MUNICH (dpa/tmn) – So a ball rolls onto the road and a child chases it. Will the emergency brake work in time? Hopefully. Assistance systems can also help in dangerous situations like these. To increase safety for drivers and other road users, ADAC says that from 7 July 2024, newly registered vehicles in the EU will be required to be fitted with additional assistance systems. These include:
But ADAC has also regularly identified weaknesses in such systems in previous tests, so you shouldn’t blindly rely on them: Auto Club reports that lane-keeping systems can work against the driver’s wishes in some situations, and reverse aids can fail to recognize objects such as boundary posts or activate emergency braking when needed.
Many systems can be switched off, but this comes at the expense of security.
Important: All of the above can be switched off, except for the emergency brake lights, “but they must be activated again after the vehicle is restarted,” says ADAC spokesperson Mika Gebhardt. The ADAC says that people who routinely switch the systems off when setting off are wasting safety potential “despite the fact that they have some weaknesses.”
And in principle, you can disable all systems that intervene in the driving situation, such as the lane departure warning system – this does not work with other things, such as the car’s “black box”, such as the emergency brake lights or the event data recorder (EDR), which is also an assistant.
Familiarize yourself with your new system before you buy
New car buyers should look closely at the features of their assistance systems as well as the usual equipment and features: which are now standard and which are still optional? How do they work? What are their limitations and how can you override and turn them off?
Ideally, the system should be tested during a test drive, says spokesman Gebhardt: “Of course, only if it is safe to do so. No one should cause a rear-end collision to test the emergency brake assistant.”
(Tag translation)Automotive
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