The ADAS [Advanced Driver Assistance Systems] Repair Group, led by Thatcham, includes automotive glazing replacement firms National Windscreens, Autoglass and Nationwide Crash Repair Centres.
Their ADAS Glazing Code of Practice is aimed at addressing concerns around the inadequate level of industry knowledge relating to recalibrating ADAS technology.
ADAS sensors and cameras are usually mounted inside the windscreen and provide a view of the vehicle’s immediate surroundings to enable safety features, such or AEBS (autonomous emergency braking).
Windscreen-mounted ADAS technology is currently fitted to 6% of vehicles on the road, although experts believe this figure could reach 40% by 2020.
Andrew Miller, chief technology officer at Thatcham Research, points out that without a robust process for recalibration, system performance could be adversely affected during windscreen repairs.
“ADAS systems have become an integral feature ... with motorists increasingly putting their trust in the additional layer of safety that this technology provides,” says Miller.
“It’s therefore of vital importance that drivers can retain that confidence following any sort of repair,” he continues.
“This voluntary code of practice now provides the added assurance of a best-practice approach, to make certain that the [vehicle] is returned to its owner with exactly the same level of safety protection as when it came in for repair.”
The ADAS Glazing Code of Practice code can be accessed at http://www.thatcham.org/files/pdf/ADAS-CoP.pdf