SAE International announced its endorsement of Clearing the Confusion: Recommended Common Naming for Advanced Driver Assistance Technologies. SAE joins AAA, Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, and the National Safety Council in endorsing the initiative aimed at standardizing common names for ADAS systems. The organizations are working together to properly educate consumers on the different ADAS features currently on the market.
“With advanced safety technologies being added to new vehicles every year, we recognize that it’s important that consumers understand the technologies they are using and common descriptions can help,” explained Chad Zagorski, Chair of the SAE International Active Safety Systems Standards Committee. “Educating drivers on key terms such as ‘Lane Keeping Assistance’ and ‘Automatic Emergency Braking’ helps drivers have consistent expectations and awareness of the functionality of their vehicle’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.”
The Goal is to Reduce Confusion
The standardized list is available now (PDF) and does not call for automakers to replace their propriety nomenclature. Instead, this document is meant to answer questions consumers may have by giving in-depth descriptions of common ADAS systems and their functionality.
“Consumer confusion is a serious issue,” added Maureen Vogel, Director of Communications for the National Safety Council. “We know that our cars cannot operate safely without us, so it is important to avoid certain terminology – autopilot, for example – that could lead drivers to abdicate responsibility and trust the machine to operate independently of the driver.”
Ongoing Effort
The SAE Active Safety Terms and Definitions Task Force is currently revising SAE J3063TMStandard: Active Safety Systems Terms and Definitions, a more detailed document for engineers. The updates to SAE J3063 will be driven by input from the community of stakeholders engaged in the current Clearing the Confusion effort. “As safety technologies advance and as new systems are developed, we plan to work with stakeholders to refine the naming outline to keep the public and industry informed,” said Keith Wilson, Technical Program Manager at SAE International.
AAA, Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, and the National Safety Council each commended SAE International in its endorsement of common naming, as well as its consideration to revise the SAE J3063 Standard to directly support the effort.
“The hope is that using our collective voice to advocate for these changes will nudge OEMs toward standardization,” Vogel added.
