4 days ago
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All things being equal, cars are safer now in 2025 than they’ve ever been before.
Whether you analyse the improvements made in airbag technology, the robust structural make-up of new cars, or the active safety measures now commonplace on all new cars in the Australian market, every aspect of safety is just about the best it’s ever been.
So why are some of these new technologies—designed to help motorists keep their attention on the road—a hindrance that can make operating a car more difficult?
Car manufacturers have been adding active safety measures such as driver attention monitors or lane-keep assistance largely because safety bodies have recommended doing so in order to achieve a five-star score.
But, the actual effectiveness of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is rarely called into question.
Now, thankfully, it seems like progress is taking place.
It appears as though both safety bodies are getting more serious about the real-world useability of ADAS technologies.
Together with its European counterpart, Euro NCAP, the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) will begin scrutinising the real-world operation of a car’s safety systems, going further than it has previously in evaluating ADAS technology.
This is a major step in the right direction for ANCAP and Euro NCAP, and will result in car manufacturers introducing better-implemented safety technology.
ANCAP is even considering deducting points from an overall crash test score if a safety measure is not performing as designed.
This is a huge step in the right direction for ANCAP and Euro NCAP. It feels as though they’re now responding to media and public feedback, and will actively discern whether a given safety feature, like a driver attention monitor, is annoying or distracting in the real world, or not.
“Lane support systems is an area where [we] and Europe are doing more work to go ‘okay, it performs in our protocols, it does the job that we’re looking for... but is it really annoying or does it do something that’s not great’ from a human-machine interface perspective,” ANCAP chief Carla Hoorweg told Drive in January.
“That is something we can incorporate into the protocols, and will incorporate... in 2026.”
Every three years ANCAP updates its testing criteria and the fact that it’s going to analyse ADAS more closely is the best update issued by the organisation in years.
“There will be a greater focus on not just about ‘can it do the job?’, but if it’s got detrimental factors, then they’re things that we’re going to start considering,” Hoorweg said.
“We’ve got a lot of scope to make changes like that and that’s an area of high interest for the next set of protocols.”
We at Drive have experienced several ADAS measures that don’t function properly. Even more frustrating, we’ve heard from new car owners who are at their wits' end because their safety software is actually more annoying rather than helpful.
We’re only four weeks into the new year. Still, I’ve personally already driven new car models that have tugged at the steering wheel unnecessarily due to wayward lane-keep assistance, another that has frustrated due to a poorly calibrated driver attention monitor that didn't understand sunglasses, and one that incorrectly determined a speed limit as 40km/h when it was actually 60km/h.
Cars like these get the nod from safety bodies like ANCAP and Euro NCAP, and they might well be safe vehicles, but that doesn't mean the technology used to make them safe isn't annoying, or worse, distracting.
Overall, advancements in car safety technology should remain a priority for manufacturers. Driver attention monitors, lane-keep assistance, and traffic sign recognition systems are good in theory. That said, they need to ensure ADAS technology is actually doing the job it was designed to do.
The news that safety bodies like ANCAP and Euro NCAP will more closely assess these systems is a change for the better, and will go a long way to making sure the industry is held to account.
Because, at the moment, poorly calibrated ADAS technology is slipping through the cracks and it can often have a detrimental impact on the relationship between drivers and technology.
Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned journalists got the better end of the deal. With tenures at CarAdvice, Wheels Media, and now Drive, Tom's breadth of experience and industry knowledge informs a strong opinion on all things automotive. At Drive, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.
