Title page
Contents
Highlights 2
Letter 6
Background 10
Driver Assistance Technologies 10
Federal and State Roles in Vehicle Safety 13
Research Suggests Consumers May Not Fully Understand or Use Some Driver Assistance Technologies as Intended 17
Consumers May Not Fully Understand the Capabilities and Limitations of Driver Assistance Technologies 17
Several Factors Can Influence How Consumers Use or Choose Not to Use Driver Assistance Technologies 20
Selected Automakers Use Several Methods to Educate Consumers 27
Conveying the Capabilities of Crash Avoidance Technologies 27
Conveying the Operational Limitations of Crash Avoidance Technologies 29
Conveying the Capabilities, Operational Limitations, and Driver's Role in Partial Driving Automation Systems 32
NHTSA Provides Information to Consumers about Some Driver Assistance Technologies, but Excludes Some Key Information and Has Missed Time Frames... 34
NHTSA Educates Consumers about Vehicle Safety through NCAP but Does Not Provide Key Information on Driver Assistance Technologies 34
NHTSA's Roadmap for Updating NCAP Remains in Draft Form After 2 Years, with Time Frames Already Missed 39
Conclusions 45
Recommendations for Executive Action 45
Agency Comments 46
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 48
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Transportation 53
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 55
Table 1. NHTSA's Proposed Plans for Updating Its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) for Select Crash Avoidance Technologies 40
Table 2. Driver Assistance Technologies: Stakeholders Interviewed 50
Figure 1. Descriptions of Selected Driver Assistance Technologies 12
Figure 2. Estimated Percentage of U.S. Registered Vehicles with Selected Driver Assistance Technologies, 2017, 2022, and 2027 13
Figure 3. Number of Selected Automaker Web Pages That Provided Information on the Capabilities of Selected Crash Avoidance Technologies 28
Figure 4. Number of Selected Automaker Web Pages That Provided Information on the Operational Limitations of Selected Crash Avoidance Technologies 30
Figure 5. Example of Vehicle Rating That Includes Recommended Checkmarks for Crash Avoidance Technologies on NHTSA's Website 35
Figure 6. NHTSA's Key Actions to Update the New Car Assessment Program with Crash Avoidance Technologies 2008-2022 41