Lane departure warning systems, or LDW for short, are designed to increase vehicle safety by warning drivers when they are drifting out of their lane, but a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that vehicles equipped with LDW have a 10 percent higher crash rate than vehicles without the system.
However, neither theory fully explains the 10 percent crash rate jump.
Another theory is that because there are so few cars equipped with LDW systems, the increase is simply the result of a sample size that is too small.
"Given the small sample size, the increase is not statistically significant," Mercedes spokeswoman Donna Boland told USA Today. "We are confident as to the safety benefits of lane departure systems and would assume that further studies with a broader vehicle population would bear that out."
If used properly, the IIHS estimates that LDW systems could save 7,529 lives per year.
