Australian study finds one in five drivers disable vehicle safety features
A study conducted by an Australian insurance company finds that one in five drivers are disabling car safety features.
The 2025 AAMI Crash-Index analyzed more than 480,000 claims and found a majority (69%) of those who turned off their safety features did it because they found the features “annoying, distracting and too sensitive.”
Another 23% turned off the features because they believed they didn’t need them and 13% didn’t trust the features.
Lane departure warning and lane keeping assist was the feature most likely turned off at 45%. Adaptive cruise control and parking assist tied at 17%. Automatic emergency braking (16%) and forward collision warning (11%) were also turned off by the drivers.
The report also found that nose-to-tail crashes were the most common collision, with afternoons being the worst time of day.
“Many of the safety features drivers are turning off, like collision warning and automatic emergency braking, are really effective at preventing these types of crashes, along with many others including reversing into another vehicle or object such as a trolley or bollard,” Mary Kennedy, AAMI motor prevention manager, said in a press release. “Drivers should understand and use these safety features to enhance their own awareness, reduce the risk of human error and avoid getting into an accident in the first place.”
AAMI’s claims data from February 2024 to February 2025 found that ADAS-enabled vehicles with autonomous braking are less likely to be involved in an accident compared to vehicles without the technology, the release states.
A UK study released earlier this year found that 46% of drivers in the country turn off speed assist features that the EU recently started requiring on all vehicles sold in Europe.
An EU regulation that went into effect in 2024 mandates that all vehicles sold in Europe be equipped with intelligent speed assistance (ISA).
Last fall, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required ISA in all vehicles in the state starting in 2030.
If signed, SB961 would have made California the first state to require ISA in vehicles.
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