Advanced safety features, like automated speed controls and automatic braking, are so annoying to British drivers that they’re turning them off, suggesting technology designed for safety may actually be a source of distraction and irritation — and no wonder, with cars suddenly braking or misreading speed limits.
That’s according to research from Which?, a UK consumer organisation, which found more than half (54%) of the 1,500 drivers it surveyed choose to disable at least one of five main Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in their car some of the time.
European regulators began requiring ADAS in 2022, making specific features mandatory in new models from 2022 and in existing models last year. These include intelligent speed assistance, advanced emergency braking, lane keeping assist, driver drowsiness, and “black box” event data recorders.
The aim was to boost safety and reduce car crash casualties, but part of the road to introducing further automation into cars. The UK doesn’t have the same rules legally mandating ADAS as yet, but cars tend to feature the software as they’re designed for use across the wider market; reports suggest as many as 90% of cars in the UK manufactured since 2018 have ADAS of some sort.
But this research suggests that ADAS systems aren’t living up to expectations in the real world — and can be a serious distraction and irritation to drivers.
ADAS automated safety features a “nightmare”
After all, who wouldn’t want a smart lane-keeping system verifying your shoulder check or speed assistance to avoid tickets? Brits, it would seem — but with good reason.
One driver, 75-year-old Eileen, was quoted by Which? as saying driving had gone from a lifeline to a “nightmare” after she purchased a Hyundai i20 hatchback in 2023. That’s because the ADAS system misreads speed limits — telling her the limit is 30mph when it’s actually 80mph — and unnecessarily correcting her steering, even when in parking lots.
“To feel the steering wheel suddenly spin and the car begin to swerve was terrifying,” she told Which?. “I’ve seriously considered getting some old, beat-up car from five years ago that doesn’t have this technology.”
Eileen isn’t the only one. Which? cars expert Michael Passingham tested 11 different cars featuring these systems: “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.”
Drivers switching off ADAS
According to the survey, 46% of drivers surveyed turned off speed limit alerts, with most saying they felt they didn’t need it, though there were also reports it picks up the wrong signs and misreads others.
The second most frequently disabled feature was lane keep assist, turned off by 42% of those surveyed, mostly because they found it dangerous, annoying or distracting.
Another third disabled emergency braking, drowsiness monitoring, and blind-spot monitoring — again, drivers turned off the latter because it was distracting.
ADAS features can be turned off, but not permanently; drivers need to change such settings every time they drive.
The Which? research follows an earlier report suggesting ADAS features could become a threat to road safety if damaged in an accident.
Test drive ADAS before you buy
The consumer rights organisation called for industry and regulators to do a better job ensuring these safety features are fit for purpose and don’t add to drivers’ distraction, and warned anyone shopping for a new car to test drive carefully with ADAS enabled to see how the features work on the road.
“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,” said Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine.
“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,” he added. “Turning it off should only be a last resort as if you turn the systems off, they’re not protecting you, or anyone else.”
In a statement provided to the consumer-rights organisation, Hyundai said: “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.”
But until that possible software upgrade arrives, expect drivers like Eileen to keep switching off automated safety tools for cars like ADAS.
