Driving assistants are designed to save lives, but as long as the vehicles are in perfect condition. A study shows that poor maintenance can mean that assistants such as emergency braking become risk factors.
The operation of the driving assistants They not only depend on a perfect calibration of the different sensors and cameras with which the cars are equipped, but also of its correct maintenance. And it is that the wear of a vehicle also plays negatively in the normal operation of the different systems.
This is clear from a new study carried out by the German quality specialist TÜV Rheinland and the British experts in consulting and research from the Transport Research Laboratory, who have concluded that reducing the maintenance of the different driving systems during their useful life can lead to a progressive loss of reliability.
It even confirms that this loss of reliability can turn into quite the opposite that they intend to avoid, a risk factor. The results are the result of a study in which, given that there is not much documentation on accidents caused by the systems or their repairs, what was done was damaging the camera area of a vehicle windshield test equipped with Lane Keeping Assist.
The purpose, to analyze if the lane keeping system works in a limited way or is completely disabled, since the actuators, sensors and other components of the system were modified to withstand aging, also including incorrect camera calibration.
During the analysis tests they were able to verify that the lane departure warning system it worked incorrectly with the bites produced in the windshield, even the system was turned off, not detecting the lines of the road and without reactions when stepping on them, which shows that maintenance is essential because it also acts in a cascade. That is to say, the malfunction of one system means the failure of others, endangering passengers.