[StopUnderrides]

1. ADAS will be useful in those situations where you would be unable to respond. Either because you have slept over the wheel or if you have a seizure or a cardiac arrest etc
2. Will it lead to more rear endings in India? Perhaps yes.
3. Yet the fact that it might save your life or of pedestrians when you land in the scenario 1 above should be sufficient to bear the cost of some rear endings as in 2.

This is a real world study by IIHS. While the caveat that what works in the US doesn’t work the same way in India applies, the benefit is surely not going to be 0 in India.
https://www.iihs.org/media/259e5bbd-...A-benefits.pdf

[Kannan]

I drive both in city limits and on highways.

First and foremost, ADAS is a combination of multiple features and as far as I'm concerned I wouldn't say the entire ADAS Level 2 autonomy is bad.

If I'm correct XUV 700 has the following features as part of ADAS.

1. Adaptive Cruise Control
2. Smart Pilot Assist
3. Forward Collision Warning
4. Automatic Emergency Braking
5. Lane Departure Warning
6. Lane Keep Assist
7. Traffic Sign Recognition
8. High Beam Assist

Everything except the "Adaptive Cruise Control" & "Automatic Emergency Braking" is merely an alert system and again if I'm correct they don't take any corrective measures.

The problematic ones are the "Adaptive Cruise Control" & "Automatic Emergency Braking" out of which again I don't think "Adaptive Cruise Control" will result in emergency situations.

So if Mahindra provides an option to disable emergency braking at speeds below 40kmph, I guess most of those rear endings can be avoided.
(As of now the XUV 700 user manual is not available and hence I'm assuming disabling only "Automatic Emergency Braking" is not available. Again I believe both "Adaptive Cruise Control" & "Automatic Emergency Braking" go hand in hand, hence I'm assuming the option to disable "Automatic Emergency Braking" will also disable "Adaptive Cruise Control".)

End result, ADAS as an entire system is helpful.

I exactly remember two instances in the last 8 years where I almost ran over people because they decided at the last minute to cross the highway while I was doing around 70kmph to 90kmph and in both cases, I guess my Ritz's ABS and Michelin tires helped me avoid those emergencies.

[saleem_k]

ADAS as a technology is wonderful but as many agree not really for Indian roads. A different version of ADAS for India roads could be a best approach where you have all the systems warning us for e.g. when we go out of the lane, or are too close to the vehicle in front of us or similar things but the system should not be allowed to take control of the steering or the brakes. This I believe is a sure recipe for disaster on our roads where people might over-rely on such systems and the already careless driving style could become more careless.

Therefore put in ADAS but limit it to warning systems and leave it at that. I understand that comfort and convenience is taking precedence these days in all aspects of life but driving is an activity so make it comfortable and convenient for passengers while the person driving still has a task at hand albeit with just enough convenience and judgement to make.

[nandrive]

I have been using ADAS and totally in love with it. I feel government should step in and make it mandatory instead of regulating it. I have read on this very forum how automatics/cvt have made driving enjoyable/safe/stress free, similarly ADAS will have positive impact on drivers and all the road users.

Points to note are
1) ADAS != autonomous driving, driver is in charge always.
2) ADAS are more suited for relaxed highway cruising than busy stop-go urban traffic.
3) AEB kicks in only when crash is inevitable and there is no response from driver even after audio visual alerts. It can be overridden by pressing accelerator.
4) Just because someone cuts your lane, AEB does not kick in. AEB kicks in only when the vehicle which cut you starts to slow down, in that case ADAS or not you have to slowdown to avoid crash.

We see regularly so many lives lost on highways due to rear ending, ADAS can definitely save those. Give the technology a chance before dismissing it.

[IamNikhil]

Firstly, these AI systems can never be fully foolproof.

Secondly, judging by the haphazard driving habits and poor road discipline prevalent in India, these systems will prove to be a bane rather than a boon.

Have driven in Europe and the US in a range of cars and have always enjoyed ADAS, Cruise Control, etc primarily because there's impeccable road discipline and driving manners everywhere at very high speeds. One doesn't have to worry about cows, errant bikers/rickshaws and rickety over-loaded trucks.

The biggest fear of using ADAS in India is of someone rear-ending my car for no apparent fault of myself. Also, major stretches of even our national/state highways don't have lane markings and speed-limit boards. AI systems cannot work effectively in absence of necessary infrastructure.

Even though I welcome the advent of new technology being made available by manufacturers for cars in India, doubt whether paying extra for an ADAS at this juncture can be touted as a worthy investment. I would rather pay for extra airbags and a sturdy body shell.

[AnandB]

Re: emergency braking. Both Octavia/Kodiaq have low level auto braking at lowest speed when sensors detect someone too close. 100% of the time it never works properly and it is such a big jerk it scares the crap out of me that someone rear-ended me. And a couple of time motorcycles do rear-end and have hit their tyres as car stopped abruptly. This mostly happens at traffic signals where 2-wheelers come too close or pedestrians are walking past.

But if the new intelligent systems can somehow reduce rear-end ing collisions or even the speed then they will be great help. Recently there have been multiple mentions of accidents that occurred because driver was sleepy and rear ended car in front.

[narayans80]

I have run into this scenario in my parking lot (where there is very little margin for error), where am sometimes on 1st or reverse and I think am on reverse. Usually realize it in a few inches and correct it. Never run into incidents like this.

I believe there are different levels of ADAS depending on how much automation vs human intervention is involved.

I've used cruise control extensively in my highway trips. I find it very useful when am doing long hauls. I would love to try adaptive cruise control given an opportunity.

[abhishek46]

In my opinion, we are still not ready for the advanced ADAS.

Majority of the road users in our country (that includes Motor Vehicles, Two Wheelers, three Wheelers, Heavy Vehicles) do not follow discipline while driving.

Using a 'sensitive' ADAS in such scenarios may turn out to be counter-productive.
We probably need an 'Indianized' ADAS, which has to be way more liberal and intelligent.

[MSC]

A big no.
In a country, where some people consider themselves above the law, where people never follow lane discipline, where a common man's life is cheaper than a late night party for some spoilt dude high on drugs and alcohol , such systems may not be of much use. Only saving grace is that these systems may be useful in access controlled roads like the one being constructed presently between Delhi and Mumbai.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by nandrive

I have been using ADAS and totally in love with it. I feel government should step in and make it mandatory instead of regulating it. .

From cost perspective, this might actually make cars out of reach for most middle class people, we are already paying close to 10L for basic dated hatch(CSUV) with puny 1.2L engines.

I actually hope the government does away with existing regulations like sub 4 meter slab, more tax for larger engine and so on.

[Mafia]

I have driven on amazing roads where I have cruised at speed limit, covered 600kms in 5 hours without much effort. In fact the drive was boring and cruise control made the drive easier. ADAS would have helped more.

I have also driven on Indian roads in most conditions and day and night time. The level of concentration and effort needed is 10x. I take the foot off the accelerator at the smallest disturbance I can spot, this has helped in avoiding panic breaking and maintaining distance with the vehicle in front.

There is no automated system that can be developed to cope with Indian driving conditions. There are so many crazy things we take for granted. We are a good 25 years behind if not more when we can have roads that can allow ADAS or such to function effectively.

[krishnakumar]

We are still very far from ADAS or even adaptive cruise control. Enough has been said on this front so I'll not elaborate.

However, contrary to popular opinion I think the basic cruise control is a very useful feature even in India for someone who does a lot of highway. And when I mean highway, I mean proper highways and not the bypass roads or airport roads that are within city limits.

I stay in Bangalore and my hometown is in Trivandrum, a distance of 750km via TN. Out of this 750km, ~300km can be easily covered without any disturbance and use cruise control very effectively. Yes, there are village crossings every 10km or so, but, the instances where you have to break off from cruise control for a significant portion of time is minimal. Whenever you see a traffic up ahead, apply the brakes, take control and after crossing, engage it back.

In long distances (>500km in a stretch), giving that right leg some rest is very crucial to stay refreshed when you arrive at a location. Even if cruise control can be used for just 20% of the trip, in my opinion it still makes a lot of difference.

[Kannan]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

In long distances (>500km in a stretch), giving that right leg some rest is very crucial to stay refreshed when you arrive at a location. Even if cruise control can be used for just 20% of the trip, in my opinion it still makes a lot of difference.

I agree, every time I travel from Chennai to Coimbatore and vice versa, there are major stretches where I have to hold my accelerator while there is not much movement in steering. The same is applicable for Chennai to Bangalore as well especially it being 6 lanes.

There were many instances where I wanted to sell off my Ritz for two reasons, 1. Missing cruise control and 2. Missing 6th gear and engine screaming at 5th gear while touching the 80kmph mark.

I'm eagerly waiting for an EV with ADAS and real-world mileage of 450kms to 500kms per charge because I keep hearing that it's less tiring while driving an EV compared to an ICE car.

[jkrishnakj]

A big NO. We aren’t ready yet.

I did the 600 km Bangalore - Hyderabad trip on Tuesday this week. I tried cruise control several times and I realised during this drive that we can’t use cruise control for even ONE full minute. There is something or the other that makes you hit the brake cancelling out the cruise control.

I don’t think it’ll get easier to use anytime ever in India, with all the lane discipline, barricades on highways, wrong side driving that happen.

[Chetan_Rao]

I'm a bit of a minimalist, and like my machines (and life in general) as less complicated as possible.

That said, some of the smarter driver aids, at least the passive ones, have piqued my interest.

In the recently reviewed MG Astor, I was impressed by how much thought had gone into adapting ADAS features to be less disruptive and abrupt, and ultimately leave the driver in charge, if they so choose.

ADAS is still new, and it's going to take time to bed in and getting people used to it. There's no magical binary point for a switch between third-world and first-world road conditions when we would wake up one day ready for modern driver aids, so now is as good a time to start the transition as any.