Automotive Business Magazine – Q2 2026 – Digital edition - Magazine - Page 14
OPI N I O N
RETAIL
Bumps in the road
for the Government’s
ADAS strategy?
T
he UK Government's Road
Safety Strategy rightfully
champions the potential of
advanced driver assistance
systems (ADAS). The proposal
to mandate more ADAS
technology displays a clear
commitment to leverage
innovation for safer roads, to
reduce collisions and fatalities.
However, as we look to integrate these
sophisticated systems more widely, an
overlooked challenge exists beneath our
wheels: the declining condition of the
UK’s road network.
Deteriorating road network
Potholes, specifically, are a welldocumented bugbear of the British
public. Creative protests, such as Ben
Thornbury's baked beans stunt, offer
a humorous yet impactful showcase of
public dissatisfaction with deteriorating
road conditions.
While such light-hearted approaches
highlight dissatisfaction and can
encourage councils to tackle our pothole
problem, the scale of this challenge is
still significant.
In January 2026, the Government
introduced a first of its kind ‘Road
Maintenance Ratings: Local Authority
Map’. The map grades 154 local highway
authorities as red, amber, or green
based on how effectively they are fixing
potholes and investing in preventative
measures to maintain their road network.
In London, a shocking 27 out of 32
boroughs were marked as either yellow
or red.
Similarly, recent research by Autoglass®
reveals that almost half of UK drivers
(41%) have experienced vehicle damage
caused by potholes in the past year
alone. This figure paints a picture
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AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Q2 2026
of infrastructure that is increasingly
neglected – but amid worsening
conditions, more attention needs to be
paid to the potential effects on ADAS
technology.
The technical toll
Features such as Lane Departure
Warning and Autonomous Emergency
Braking rely on a complex array of
precisely aligned cameras, radar, and
other forward-facing sensors. These
cameras, often mounted behind the
windscreen, are highly sensitive.
Impact with a pothole can transmit
high shock loads through the wheel and
tyre assembly into the suspension and
steering components, potentially altering
