Fleet knowledge of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) systems and how to ensure they are correctly used to enhance driver safety is failing to keep up with industry adoption of the technology.

Manufacturers such as Volkswagen are continuing to invest in ADAS.

Autoglass research of 250 British fleet managers found that just over a third (34%) of the vehicles in car and van fleets have some ADAS-enabled safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking and lane deviation warnings. In total 29% of all car fleets and 40% of all van and light commercial fleet vehicles are estimated to be ADAS-enabled.

Yet the research found 20% of ADAS-enabled car fleets and 15% of van fleets admit that they do not include ADAS calibration as part of their checks during vehicle repair and maintenance, equating to 17% overall. This is despite findings that if a camera in an ADAS system is misaligned by as little as one degree, the technology can fail to detect and analyse driving conditions correctly in order to warn drivers about potential hazards or take corrective actions such as autonomous emergency braking.

The survey also found 27% of fleet managers acknowledge a lack of awareness about how the technology works as their biggest challenge. Meanwhile, 16% say they face challenges with drivers choosing to switch off ADAS-enabled safety feature due to annoyance

Jeremy Rochfort, national sales manager at Autoglass, said: “The aftermarket has a crucial role to play in supporting commercial fleets who have introduced ADAS into their vehicles and ensure they are getting the correct advice about calibration.

“Our findings that one in six car and van fleet managers are not building ADAS into their maintenance and repair schedule is worrying enough, but we believe this figure is probably higher in reality due to assumptions that it is included in standard checks, which is not the case. Our own primary research last year identified gaps in expertise across the market, which we have been working with partners such as Thatcham and Brake to address and will continue to work to raise awareness.”

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