A senior Toyota software executive has revealed that the company is considering banning drivers from switching off vehicle safety features in the future. Government regulations normally shape the degree of strictness a carmaker imposes, and Australian and European safety regulations in recent years have started to impose various lane keeping, speed limit awareness and driver monitoring systems in cars, says Chasing Cars.

Currently, those systems can typically be switched off manually at the touch of a button or swipe of a screen, if the driver deems that they would prefer to manage these processes themselves, but Toyota software development centre president Akihiro Sarada says that the Japanese carmaker is serious about its mission of “zero traffic accidents” – not just deaths, but all car crashes.

“Our ultimate goal is to eradicate all traffic accidents, and of course, autonomous driving is a technology that is necessary to realise a safe environment,” said Sarada.

“We have to study and decide if we would enable an ‘off’ button.” 

Allowing drivers to operate the vehicle however they see fit, including by exceeding the speed limit or approaching lane markings to hit a corner apex, may not be compatible with achieving Toyota’s goal of eliminating crashess.

Sarada said that Toyota was considering allowing drivers to temporarily disable safety features – or drive in the manner they see fit – in two environments: on roads where the car’s software knows no other cars or pedestrians are around, and on the racetrack.

“If it is safe, for example, if it is on the circuit, [autonomous driving and sporty human driving] can co-exist,” said Sarada.

“In the area[s] where drivers are able to have fun driving, then we want them to have the discretion to decide the way they drive their cars.

“We have to really study in detail whether or not it is really mandatory for us to control that detail, to the level where we have to forbid them to enjoy their driving.” 

(Picture: Yay Images)