Does Driver Assistance Help or Hurt New Drivers?
On January 21, 2021, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) released a news story documenting the mixed opinions among parents of new drivers regarding the use of advanced driver assistance technology. While most parents recognize that technology such as lane departure warnings and blind-spot monitoring can potentially save lives, they worry that reliance on the systems prevents teens from learning the basics of safe driving.
The Dangerous Teen Driving Years
The statistics on teenaged drivers can be frightening for parents. They are three times more likely than those over the age of 20 to be involved in a fatal car accident. Many times serious crashes involving teen drivers result from speeding or other driver errors that cause the teen to lose control of the vehicle.
Focus Group Research
IIHS worked in conjunction with J.D. Power to explore what parents think about auto safety technologies. They used three focus groups and held discussions with parents who had vehicles that were equipped with at least four advanced safety features such as:
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Forward collision warning
- Front or rear automatic emergency braking (AEB)
- Lane departure warning
- Lane departure prevention
Many parents indicated that they believed the features provided safety benefits, but they were also divided about how they may interfere with the process of learning to drive.
Parental Concerns
One parent voiced the opinion that while the safety features may make driving safer, they do not help to make a safe driver. There was concern that a teen learning to drive with a vehicle equipped with a number of safety technologies would be ill-equipped to drive another vehicle that did not have those same options. In general, the parents in the focus groups expressed more doubts about the benefits of the technologies than a strong faith in their effectiveness. Some of the parents also were concerned that the alert sounds – beeps and buzzes – that come from the systems could be distracting to a new driver, and cause an overreaction.
What Parents Like about Safety Technologies
Some of the parents studied were hopeful that the safety features would give nervous teens the confidence needed to learn to drive. Others liked that the system alerts served as immediate feedback to the driver when an unsafe maneuver was attempted. The parents were divided on whether the new drivers should have access to the driver assistance options at the beginning of their learning, or if they should be introduced after the young driver learned basic skills without assistance from technology.
While the study did not include any parents who had chosen not to use the safety features at all during the learning process, some did indicate that they had turned off the features during driving practice so that their child did not begin to rely on them as a crutch. Those parents did incorporate the features into their later learning sessions.
As time progresses, advanced vehicle safety technology is only going to become more common.
Watch the YouTube video uploaded by Nissan highlighting its Rogue model’s 2021 driver assistance features.
Roseville Wrongful Death Lawyer
Hello, and thank you for reading. I’m Ed Smith, a wrongful death lawyer in Roseville, California. Most highway fatalities are caused by a negligent driver. If you are mourning the loss of a loved one who was killed due to the recklessness or carelessness of another motorist, the injury lawyers at my firm can help. For compassionate, free, and friendly advice, get in touch with us at (916) 921-6400 if you are local, or use our toll-free line (800) 404-5400 if you will be calling from another region in Northern California. Another way to reach us is through our website’s contact page.
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