Vehicle safety technology report explores driver attitudes to safety features
Our Vehicle safety technology report, developed in partnership with Brake, the road safety charity, shows a lack of understanding among UK drivers of important safety features designed to prevent crashes and save lives.
In partnership with Brake, the road safety charity, we recently launched the Vehicle safety technology report exploring driver attitudes towards safety features in their cars and how they are used.
As part of our strategic partnership, we supported one of Brake’s road safety campaigns: All new vehicles to have life-saving technology fitted as standard. In April 2025, Dr Mike Lenné joined a roundtable with Professor Nick Reed and other industry experts where they discussed recent insights and public opinion on the topic and worked to define a set of recommendations for different industry sectors to follow, should the government agree to adopt all or any of the vehicle General Safety Regulation updates.
In addition to this, over 2,000 UK drivers were surveyed on their knowledge and use of vehicle safety technology in their cars. The report, published in October 2025, summarises these findings and shows many UK drivers don’t fully understand – and sometimes even switch off – important safety features designed to prevent crashes and save lives.
These findings align with similar research from around the world, underscoring the urgent need for better education around vehicle safety technology and how it supports safer driving.
At Seeing Machines, our mission has always been to ensure that technology supports people – with the ultimate goal of zero transport fatalities. Reports like this reinforce the importance of collaboration between industry, regulators, and the public to make advanced safety systems standard across all vehicles.
“This report reveals drivers’ strong commitment to safety, with a majority valuing safety ratings in their vehicle purchase choices and two-thirds willing to pay extra for protective features. This points to a huge potential for reducing road trauma… However, intent alone is not enough to deliver the safety outcomes we all seek. We must stop treating safety technology as optional. The time for voluntary uptake is over; the time is now for legislative leadership.” – Dr Mike Lenné – Chief Safety Officer, Seeing Machines.
The report indicates overwhelming public support for the mandatory introduction of life-saving vehicle features. As part of the launch, Brake wrote a letter to the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander MP, urging the Government to adopt the latest Vehicle General Safety Regulation (GSR) updates into the GB Type Approval Scheme.
