  Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are often used in the automotive
industry to highlight innovative improvements in vehicle safety. However, today
it is unclear whether certain automation (e.g., adaptive cruise control, lane
keeping, parking assist) increases safety of our roads. In this paper, we
investigate driver awareness, use, perceived safety, knowledge, training, and
attitudes toward ADAS with different automation systems/features. Results of
our online survey (n=1018) reveal that there is a significant difference in
frequency of use and perceived safety for different ADAS features. Furthermore,
we find that at least 70% of drivers activate an ADAS feature "most or all of
the time" when driving, yet we find that at least 40% of drivers report feeling
that ADAS often compromises their safety when activated. We also find that most
respondents learn how to use ADAS in their vehicles by trying it out on the
road by themselves, rather than through any formal driver education and
training. These results may mirror how certain ADAS features are often
activated by default resulting in high usage rates. These results also suggest
a lack of driver training and education for safely interacting with, and
operating, ADAS, such as turning off systems/features. These findings
contribute to a critical discussion about the overall safety implications of
current ADAS, especially as they enable higher-level automation features to
creep into personal vehicles without a lockstep response in training,
regulation, and policy.
