Why Do Most Drivers Turn Off Vehicle Safety Systems?

Forbes

a day ago

Driver shutting off the Lane Keep Assist on a RAM 1500
There's a good chance that your late-model car, truck, or SUV has a handful of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). There's also a good chance that you are not using them, as numerous studies have revealed that most drivers find them distracting and annoying due to frequent alerts, perceived over-correction, or unexpected interventions. If you are like most drivers, you get frustrated and turn them off—negating the safety benefits.
To dive deeper into why drivers are shutting off their vehicle's ADAS technology, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking (often marketed under slightly different names, depending on the automaker), I polled more than a half-dozen drivers to get some additional insight.
My findings were consistent with the published studies. Drivers welcomed the ADAS technology (often paying to have their vehicle equipped with the features), optimistic that it would make driving less stressful and more relaxing. Instead, they frequently found the features intrusive, annoying, unreliable, and startling as they intervened unexpectedly and without warning. While some of the technology, such as Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)—designed to intervene only in emergencies—could not be defeated, systems that could be turned off were often.
'I must turn off the system continuously,' says Sean Dugan about BMW's Lane Keeping Assistant. 'It's jarring and most of the time—more like all the time—unexpected.' And he notes that things are even worse after the sun goes down. 'At night, even when nobody is around, you make a lane change without using a blinker that the car starts fighting to stay in the lane.'
Tesla owner Patrick O'Connor finds Lane Assist, part of the company's Autopilot system, frustrating. 'It is over-aggressive, and it doesn't seem to adjust well to naturally curvy roads. I have to turn my lane assist off because it keeps jerking me almost out of my lane—it thought I was swerving on the freeway, although I was following the road within the lane properly.' His wife, Ashley, drives a Kia and uses the vehicle's Smart Cruise Control regularly. 'As a mom of two children under five, I found it helpful in most insists when I drive the kids around. However, I do note that it needs more fine-tuning—it abruptly swerves and does not seem to have as much distance awareness as the system in my husband's Tesla.'
'We have a Cadillac Escalade, and I like the Adaptive Cruise Control because I can set it for 75 (even when freeway traffic is at 35), and it will stay with the flow of traffic automatically speeding up and slowing down. It's kind of nice,' explains Chad Armstrong. 'With that being said, the Reverse Automatic Braking tends to overreact sometimes by slamming violently on the brakes when there's nothing there. For some reason, and I know this sounds weird, it seems to be triggered by shadows.'
But not everyone is unsatisfied. Esther O'Connor, who drives a Subaru, appreciates the ADAS features. 'I love them. As you get older, I think they are great because they are very good at alerting you if you get momentarily distracted,' she said, referring to Subaru Lane Keep Assist, part of the company's standard EyeSight driver-assist system. 'Everyone occasionally gets distracted, whether while taking in road signs or watching for other traffic. The automatic system is good because it moves the steering wheel when you leave the lane, and it beeps.' But she's not smitten with all the systems. Esther has a steep driveway that continuously triggers Subaru's Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB) system when backing out of her driveway. When her Outback crosses over the gutter on the street, it automatically comes to a jarring stop. Frustrated, she's developed a work-a-round. She puts the transmission in neutral (thus defeating the ADAS) and rolls into the street without stopping.
Meighan Offield drives a Volvo equipped with the company's Pilot Assist & Adaptative Cruise Control System. 'I don't like using adaptive cruise control because I get disengaged from actually driving—same with the lane-centering self-steering. I need to keep my hands on the steering wheel for it to work anyhow, so I'd rather just steer and stay engaged,' she explains. 'Additionally, the adaptive cruise control brakes and accelerates too hard when cars change in and out of lanes in front of me. I prefer to be in control.'
Offield also notes other frustrations with ADAS, including one with Volvo's Rear Auto Brake (RAB) that mirrors Esther O'Connor's frustration. 'My driveway is sloped, so when I'm backing out of my driveway, the car senses the unlevel pavers and auto brakes. The system brakes really hard, and it's very startling—you think you have hit something. Fortunately, the button to disable it pops up on the screen when the rearview camera turns on, so I often disable it.'
Volvos are fitted with forward collision warning systems, which is part of the company's City Safety or Active Driver Assist features. 'When I'm driving on a curved road with parked cars along the sides, the forward collision prevention system kicks in and starts braking my car aggressively when it shouldn't,' Offield observes. 'It seems to read the parked cars on the side of the road, and because of the angle, it thinks I'm going to have a head-on collision. This is very frustrating, but unlike the back-up system, the forward collision system is not as easy to turn off without navigating to it in the infotainment system, so I leave it on.'
Charlie Schiavone drives a RAM 2500 pickup with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). 'I religiously use adaptive cruise control in every car I drive, including rentals when they have it. It takes away all the fatigue when driving, especially in traffic,' he explains. 'However, the sudden and harsh braking you get when a car gets in front of you is annoying. More times than not, there is enough space in front of you that simple coasting will suffice.' Schiavone also notes that the system doesn't drive naturally—like a human. 'When cars are moving out from in front of you, the adaptive cruise control accelerates way too quickly to close the gap, and if there is slowed or stopped traffic ahead, you need to intervene, or the system will do some harsh braking. It always feels like it engages too late—it feels like you're going to hit the car in front of you, and you may!'
Jeep owner Shannon McGee finds that ADAS offers some benefits but also has more than a few frustrations. Her vehicle is fitted with the company's Active Driving Assist (or Active Lane Management). 'Thankfully, my lane-keeping assist isn't as aggressive as other vehicles, and it just slowly corrects my wheel. However, my Jeep has a Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking, and the sensor isn't the greatest. My car will automatically brake if it senses another vehicle too close, and most of the time, there is no reason to brake—it brakes hard and beeps, too. It usually scares me more than helps me.' Like many motorists, McGee finds the system 'crying wolf' so often that it can't be trusted. 'I can see its benefits if I need it to prevent an accident, but it seems to activate when it's not needed, and it makes things more dangerous.'
Automakers have spent billions of dollars engineering, developing, validating, and testing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). However, studies and interviews indicate that most consumers still find them infuriating—to the point where they are ignored or defeated. The reality is that drivers prefer to maintain complete control of their vehicles rather than trust current ADAS technology.
Drivers I interviewed want ADAS technology to drive naturally and predictably, mimicking the way they drive—staying smoothly within the lane on the road, anticipating the flow of highway traffic, gently applying the accelerator and brake, and memorizing familiar challenges such as backing out of a driveway at home. They want ADAS to drive more like a human.
Despite widespread consumer frustration with current ADAS technology, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is mandating that all new vehicles have emergency braking systems as standard equipment by September 2029. But unless automakers make drastic improvements to the technology, it appears that most drivers will simply shut it off.