In-car savior?
An estimated two in five people around the world are positively terrified of flying.
As with all phobia, aviophobia is grounded on irrationality that requires professional help. A 2024 study published in the U.S. National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine said among the reasons for this includes the potential harm that a plane crash would inflict upon them, including death.
This irrationality becomes particularly obvious because many of these frightened flyers have absolutely no qualms about driving or riding a car, which is a mode of transport that is thousands of times more deadly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in its 2023 Global Status Report on Road Safety found that around 1.19 million people were killed in road crashes in 2021. That same year, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recorded not 1,000,000, not 100,000, not even 1,000 deaths globally from commercial plane crashes – but 104.
In fact, the ICAO found that 873 people worldwide were killed from 2019 to 2023 in crashes involving commercial aircraft with a certified maximum takeoff weight over 5,700 kilograms. Put another way, you are more likely to be struck by lightning (odds of under 1 in a million) than to die in a commercial plane crash (1 in 17 million).
But what if there were technology that could make driving as safe as, if not safer, than flying? Meet Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
Lessons from flying
One of the biggest reasons that aviation has such an impeccable safety record relative to cars is the incredible technology that helps prevent a crash in the first place.
For instance, all Airbus aircraft are equipped with a fly-by-wire flight-control systems with flight-envelope protection. In English, no matter how hard the pilot manipulates the controls, the computers will generally not allow the plane to get into a situation that would endanger everyone on board.
And the aviation world has gone even further – smaller aircraft like the Beechcraft Denali turboprop will come standard with Garmin Emergency Autoland, whereby the plane will automatically choose a diversion airport, advise the air traffic controller, take over the controls and provide instructions to passengers, all at the push of a button.
ADAS operates on similar principles – a bevy of sensors and cameras monitor everything that’s happening on the road, from lane markings to the distance of the vehicle in front. And when certain conditions are met, the system takes action, including stopping the car so efficiently that a crash is completely avoided.
Ready to help
Some of the most effective functions in the ADAS arsenal include forward-collision warning (FCW) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).
The former warns the driver of an imminent crash with the vehicle in front, while the latter will automatically apply the brakes to prevent or, at higher speeds, minimize the impact of a crash. When combined with adaptive cruise control, these systems significantly improve the safety margin and convenience on long journeys.
A 2018 study by the U.S. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that FCW and AEB can reduce the likelihood of a road crash by 29 percent, thus potentially stopping 1,994 incidents, annually on American roads.
Other ADAS features are Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA) – the first alerts you when you are drifting out of your lane without using your turn signals (based on clear road markings) and the second will automatically nudge the steering wheel to put you back in your lane.
Finally, Blind Spot Warning (BSW) prompts you about vehicles beside you that may not see, such as a motorcycle riding in between lanes. The AAA found that LDW and LKA can potentially reduce crashes by 7 percent, while BSW lessens the likelihood by 5 percent.
In total, these five core functions can theoretically stop up to 2,748,000 crashes a year in the U.S., a staggering 40 percent reduction compared to vehicles without ADAS. But more importantly, this technology can save nearly 9,500 lives.
And it still has further to go – as of press time, Level 2 ADAS in productions cars still requires the driver to be ready to take full control. But systems like the Tesla Autopilot are pushing towards Level 5, where the car is so automated that you won’t even need a steering wheel and pedals anymore.
Safety shouldn’t be an option
Starting July 2024, all new vehicles registered in the European Union (EU) must comply with General Safety Regulation II standards.
This includes the mandatory installation of AEB and LKA, regardless of whether the car is a low-cost, grocery-getting hatchback or a full-size luxury crossover. The measure is in line with the EU’s initiative to have zero fatalities and zero injuries on Europe’s roads by 2050.
Locally, car manufacturers have full discretion on whether or not to install ADAS. The likes of Honda Cars Philippines have laudably taken the lead by making its excellent Honda SENSING system standard across all variants of the City, Civic, HR-V and CR-V, as well as the top-spec BR-V VX.
Inevitably, this means it is still entirely possible for you to buy a brand-new car without any ADAS functions. This is particularly chilling in a country like the Philippines, with its heavily congested and poorly made roads, undertrained drivers and horrendous law enforcement.
The Metro Manila Development Authority said in its 2023 Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System that out of the 85,954 road crashes in the metro that year, 10,990 were caused by human error – errors that ADAS would likely have prevented.
It might also have helped save the 336 lives lost on our roads last year, as well as spare the loved ones they left behind from their incomparable pain, suffering and expense. That’s why I’m doing my part to speed up the process by advocating for all vehicles to have all core ADAS functions as standard.
Until then, it isn’t going up in the air, that should scare us.
