Bad news for autonomous driving enthusiasts: No OEM meets IIHS safety criteria

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) claims that not a single automaker's self-driving technology meets the safety requirement for autonomous driving vehicles. The agency has toughened the side-impact evaluations to put automatic emergency braking systems to test. The automakers that have implemented semi-autonomous driving systems in their vehicles have reportedly failed to comply with the safety requirement.

The new safety requirement for autonomous driving technology by the IIHS demands full awareness of the driver about their surroundings without being dependent on the driving aids. Speaking about this safety requirement, IIHS president David Harkey has said that partial automation systems may make long drives seem like less of a burden, but there is no evidence that they make driving safe.

Consumer Reports also reportedly share the same sentiments of the IIHS. The organization recently announced that it will test driver monitoring systems for cars that have such technology equipped. As per the company, the only automakers that passed their parameters were Ford and General Motors. However, the IIHS parameters are much stricter.

The majority of the semi-autonomous driving systems demand the driver's attention even while the technology is active. These also require human intervention in case of an emergency. However, IIHS says that none of the current ones in the market meets all its pending criteria.

According to the IIHS safety requirement, there must be constant monitoring of the driver's gaze and hand position, along with multiple alert types to get their attention. Driver confirmation for lane changes is also a must. The IIHS wants a fail-safe procedure that slows down the vehicle, notifies the manufacturer, and keeps automation off-limits for the remainder of the drive.

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