Modern cars are starting to nag you more–and it’s for your safety. Many drivers have already learned to accept their vehicles beeping and blaring at them for going too fast or veering out of lanes. Now, some new Nissan drivers may get a gentle electronic scolding for driving too slowly.
New cars using Nissan’s ProPilot assist 2.1 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) will alert drivers to move into the left passing lane (also called the “fast lane”) if the vehicle in front of them is moving slowly. Importantly, the ADAS system will also send out an additional alert nudging drivers to move back out of the fast lane if they’ve stayed there too long instead of using it strictly for passing as intended. In theory, those nudges could prevent drivers from unintentionally clogging up roads.
The new features, spotted this week by The Drive, are part of a new setting Nissan is calling Passing Assist. Vehicles equipped with the feature use intelligent cruise control (ICC) to maintain a safe distance behind the car in front of it. Intelligence Lane Intervention Tech (ILI) automatically adjusts the steering wheel to keep the vehicle near the center of the lane. These two separate technologies combine together to ensure the car can maintain distance and stay centered without the driver holding the steering wheel. If the vehicle ahead is slowing down traffic, Passing Assist will issue an alert on the driver’s digital dashboard reading “slow vehicle ahead,” and recommend a lane change.
Crucially, the driver has to have their hands on the steering wheel for the lane switch assistance to work. Hands-off mode then automatically resumes once the car enters the next lane. If the vehicle remains in the passing lane for too long, the ADAS system will send out another alert suggesting the driver move back over the right. Nissan did not immediately respond when Popular Science asked how long drivers could remain in the passing lane before an alert is issued. It’s ultimately the driver’s decision whether they take that advice or not. Drivers can ignore the alerts or simply turn off the feature altogether. Passing Assist will debut in the 2025 Rogue and will eventually be introduced in other Nissan and Infiniti models moving forward.
[Related: Speeding cars could start beeping to nag their drivers into slowing down.]
Clogging left lanes is bad for traffic and safety
Slow drivers hanging out in passing lanes can lead to backups that worsen traffic. Somewhat counterintuitively, driving slow on the highway is also dangerous. A Institute of Transportation Engineers Study study cited by the National Motorist Association claims people who drive 10 mph or more below a speed limit maye be six times as likely to be involved in an accident. Overall, the Federal Highway Administration estimates speed—both too slow and too fast—is a factor in around 30% of fatal crashes and 12% of all crashes.
Nissan isn’t the only car company using tech to help keep passing lanes clear. Autopilot-equipped Teslas and some GM cars utilizing the company’s Super Cruise ADAS feature can already maintain their speed and weave in and out of lanes once a driver has engaged their turn signal. Nissan’s approach is unique, however, in that it still requires a human driver to make the lane change and keeps that change optional. Rather than simply rely on software to make the decision for the driver, this suggestion may actually help educate them to improve their overall driving etiquette.
Can ADAS features educate drivers?
Text alerts, chimes, beeps, and flashing lights have become a mainstay of modern consumer vehicles. These additions, while at times grating, do seem to improve safety. A report from the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a nonprofit group, estimates rear view cameras and parking assist features commonplace in many new cars have contributed to a 42% reduction in backing crashes in the US between 2012–2015. A separate report claims the lane departure warning system may have reduced relevant crashes by 11% between 2009-2015.
Newer driver assistance features like Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) go a step further by issuing alerts that may potentially alter driver behavior. ISA generally works by taking a vehicle’s GPS location and speed and comparing it against a database of speed limit data. If the system determines a driver is driving over the speed limit, it will emit a brief auditory alert advising them to slow down. Starting this year, all new cars sold in the European Union must include ISA capability. The California state senate recently passed a bill that would require 50% of all new passenger vehicles sold or manufactured in the state to include ISA by 2029. Supporters of these efforts argue they could help cut down on speeding related fatalities, which have ticked upwards in recent years.
Some newer vehicles even use small cameras inside a cars’ cabin to scan a driver’s face in to help determine if they are fatigued or potentially falling prey to highway hypnosis. In both of these cases, the vehicle will send out audible sounds and sometimes place visual alerts on the dashboard advising the supposedly tired driver to pull over. When combined, these monitoring features and safety alerts are essentially real-world reminders encouraging drivers to operate their vehicles more responsibly.
At the same time, too much technology may have the opposite effect. A recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of drivers using ADAS systems offered by Tesla and Volva found those drivers were much more likely to check their phones or engage in other potentially dangerous activities while the assistance features were enabled. Though the sci-fi vision of fully driverless cars conjures up scenes of commuters taking meetings and watching movies as their car zips them around town, that reality is still far away. Instead, ADAS exists in a middle ground that provides some convenient automated features while still requiring a driver’s full attention. Tesla, in particular, has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers over claims overstating the automated capabilities of its ADAS systems.
ADAS features are increasing in their popularity. A 2021 report from market research firm Canalys estimates around 33% of new cars sold worldwide come equipped with some form of ADAS. That’s up from just 10% of new cars the year prior. In other words, it looks like drivers will have to get used to their cars yelling at them, whether they like it or not.
