Drivers want safety features, but won't give up control

Drivers are ready for new safety warning systems on their cars, but still want to keep control of their vehicle, according to the Harris Interactive 2008 AutoTechcast survey. This study found that half of respondents showed an interest in blind-spot detection technology and ranked it 10th out of 66 unique technologies for purchasing with their next vehicle. Twenty-nine percent of people said they were interested in purchasing a lane-departure warning system. The annual online survey was based on responses from 12,891 U.S. adults who own at least one vehicle.

While the survey found interest in these two new crash avoidance technologies, it also revealed that consumers would prefer their vehicles warn them so they can take the necessary action, instead of having the vehicle correct the situation on its own. In short, drivers are not ready to give up control of their vehicles.

Blind-spot detection systems warn the driver if a vehicle or object is within a vehicle's blind spot. Nearly three-quarters of consumers in the survey indicated that they would prefer a noise or vibration to alert them, but in either case, would prefer to take the corrective action themselves.

A lane-departure warning system detects when a vehicle is drifting out of its lane without an activated turn signal. As with blind-spot alerts, the warning could be audible, visual, or physical as with a vibrating steering wheel. Consideration for this technology isn't as high as blind-spot detection.

Currently the blind-spot technology has made its way to a few vehicles, such as the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS and STS, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and Volvo XC70 and S80. Lane-departure warning systems are available on some BMW, GM, and Infiniti models. Most manufacturers offer these technologies as an option and charge an extra fee. Appeal for these technologies in the survey dropped when consumers were made aware of the additional cost.

For more information on these and other future safety innovations, see our report on What's next in auto safety. Also, read "Ignorance is BLIS."

—Liza Barth