According to the USDOT, “Roadway departures account for over half of all traffic fatalities in the United States.” In 2021 a staggering 490,298 light vehicle crashes involved drivers running off the road, often resulting in fatalities and serious injuries*.

Transportation agencies have several countermeasures they can deploy. Among them are wider lane markings along with the use of high-contrast materials. When drivers cannot adequately see lane markings their chances of running off the road rise. The same holds true for ADAS lane detection systems including LDW, LKA, and LCA. If markings are not visible to the human, they are probably not visible to the camera either.

According to VSI Labs, the availability of lane detection systems is growing rapidly as the percentage of new cars sold with those technologies is 70% for LDW and 60% for LCA-LKA solutions. By the end of the decade, nearly all new cars sold will support lane detection solutions.

Further support for enhanced markings comes from the 11th Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which calls out for the use of wider lane markings and the use of high contrast materials among other things to address the growing adoption of connected and automated vehicles. These applications depend on lane markings for maintaining lane positioning.

VSI Labs and Insight Autonomy are developing a smartphone-based analytics platform to ensure that lane detection systems can “read” a road and perform as intended. VSI’s Lane Analytics platform measures the machine readability of roads and calls out areas where ADAS systems may fail to work properly.

Lane detection systems utilize cameras to detect lane markings and identify the drivable lane boundaries. ADAS systems may have one or more lane-keeping systems depending on the application.

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) provides audible or haptic feedback to the driver if a vehicle veers out of the lane.
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) provides temporary control to nudge the vehicle back into the lane if the vehicle crosses over the lane boundary.
Lane Centering Assist (LCA) provides full lateral control to maintain lane centering and is the basis of Level 2 automated driving systems

This revolutionary partnership brings VSI Lab’s Lane Analytics platform to smartphones allowing agencies and IOO’s to conduct their own surveys, providing valuable insights into how well their roads are equipped for ADAS technology. Are your roads ready? Reach out today to start your campaign.

*National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Contacts:
Phil Magney
Founder, VSI Labs
(952) 215-1797
phil@vsi-labs.com

Jason Buck
Cofounder, Insight Autonomy
(651) 503-5788
jason@insightautonomy.com

ADAS: The Future of Safer Roads