While 21% say they would disable certain safety features after buying a new car
Foster City, CA – March 4, 2020 – Insurance.com, a one-stop destination for unbiased, expert advice on auto, life, health and home insurance, just published survey results on driver acceptance of auto safety features.
Only 10% of drivers surveyed admitted to turning off auto safety features. The four most frequently disabled safety features are:
- Lane-keeping assist -- 19% of those who admit to turning off features disabled it
- Smart headlights -- 17%
- Lane departure warning -- 15%
- Automatic parking -- 13%
Men confess to shutting off safety features a bit more often than women do (11% vs. 8%), but the sexes typically disable different things. Men just say “no” to automatic parking, reverse monitoring and blind-spot warning indicators, while women skip smart headlights and drowsy driver alerts. Both genders admit disabling lane-keeping assistance.
“With new cars relying on increasingly complex technology, we find that two-thirds of respondents express willingness to take a class showing how a vehicle’s high-tech safety features work,” notes Les Masterson, Insurance.com managing editor. “Still, 30% of those say they will only participate if a course is online and 21% will only receive training if doing so earns them an insurance discount.”
The top three features respondents anticipate disabling in a future car are:
- Automatic parking -- 11%
- Automatic emergency brake -- 9%
- Adaptive cruise control -- 9%
Adaptive cruise control maintains a desired speed and distance between a drivers’ car and others on the road.
Methodology: Insurance.com commissioned a survey of 500 drivers assessing their acceptance of certain existing safety features and expectations for adopting those features in a future vehicle. The complete survey results and analysis is available: Car enhancements may improve safety, but some drivers turn them off. The report provides detail on drivers’ attitudes toward specific safety features and how those items impact car insurance rates.
Les Masterson is available to comment on these survey results and discuss the potential impact of safety features on car insurance premiums.
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