On March 31, 2025, SAE International published the Edge^TM Research Report, The Challenges of Next-gen ADAS and ADS and Related Vehicle Safety Topics. Dibble’s Director of Traffic Engineering, Seth Chalmers, PE, was the lead author.

The report is a continuation of Seth’s first Edge^TM Research Report, Reducing Human Driver Error and Setting Realistic Expectations with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, published July 18, 2023. This latest report describes the continued expansion of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems (ADS) into the market at a rapid pace. Drivers and the automotive industry are becoming more aware of the benefits these systems offer to safety and driving operations. However, as next-generation versions of these systems become more widespread—and as robotaxis, robofreight, and robodelivery services become more mainstream—new challenges will continue to arise in their implementation.

Successfully implementing improved versions of ADAS and ADS will require the collaboration of many parties, including road safety professionals, researchers, safety advocates, automakers, government agencies at all levels, and the many entities that are part of the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) Allies in Action. Six million vehicle crashes occur each year in the US, with 6% causing fatalities and 27% resulting in serious injuries. A high percentage of these crashes are caused by human error such as impairment, speeding, and reckless driving. The goal is to make vehicles safer and reduce the severity of crashes in order to realize USDOT’s Safe System Approach and zero-deaths vision.

Signed into law in November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law [BIL]) requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take numerous steps in standardizing and implementing active safety features in vehicles. It is important to note that up until this date, many of these features (e.g., automatic emergency braking) had been voluntarily adopted by vehicle manufacturers but were outside the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The BIL has changed that, and in many ways, this is one of the biggest challenges that next-gen systems face. In January 2022, USDOT published the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), which provides a comprehensive and actionable approach to reducing fatalities and serious injuries on our nation’s roads.

A few of the vehicle safety initiatives in the BIL include:

• Update the FMVSS to allow adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlights in new vehicles (finalized in February 2022)
• Bring forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) into the FMVSS with specific performance thresholds (finalized in April 2024)
• Require lane departure warning (LDW) and lane-keeping assistance (LKA) technologies in new vehicles
• Add a new section to the FMVSS on impaired driving prevention technologies
• Require an unattended passenger or hot car danger alert
• Overhaul the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and establish a rating system for ADAS features
• Expand research efforts on vulnerable road users (VRUs), driver monitoring systems, rollaway prevention for vehicles with keyless ignition devices, hood and bumper standards, and crash protection strategies for limousines

Additional ADAS features to explore in the future could include the following:

• Seat belt interlock
• Intelligence speed assistance (ISA)
• Driver performance monitoring
• Accommodations for older and/or disabled drivers and passengers
• Aftermarket system upgrades to improve safety in older vehicles
• Safest routing system that would avoid risky driving maneuvers

To address these safety challenges, NHTSA and automakers must balance the costs and benefits of each measure, establish reasonable regulations, and develop ways to effectively implement these systems. Public perception and political barriers are potential obstacles to completing NHTSA’s BIL list, especially given the controversial nature of ADAS and ADS and the current political climate.

Moving forward, we need to establish the NRSS and SSA as our common ground for safety. We need to support NHTSA’s efforts in developing new regulations in the BIL in a cost-effective and equitable manner. We also need to develop and implement additional safety systems that prevent risky driving behaviors and refine systems to successfully navigate challenging operating conditions. While much progress has been made, we have much to do to achieve zero deaths on our roadways.

Contributors

In addition to Seth Chalmers, the following team members contributed to this Edge^TM Research Report:

• Rebecca Argo, Dibble
• Heather Brown, Dibble
• Paul Carlson, PhD, PE, Automated Roads
• Alison Gieselman, EIT, Dibble
• Kristofer Kusano, PhD, Waymo
• Neal Hawkins, PE, Center for Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University
• Julie Herstam
• Brendan Russo, PhD, PE, Arizona Laboratory for Applied Transportation Research, Northern Arizona University
• Alyssa Ryan, PhD, Center for Applied Transportation Sciences, University of Arizona
• Hunter Venne, PE, Dibble
• Frank Zucco, Wanco Inc.

Feedback Review:

• Jeffrey Wishart, PhD Science Foundation Arizona and Arizona State University

SAE International team: 

• Michael Thompson, Director of Standards, Information, and Research Publications
• Monica Nogueira, Director of Content Acquisition and Development
• William Kucinski, Senior Managing Editor
• Madeline Grimes, Senior Product Manager

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