Oct. 18, 2021—A new study from AAA finds that moderate to heavy rain affects a vehicle safety system’s ability to “see”, which may result in performance issues, Green Car Congress reported.  

During closed course testing, AAA simulated rainfall and found that test vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) traveling at 35 mph collided with a stopped vehicle 33 percent of the time. Lane keeping assistance test vehicles departed their lane 69 percent of the time.

The results lead AAA to believe testing standards should incorporate real-world conditions rather than ideal operating conditions, which is how ADAS features are typically tested, the report said. 

“Vehicle safety systems rely on sensors and cameras to see road markings, other cars, pedestrians and roadway obstacles. So naturally, they are more vulnerable to environmental factors like rain. The reality is people aren’t always driving around in perfect, sunny weather so we must expand testing and take into consideration things people actually contend with in their day-to-day driving,” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations.