Analysis of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems in Police Vehicles

Zahabi, Maryam; Shahini, Farzaneh; Nas, Vanessa; Wozniak, David · 2023 · ROSA P / Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) University Transportation Center (UTC)

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Summary

This study addresses the critical safety issue of motor vehicle crashes, which are the leading cause of death for police officers. With crash rates estimated at 2.5 times the national average, the research investigates how Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) can mitigate risks associated with high-stress driving and secondary tasks, such as using mobile computer terminals. The project aimed to identify effective ADAS features for police vehicles and evaluate their impact on officer performance, workload, and trust. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved a systematic literature review of 38 articles and 7 patents, alongside an online survey of 73 experienced police officers. The review identified existing ADAS in prevalent police models (Ford, Chevy, Dodge) and recommended ten potential features, which were ranked by safety impact and officer utility. Phase 2 utilized a high-fidelity driving simulator to evaluate selected ADAS features—specifically Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), and Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)—during high-demand scenarios involving secondary tasks. Phase 1 results indicated that while rear-view cameras and Bluetooth were common, officers desired greater adaptability and standardization of ADAS. Officers ranked Autonomous Highway Driving as the least useful due to operational complexities, while prioritizing crash avoidance systems. Survey correlations revealed that trust, training, and perceived usefulness significantly influenced officer opinions. Phase 2 simulation results demonstrated that FCW, AEB, and BSM positively affected driving performance by improving minimum time-to-collision metrics and reducing maximum longitudinal deceleration. These features also reduced driver workload and increased trust in the vehicle systems. Officers preferred receiving alerts through a combination of visual and auditory modalities rather than single-modality or vibrotactile alerts. The study concludes that specific ADAS features can significantly enhance police officer safety by reducing cognitive and motor demands during complex driving situations. The findings provide actionable guidelines for automotive manufacturers to design police-specific ADAS that are compatible with in-vehicle technologies like mobile computer terminals. By addressing barriers such as lack of access and reliability concerns, and by implementing features that officers trust and find useful, the integration of these systems can lower crash rates and improve operational safety for law enforcement.

Key finding

Advanced driver-assistance systems, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and blind spot monitoring, positively affected police officers' driving performance and reduced workload, with adoption influenced by trust and training.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 73

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• adas effectiveness
• situational awareness

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: tool software, dataset resource