truly driving itself, will this mean that the manufacturer will then hold accident liability?”

Now Volvo has stepped up with the answer.

And they stepped up big time.

According to Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, the U.S. risks losing its leading global position in the development of self-driving cars if it allows a patchwork of varying state laws and regulations.

Full Responsibility?

However, in what almost seems like an afterthought, Samuelsson added that Volvo will accept full liability whenever one if its cars is in autonomous mode. The details remain to be worked out – such as how the insurance industry will view this development and whether the driver will be assigned some liability, but Volvo is urging these and other issues be addressed sooner rather than later.

The company is concerned that legal uncertainties could delay the launch of autonomous vehicles. In a speech at a high level seminar on self-driving cars organized by Volvo Cars and the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC, he said “the U.S. is currently the most progressive country in the world in autonomous driving, but this position could be eroded if a national framework for regulation and testing is not developed.”

“The absence of one set of rules means car makers cannot conduct credible tests to develop cars that meet all the different guidelines of all 50 U.S. states,” he said. “If we are to ensure a smooth transition to autonomous mobility then together we must create the necessary framework that will support this.” Samuelsson also urged regulators to work closely with car makers to solve outstanding liability issues from autonomous driving as well as from hacking “by a criminal third party”.

Time will tell if Volvo will follow through.