The Impact of ADAS on Modern Fleet Management

From young landscaping companies with a handful of trucks to hospitals managing hundreds of ambulances, effective fleet management is essential for maintaining smooth operations. However, keeping track of driver safety without micromanaging can be a significant challenge.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have emerged as a promising solution. These systems offer enhanced safety features, voice-activated controls, and other technologies that not only protect drivers but also reduce their mental and physical workload, all while maintaining privacy. As ADAS technology becomes more widespread, it promises to revolutionize fleet management by making roads safer for everyone.

The global ADAS market has already generated nearly $52 million in 2024. With projections to surpass $125 million by 2029, companies can expect the technology to become a widespread feature throughout the next few years. 

Common Fleet Management Challenges

Fleets are essential to business operations, transporting goods, delivering services to clients, and moving employees where they need to go. Despite their essential role, fleets face several challenges. For larger fleets, fuel costs can quickly escalate, particularly when routes are not optimized. 

With 3 million truck driver jobs vacant worldwide in 2023, companies must now find ways to attract and retain workers to keep their fleets going. 

One of the biggest issues that fleets must contend with is safety. Small driver errors on the road can cause crashes, putting drivers at risk of injury and/or hospitalization. Even minor accidents can tarnish a company’s reputation, leading to liabilities, repair costs, and other significant expenses.

What is ADAS?

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) encompass a number of automation technologies that make driving safer. Some popular features include blind spot detection, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking. 

Early ADAS features like anti-lock braking and traction control have existed since the 1970s and early 1990s, respectively, but advancements in technology have paved the way for new innovations. 

Blind spot detection, for instance, uses sensors and cameras to notify drivers of obstacles in their vehicle’s blind spots. ADAS can also use cameras, eye tracking sensors, and other systems to detect when a driver is drowsy and encourage them to take breaks.

Safety Benefits

ADAS’ biggest selling point is its advanced safety systems, which improve driver experience and make roads safer for everyone. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the crash involvement rate for vehicles with blind spot monitoring was 14% lower than the same models without it. The Institute also estimates that, in 2015, these features could have prevented 50,000 crashes and 16,000 injuries. 

Reduced Accident Rate

Despite their essential role in society, vehicles are dangerously susceptible to human error, and moments of distraction can lead to disaster. In 2022, nearly 6 million car crashes were reported to the police in the US alone. Of those crashes, over 4 million caused property damage, over 1.5 million resulted in injuries, and over 40 thousand were fatal. Fleets are as susceptible to potential accidents, especially as drivers can grow careless during long days of travel. 

Fortunately, research has shown that ADAS reduces the rate of accidents. A study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that ADAS vehicles showed a 27% reduction in bodily injury claim frequency and a 19% reduction in property damage frequency. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety corroborates this with their research, predicting that ADAS could prevent an estimated 37 million crashes, 14 million injuries, and nearly 250,000 deaths over the next 30 years.

While these benefits are promising, the systems have their limitations. For instance, the AAA found that automatic emergency braking systems are less effective at detecting cyclists or vehicles crossing paths. Phil Partridge, a marketing manager for a car rental site and ADAS user, notes that his car occasionally misreads vehicles in the next lane as ones about to collide with him. “It assumes the approaching vehicle may pull out and activates the system,” he says. As the technology used for these systems advances, however, they will only continue to grow more accurate and responsive. 

Improved Driver Behavior

Today’s drivers face unprecedented distractions, with billboards, “infotainment” features, and phones all vying for their attention. These distractions impact drivers’ response times, making them less efficient and heightening the risk of accidents and injuries. ADAS technologies can alert drivers and fleet managers about distracted behavior, with some technologies even flagging distracted eye motions. This tech can also improve drivers’ focus by warning them about lane departure, speeding, and other aggressive or distracted behavior.

A study on commercial drivers found that with warning-based ADAS, half of the studied fleet reduced warnings about driver inattention, forward collisions, and lane departures by at least 50%. These systems, when combined with driver coaching, could promote better driver habits over time. 

Companies can also combine ADAS with AI solutions to create analytical reports of their drivers’ behavior. These insights update fleet managers on which drivers might need additional coaching and which should be rewarded for their work. 

Savings

Cost remains a significant concern for businesses considering ADAS options. Vehicles with ADAS features can be costly to maintain, especially when even minor damage to sensors can add up to $3,000 in extra repair costs. Though the initial cost is high, these systems can yield significant long-term savings. 

Bryant Greening, attorney and co-founder of LegalRideshare, regards ADAS as an important preventative measure. “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems have been shown to reduce damages to property and persons, which keeps drivers on the road and able to earn,” he says. “Spending a little more upfront on safety enhancements is like buying an insurance policy for when the inevitable happens. Minimizing your potential liability and damages is the name of the game.” 

Research supports Greening’s view; one study found that deploying crash avoidance technologies across the light-duty vehicle fleet could lead to up to $264 billion in crash prevention cost savings. The same study also notes that the total annual fleet-wide societal net benefits from these technologies are about $20 billion. 

Corporate Developments

Although ADAS is not yet standard in every vehicle, many companies have already integrated it into their fleet management solutions. In a proprietary survey taken in 2018, fleets were asked if they were using one or more types of ADAS technology, with the overall adoption rate at the time being 40%. However, among large fleets with 50 or more Class 8 units, this rate jumped to nearly 74%. 60% of these fleets also reported significant or some safety improvement since they incorporated ADAS features. 

Safety isn’t the only benefit ADAS brings to fleets and supply chains. Features like adaptive cruise control, for instance, optimize the speed and distance between vehicles, lessening fuel consumption. Additionally, ADAS cameras can record accidents or incidents, giving fleet managers an idea of what happened and protecting drivers from false blame. 

The Future of ADAS Technology

ADAS is already changing roads for the better, and its potential to save lives will only grow as the technology advances and becomes more widespread. The Highway Loss Data Institute predicts that by 2027, three ADAS features—rear cameras, rear parking sensors, and front crash prevention—will be in at least half of all registered vehicles. The National Safety Council also estimates that the different categories of ADAS technology could prevent 20,841 deaths per year, or about 62% of total traffic deaths. 

Every technology has its vulnerabilities, however, and businesses should remain vigilant when exploring ADAS in their fleet management solutions. Drivers may become overly reliant on the software and grow complacent. Malicious actors could also tamper with vehicles’ software and communication networks to disastrous effect. 

Business owners can address some of these concerns with custom-built ADAS solutions. By taking software development in-house, companies can implement various safeguards like encryption and authentication methods to protect their fleets. 

If you’re interested in learning firsthand what ADAS can do for your fleet management software, contact FullStack Labs. Our team is equipped to build personalized solutions for your company’s unique needs.