Advanced ADAS repairs and calibration Cover

Waka Kotahi has recently announced a declaration form for ADAS inspections, referenced in Technical Bulletin 29: Declaration for SRS, ABS, ESC, and ADAS inspections.

Workshops may be required to fill the form out for vehicles undergoing the used-vehicle entry process, which shows an ADAS warning light fault. The form is designed to help prevent unsafe vehicles entering the fleet by ensuring ADAS systems are correctly calibrated after vehicle repair.

That’s a step in the right direction, but more is needed to ensure long-term safety of ADAS systems, says Jason.

“There is no dashboard light to let a driver know when sensors have been disrupted. A warrant of fitness (WOF) or service does not check the accuracy either. This lack of visibility for the system’s performance creates a significant safety risk, which is not currently being addressed.”

Through the use of sensors, ADAS views the environment around the car. If danger is detected, ADAS can warn the driver, or even take control of the car to avoid a collision. These systems work through vision-based algorithms, combining information from a number of sensors, cameras, radars, and ultrasound devices placed at key points around the vehicle.

ADAS systems are vulnerable to the tiniest disturbance, says Jason. “When a vehicle is involved in a collision, has a windscreen repair, or even gets repainted, the sensors can be affected. If a sensor is moved by as little as a millimetre, it can result in a metre or more of error in the reading it gathers. On the road, this can translate to a matter of life or death if the car misreads the position of a pedestrian, the closeness of the car in front, or the position of a lane.”

Even in the absence of a specific incident, sensor accuracy can deteriorate over time with the same result, meaning ADAS recalibration is required after an incident, and periodically, as routine maintenance. Cities are already piloting and preparing for ‘connected vehicle programmes’. Vehicles will rely ever more heavily on technology. The ability to be able to trust it is imperative, which means the need to maintain those systems, or ensure accurate recalibration after any kind of repair, becomes ever more critical.

Jason says awareness of the need for recalibration among consumers, insurers and mechanics is low, thereby driving very little demand. In New Zealand, this safety issue is yet to be fully addressed from an industry best practice perspective, or as part of a legislative framework.

The question is, who will lead the change? In its ‘white paper’ on the impact and importance of ADAS, ADAS Experts argues there is a strong case for an inter-industry approach. By taking control, insurance companies, collision repair providers, and other industry stakeholders can determine industry codes of compliance ahead of government legislation. New Zealand, and other countries, have committed to Vision Zero — an ambitious target of zero road deaths by 2050. Jason says acting now will allow positive changes to happen in the short term.

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