Ever wondered how direct driver monitoring systems work? The most recent Quick Tip from the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has the answers.
The tips from the SCRS focus on how direct driver monitoring works and what damages repairers should look for in vehicles equipped with the systems.
What is Direct driver monitoring?
Direct driver monitoring is a driver monitoring system DMS that detects the driver’s eye or head movements to estimate where the driver is looking.
The feature observes vehicle states, motions, and/or driver performance indicators to estimate driver distraction, inattention, or misuse. Some systems provide a warning and/or limit the use of other features when distracted driving is detected.
Joel Dufkis, I-CAR ADAS and EV instructor, said the systems use a camera that is mounted to the steering column or near the rearview mirror.
Dufkis cautioned that the OEM procedures should always be referred to when conducting repairs.
If there is any damage to the steering column or the driver’s air bag deployed, et cetera, follow repair procedures to check that the steering column-mounted camera isn’t damaged, he said. The same is the case in vehicles with a cabin-mounted camera near the rearview mirror if the mirror or windshield is damaged.
Safety webinar weighs in on the issue
A recent Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) webinar with Autoliv, General Motors (GM), HARMAN, and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) also discussed driver monitoring systems, including effectiveness and regulations.
Moderator Sarah Puro, of Auto Innovators, noted that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has called ADAS a convenience feature then asked the panelists how they believe the systems are beneficial to safety.
“Pre-production research highly rely on surrogate measures,” General Motors, Glaser says.
“Crashes really happen very rarely so we look at events such as hard braking that may be related to crashes pre-production. Some crash types may be more related but we don’t really have a very good understanding of how these surrogate measures relate to real-world risk so that’s where the field data plays a very important role.”
In collaboration with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, GM analysed insurance claims and data reported by police to evaluate Super Cruise use. Super Cruise is GM’s hands-free driver assistance technology.
“We haven’t seen any effect either positive or negative related to either claims or police-reported crashes,” Glaser says.
“The usage level of the ADAS system in the market so far is still relatively low… It will take some time to observe if there is any safety impact, either positive or negative. It’s a continuous effort.”
Mike Rowe, of Autoliv, said use needs to be higher to study partial autonomy systems and how they relate to natural driving behaviours.
“How can we measure this and then how can we assess it? How can we counteract this? I think with partial autonomy systems you have a much better opportunity,” Rowe says.
“You can have the DMS cameras in place and the sensors in place to start to capture this data… We have anecdotal evidence, it’s intuitive, but we need more field study and data from actual usage.”