As technology improves, vehicles have more and more features that are designed to minimize the risk of crashing. Lane sensors are just one of the current features that help people stay in lane and know if they’re drifting.
These sensors can be helpful, but they can also be hurtful. While they’re beneficial to someone who is paying attention to the road, they may also give people a false sense of security while behind the wheel. This false sense of security could lead to an auto crash.
The importance of lane departure warning
Lane departure warning is a helpful tool that keeps drivers aware of their positioning within a lane of travel. The warning alerts the driver if they are about to go out of the lane, so they have time to move back over.
Some forms of lane departure warning, such as lane keep assist or lane centering assist, now work proactively and help keep a vehicle centered.
The problem with lane warnings
Problematically, lane departure warnings can make people feel as if they don’t need to pay close attention to the road. Since a warning is possible, someone may drive when they’re drowsy or distracted thinking that their car will do all the work of staying in lane for them.
Unfortunately, lane departure warning and other assistive features don’t always work every time. For example, if it is raining outside, the lane departure warning may shut down because it doesn’t have good enough visibility. Lane departure warnings can’t work when the road is covered or when there are no markings on the road. False alerts are also possible.
So, do lane sensors in vehicles make people worse drivers? It’s possible, because despite the benefits, these warnings may make people less attentive. There has also been at least one study that determined that lane departure warning systems could be linked to a greater number of crashes.
This is just something to keep in mind if you have lane departure warning installed in your vehicle. If you’re hit by someone who was inattentive on the road because of this kind of feature, you may be able to take steps to hold them accountable for any injuries that you’ve suffered.
