Drivers across Sunraysia and the Mallee are being encouraged to understand their car’s safety features and avoid switching them off, following alarming new research.
It found 1 in 5 Australian drivers have disabled their car’s safety systems with many saying they find them “annoying”, “distracting” or “too sensitive”.
Among the systems most likely to be dialled-down or turned-off are lane assist and departure warnings (45%), adaptive cruise control (17%) and automatic emergency braking (16%).
However AAMI’s Motor Prevention Manager, Mary Kennedy, says that’s despite evidence showing they can help LOCALS avoid dangerous and costly collisions.
“In car safety features aren’t just gadgets, they’re designed to help protect us and make our roads safer. We should be embracing these features, not turning them off.”
“Nose to tail collisions are the most common type of crash on our roads – they’re expensive, occur frequently, but most importantly many are preventable.”
The research findings were compiled through a national survey with a representative sample of 2,007 Australian car drivers aged 18+ and was conducted by Pure Profile in June 2025 on behalf of AAMI.
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/car-dashboard-speedometer-speed-2667434/
