Car safety tech driving motorists round the bend, Which? finds

Motorists are switching off automatic safety tech designed to help cars adhere to the speed limit, stay in the right lane or brake to avoid collisions because they find it dangerous, distracting or useless, according to new Which? research. 

In a nationally representative survey of more than 1,500 drivers, more than half (54%) told the consumer champion they turned off at least one of the five main Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) features in their car at least some of the time.

ADAS car safety tech is designed to assist drivers with safe operation, enhancing road safety and potentially preventing accidents through features like automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. 

These safety systems have the potential to reduce avoidable accidents. The European Commission  has cited figures that they could reduce injuries from crashes where a car leaves its lane by between 20%-30%.

But it can take just one incident for a driver to lose faith in the technology - and Which? has received hundreds of complaints from owners of different car brands about their vehicle's behaviour in the last year.  

Which? found that speed assist, which can help drivers stick to the speed limit by alerting them if they go too fast or automatically limit the vehicle's speed, was switched off by nearly half (46%) of users some of the time. 

Most people Which? surveyed said they had disabled this function because they felt they didn't need it. Depending on the system, speed assist uses on-board cameras, road-map data or a combination of both to issue a speed limit warning; however, it can be inaccurate if it picks up road signs for parallel roads, unofficial signs and digital signage. 

Lane-keep assist was the second safety feature most likely to be disabled according to Which?'s survey (42%). Half of those who said they turned off lane-keep assist did so because they found it either dangerous, annoying or distracting. On-board cameras and sensors detect lane and road-edge markings and manoeuvre the driver into staying in their lane but this may be flawed while driving on narrow roads and can fail to account for cyclists or parked cars. 

The third safety feature drivers were likely to switch off according to the Which? survey was emergency braking (34%). 

A third (32%) of the drivers Which? surveyed said they had turned off the attention or drowsiness monitoring feature. Cockpit cameras detect the position of the driver's eyes and can warn if it detects signs of tiredness such as yawning. The car can also detect if the driver's eyes are off the road too often - for example when operating the car's touch screen. 

Three in 10 (30%) people told Which? they switched off their blind-spot monitoring feature. Sensors detect when an object – most often another vehicle – is in the driver's blind spot. The system flashes a visible warning until the object is no longer present. Some will vibrate or give an audible warning if the driver indicates to move towards the object or starts to leave their lane. Drivers told Which? they switched this feature off because they didn't need it or they found it distracting or annoying.

Eileen, a 75 year old grandmother and Motability disability scheme customer, told Which? her car had gone from being a lifeline to a “nightmare”. 

At the end of 2023, she took delivery of a Hyundai i20 hatchback. She's said it constantly misreads speed limits (such as telling her the limit in a 30mph zone is 80mph) and unnecessarily corrects her steering as she crosses over centre lines when navigating parked cars around Greater Manchester. 

Eileen told Which?: “To feel the steering wheel suddenly spin and the car begin to swerve was terrifying. I've seriously considered getting some old, beat-up car from five years ago that doesn't have this technology.”

Some ADAS systems are legally mandated on new cars in the EU and while the UK is yet to adopt the same rules, most UK cars use software designed to work both here and in the EU. 

Which? helped to found crash safety organisation Euro NCAP in the 1990s and its safety test results are taken into account in the consumer champion's car reviews.

Euro NCAP currently awards points for the presence of some ADAS features, and conducts controlled lab testing on others. To combat the potential for manufacturers designing the tech to simply pass the test, it is adding a real-world driving portion to its tests from January 2026 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.

“It's up to legislators and standard-setters to make sure these features are fit for purpose and for the UK's roads, but if you are in the market for a new car, it's really worth going for a test drive to see how the car's safety features work in a real-world scenario. 

“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.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Which? surveyed 1,561 UK car owners between 10th and 13th January 2025. Fieldwork was carried out by Deltapoll and data has been weighted to be nationally representative of the UK population (aged 18+).

LEARN TO LIVE WITH ADAS - Michael Passingham, Which? Cars Expert

In the three months before this issue went to press, I drove 11 different cars. It's a privilege but, as I'm a recent addition to the Which? Cars team, it's been something of a culture shock to go from my 2018 car to the current crop of vehicles that adhere to the latest EU and Euro

NCAP specifications. I've had cars brake for nonexistent crossroads, jitter me around on country lanes and inform me that I'm driving 50mph over the speed limit. 

I can see why so many people reach for the ‘off' button at least some of the time on all these tools. But I've also learned to live with them – or, as Al-Ani told me, ‘collaborate' with them. While each car is different, it doesn't take me long to get used to their foibles and understand where I need to pay extra attention. Even when they're wrong, these systems force you to drive consciously, which is a good thing. That doesn't exonerate brands that haven't put in the work on UK roads, though, and it's also up to legislators and standard setters to ensure that their rules and assessments meet real consumer needs. If ADAS is turned off, it isn't protecting anybody. And that's bad for everybody.

Right of reply:

In response to Which?'s case study, a Hyundai spokesperson said:

“Our ADAS technology is designed to enhance safety, convenience, and driving confidence. We understand that ADAS functionality may take some time to get used to, and certain driving conditions can affect system performance. To ensure the best experience, we recommend our customers review ADAS settings and calibrate to their own taste, as some features can be adjusted to suit driving preferences.

“ADAS are present due to legislative requirements, however they can be deactivated each time the vehicle is started up by the driver if preferred. ADAS are designed to aid drivers wherever possible, however the driver remains ultimately responsible for control of their vehicle and must maintain an awareness of external factors such as road condition and speed limits.

“As part of our process of continuous vehicle testing and quality improvement, Hyundai regularly conducts real world testing of all vehicle systems and whenever possible will introduce software improvements to address identified customer concerns.”