By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-22 06:01:18 | Updated at 2025-03-22 17:31:30
11 hours ago
More than half of UK drivers are turning off car safety technology because they find it dangerous, distracting or useless, according to new research.
Consumer champion Which? surveyed more than 1,500 drivers and found that 54 per cent disabled at least one of the five main Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) features in their car at least some of the time.
These safety systems are designed to assist drivers and potentially prevent accidents, with the European Commission suggesting they could reduce injuries from lane departure crashes by 20 to 30 per cent.
However, Which? found that just one negative incident can cause drivers to lose faith in the technology completely.
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Drivers have warned about safety features which have caused them issues
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Speed assist technology was found to be the most commonly disabled feature, with nearly half of users switching it off at least some of the time because they felt they didn't need it.
The system uses onboard cameras, road map data or a combination of both to issue speed limit warnings, although it can be inaccurate if it picks up road signs for parallel roads, unofficial signs and digital signage.
This unreliability appears to be a key factor in drivers' decisions to disable what should be a helpful safety feature.
Lane-keep assist was the second safety feature most likely to be disabled, with 42 per cent of drivers turning it off according to the Which? survey.
Half of those who disabled this feature did so because they found it either dangerous, annoying or distracting.
The technology uses on-board cameras and sensors to detect lane markings and manoeuvre the driver to stay in their lane. However, the system can be flawed while driving on narrow roads.
It can also fail to account for cyclists or parked cars, creating potentially hazardous situations that undermine driver confidence in the technology.
Emergency braking was the third most commonly disabled safety feature, with 34 per cent of drivers switching it off according to the Which? survey.
Which? helped to found crash safety organisation Euro NCAP in the 1990s, whose safety test results are considered in the consumer champion's car reviews.
From January 2026, Euro NCAP will add a real-world driving portion to its tests and will take driver-friendliness into account.
Harry Rose, Editor of Which? Magazine, said: "These features should be keeping motorists safe, so it is really concerning that so many people are turning them off because they don't find them useful, or even worse, that they find them distracting or dangerous.
"If the tech is working well it should be possible to adapt to driving with it so that it fulfils its purpose of making you feel safer at the wheel. Turning it off should only be a last resort as if you turn the systems off, they're not protecting you, or anyone else."
