A deadly traffic accident in January last year involving an electric vehicle near Yangmei Service Area on the National Sun Yat-sen Freeway (National Freeway No. 1) occurred due to speeding and inaccurate use of the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said.
The electric vehicle caught fire after hitting a median island on the road leading to the Yangmei Service Area, killing four people and severely injuring four.
The board has concluded the investigation and published a report. It said the vehicle entered the junction at about 100kph, and the driver did not step on the brake until two seconds before hitting the median island.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Fire Department
The driver was likely to have activated the ADAS, as the information obtained by investigators showed that they had used the system when driving on freeways in the past, it said, adding that investigators also conducted experiments to verify the hypothesis.
“The ADAS failed to detect the lane markings in time and deactivated automatically, causing the vehicle to deviate from the lane. The speed limit at the location was 60kph, but the vehicle was traveling at approximately 100kph at the time of the incident. The driver did not promptly recognize the situation or take corrective actions, including steering adjustment, decelerating and braking, which resulted in the vehicle crashing into the median island,” it said.
The driver should have paid attention to road conditions, observed the speed limit and kept their hands on the steering wheel at all times, regardless of whether the ADAS was activated, it said.
The driver, who was speeding, was required to observe a dense array of traffic signs and pavement markings within a short time, while simultaneously making decisions regarding the driving path, which might have increased cognitive workload, the board said.
“When drivers are speeding, overly relying on the ADAS or experiencing fatigue, their reaction time might be short and could lead to further rightward lane deviation,” it said.
The overall geometric design of the roadway is unfavorable for vehicle control, and the traffic engineering facilities were unable to mitigate the associated risk, it added.
The board also found that the vehicle was carrying more occupants than the permitted capacity.
Even though the vehicle’s safety gear was activated during the collision, it failed to provide adequate protection for passengers on board, it said.
The vehicle was not equipped with child safety seats, which affects survival rates for children, it said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications failed to introduce regulations stipulating that rental car service providers must remind renters about the accurate use of the ADAS, the board said, adding that without the right information, renters could falsely depend on the system.
The board also issued recommendations to the ministry, the Freeway Bureau and the Highway Bureau following the completion of its investigation.
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