Cruise Control Driving – Stats & Facts

FACTS

1. The use of cruise control technology puts drivers at a higher risk of traffic accidents due to increased likelihood of speeding.
2. Current “self-driving” tech works right up to the point at which it doesn’t and then fails catastrophically. Failure happens in response to extreme, unexpected, or unknown situations — also known as edge (or corner) cases — and after the human has disengaged from the task of monitoring the system.
3. In a Level 2 system, the human is required to keep their eyes permanently on the road and mind on the driving task but can briefly take their hands off the steering wheel; Level 3 is sometimes called “eyes-off” and Level 4 “mind-off.” Thus, the SAE’s automation levels are most easily understood in terms of which driving tasks the human can STOP doing — e.g., steering, looking, concentrating.
4. Much of the confusion around self-driving and autonomy lies in the conflation of task automation (slowly moving from human driver to machine driver) with responsibility (all human, all of the time). Responsibility will only move to the machine driver at Level 5 — sometimes called “driver-off” — which is decades away from mass-market deployment, assuming it is even possible at all.
5. The danger with relying on cruise control when going downhill or approaching curves is that you could lose control entirely.
6. Do not use cruise control in heavy traffic, on winding roads or when the road surface is slippery. This could result in loss of vehicle control, serious injury or death.
7. Cruise control can’t see road conditions or upcoming turns – so it won’t slow down if roads are slippery or if you’re about to hit a sharp curve.
8. Using cruise control while driving through hilly terrain could cause the system to force multiple transmission shifts which could lead to overheating of the transmission fluid and premature component wear. 

STATS

• Drivers who used adaptive cruise control technology in a 40-person study were more likely to speed compared to individuals using manual control. Cars with the technology exceeded the speed limit 95 % of the time, while manual drivers broke the speed limit 77 % of the time.
• Drivers using adaptive cruise control with added lane centering were also more likely to speed, doing so 96 % of the time.
• 90 % of all light vehicles in use on our roads and highways have no automated or assisted-driving features at all — otherwise known as Level 0. With about 40,000 lives lost each year on American highways, the easiest and fastest way to make human drivers into safer drivers is with the mandatory installation of well-known, proven, and ground-trothed ADAS and camera-based DMS.