Intelligent transport and advanced driver assistance systems are implementations of information and communication technology in vehicles and in the transport infrastructure to make traffic safer, more efficient, more comfortable, more reliable and more eco-friendly.
ITS is short for Intelligent Transport Systems. A significant number of in-vehicle ITS are so-called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Part of these driver assistance systems are intended to support drivers in their driving tasks. Examples are systems that warn drivers or intervene when they unintentionally steer out of their lanes, do not maintain enough headway to the vehicle in front, or drive or corner too fast. Other systems are intended to enhance driver comfort - navigation systems for instance - while also affecting road safety.
This fact sheet is restricted to in-vehicle intelligent systems that (possibly) affect road safety.
Generally speaking, driver assistance systems have made cars safer, but their effects vary considerably. Systems that intervene are usually more effective than systems that are restricted to warning the driver. When assessing the effects, the possibility of a change in drivers’ behaviour (behavioural adaptation) because of the presence of a driver assistance system should be taken into account. This implies that the hypothetical effect may, in actual fact, turn out differently. Moreover, drivers often do not know which systems have been implemented in their cars, which means these systems are by no means always (fully) taken advantage of.
In-vehicle ITS/ADAS should be implemented in such a way that these systems do not become a source of distraction or confusion themselves. This calls for an appropriate and uniform design, preferably attuned to the perceptive and cognitive abilities of older drivers. At this time, there are no legal requirements ITS/ADAS have to comply with, although (European) recommendations and general design principles have been established.
