Threat to road safety from ‘significant’ ADAS skills gap

30 May 2023

The use of ADAS technologies is becoming increasingly common in new vehicles and is seen as a key step towards the development of fully autonomous vehicles. By improving road safety and reducing the number of accidents, ADAS technologies are seen as a critical component of the future of mobility.

A lack of skills to work on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is putting road users at risk, according to a new report from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

It suggests that there are currently only 3,000 ADAS-certified technicians, yet 106,000 will be needed by 2030.    

Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI, said: “Drivers are becoming accustomed to and reliant upon autonomous features on their vehicles.

“Any failure could be catastrophic. For example, if a driver took a second too long to notice that their adaptive cruise control had failed on a motorway, they could easily suffer a serious high-speed collision with the vehicle in front.

“It would be a similar story if lane keeping assist, or the lane departure warning failed, and a driver drifted into the neighbouring lane in front of a faster vehicle.

“The risks could be even higher for more advanced features such as autosteer and automated lane change.”

In 2023 alone, the IMI estimates a shortfall of 6,000 technicians to support the UK car parc. By 2030, 44% of cars on UK roads will include ADAS, requiring a total of 106,000 qualified technicians

Based on current qualification and training trends, the IMI estimates that there will be a shortfall of 51,000 qualified technicians in just seven years.

To learn how ADAS technology improves road safety and reduces collisions, access information on the ADAS Knowledge Hub for the latest ADAS technologies and resources to promote safe driving practices.