Aug 31/23

How Automotive Safety Integrity Level Systems Save Lives

There are 228 million American drivers that travel about 3.1 billion miles every year. Given the prevalence of cars on the road, there are still lots of traffic injuries and fatalities. However, these rates have greatly declined in the last 100 years and continue to fall.

This is due in large part to modern automotive technology. Rating schemes like the “Automotive Safety Integrity Level” have improved car design and function. This has increased safety for both drivers and passengers.

This article explains the Automotive Safety Integrity Level and why it is important. It covers how it is applied and how it continues to help engineers and car makers save lives. Keep reading to learn more.

What Is Automotive Safety Integrity Level?

Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) is a classification system used to measure the functional safety of cars. The rating is defined by the absence of “unreasonable risk” caused by malfunctions. These are specific to electrical and electronic systems in the vehicle.

These include everything from lights and antilock braking systems to airbag deployment. It measures instrumentation, cruise control, and automotive collision technology. This includes features like lane departure warnings and automatic emergency braking.

How Is ASIL Used?

For each component, engineers measure three distinct factors to get the ASIL rating. The first is “severity,” or the types of injuries a driver or passenger would sustain if a component failed. They also measure how often a vehicle is exposed to a hazard (“exposure”) and how much control a driver has over preventing injury (“controllability”).

Each of these variables is combined to determine the ASIL classification. These have ratings of A, B, C, or D, with A being the lowest degree of hazard and D being the highest.

Parts or systems that pose life-threatening injuries could still have a lower ASIL classification. This is the case if they are unlikely to fail or if the driver has more control over their function. Likewise, systems that are more apt to fail but less likely to result in serious injuries could also have a low ASIL rating.

For instance, rear light failure might rarely happen and pose very little threat of hazard, so this would receive an ASIL A rating. The loss of electric power steering or antilock braking, on the other hand, would be more likely to result in severe injury. For this reason, they might receive an ASIL D rating.

What Are the Benefits of ASIL?

While no safety rating system is perfect, there are many benefits that come from ASIL. It helps design teams and manufacturers achieve the highest level of safety possible.

ASIL allows them to track safety requirements and make improvements at different stages of production. It acts as a standard for quality control across the industry. This also fosters innovation and leads to further improvements in car safety going forward.

Learn More About Efforts to Increase Automotive Safety Techniques

Now that you understand how the Automotive Safety Integrity Level works, you can better appreciate the role it plays in vehicle part design and manufacturing. It will continue to aid engineers and car makers in producing better vehicles that keep drivers and passengers safer.

Mayco International is a tier-one supplier to automotive original equipment manufacturers. We supply directly to major car companies and leverage a network of affiliated companies. Reach out to us to learn more about our services and products.