Determining responsibility after a crash involving an automated driving system requires examining both sensor performance and the time given to the driver to regain manual control.
Takeover request times and driver attention
Investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show that drivers using partial automation take longer to respond to emergencies than drivers in fully manual control. While an attentive driver can react within one to two seconds, an operator who has been monitoring an automated system often needs five to eight seconds to assess the roadway and steer or brake effectively.
If an automated system alerts a driver only one or two seconds before an impact with an unexpected obstacle, the driver rarely has enough time to prevent the collision.
Sensor limitations in difficult lighting
Crash investigations indicate that optical cameras can be blinded by low-angle sunlight or reflective white surfaces, such as the sides of commercial trucks. If the system software filters out radar returns to prevent false braking events, it may fail to identify cross-traffic obstacles in time.
Regulatory oversight and monitoring systems
Safety regulators, including the NHTSA, now place greater scrutiny on driver monitoring systems. Basic steering wheel torque sensors are increasingly viewed as insufficient to confirm that a driver is watching the road.