Forget self-drive cars - parking sensors top list of most wanted driver aids

Parking sensors top this year’s new car driver aid top 10 with 65% of drivers saying they would be prepared to pay extra for the feature.  The survey of over 2,000 drivers, revealed that parking was definitely paramount when they are looking for a bit of technological assistance, with self-parking technology also making the list. 

Other popular features include in-car technologies designed to make driving safer such as tyre pressure warning systems, lane departure warning and braking assist, as well as those which make driving easier including automatic windscreen wipers and headlamps and electric seats with a memory function so at the press of a button, drivers can return their seat to their ideal position after someone else has driven their car.             

However, it seems that UK drivers aren’t quite ready for fully self-driving cars just yet with only 13% saying that they would pay good money to add the feature to their next new car. 

Other features which didn’t quite make it into the top 10 include in-car Wi-Fi hotspot (16%) and hands-free text reading (12%).

Commenting on the research findings, Matt Oliver, from GoCompare Car Insurance said, “Our research clearly shows that despite the availability of potentially more exciting driver aids, parking is the issue that drivers want technological help with.  According to Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency data reverse parking is one of the main reasons people fail their driving test, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that technology which makes reverse and parallel parking easier is so popular with drivers**.

“In recent years the size of cars has grown considerably – both in width and length, while the average size of parking spaces hasn’t changed – making parking even more of a challenge.”

“As far as insurance is concerned, we aren’t yet seeing a reduction in premiums for driver assist technology.  It’s still relatively early days and insurers need to build up a body of data on how effective the new technologies are in reducing accidents and claims’ costs before they are able to decide on whether they warrant a discount.”

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For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson, Martyn John or Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655132.

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

*On the 14 August 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,006 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panellists.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

** DVSA March 2017 - top 10 reasons why people fail the British driving test.

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