Drivers like in-car parking technology, Aviva survey finds

Drivers appreciate in-car parking technology but have concerns over driverless vehicles

Making parking easier is the main reason that most drivers use vehicle technology, reveals a survey conducted by insurance company Aviva. The Car Drivers survey also gauged people’s opinions on the use of dash-cams, mobile phones, electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Over half of respondents (56%) agreed with the statement “Vehicle technology can help for specific skills such as reversing or parallel parking”, whilst 49% feel that “Vehicle technology can make a positive difference”. Conversely, just 6% of respondents felt that vehicle technology does not make much of a difference.

The most common type of technology respondents reported that they had in their car were Bluetooth hands-free kits for mobile phones, which 46% said they have. The next most common technology were rear parking sensors, with 43% of respondents saying them have them.

The main reason that drivers said they use vehicle technology is “to help me when parking,” with 32% of respondents giving this answer. While the second most common reason for wanting to use technology is “so I can feel safe while driving”, with 23% responding this way.

Some 41% of British drivers think that the most important piece of technology when it comes to their safety while driving is a rear-view camera/screen for parking. The second most important is “a dash-cam” (36%) and third is automatic breaking (31%).

The main reason drivers do not use any vehicle technology when they are driving is because they were confident driving without additional help – 45% gave this as a reason. Secondary to this was that drivers feel that vehicle technology is expensive, with 23% of respondents saying this.

Dash-cams

Only 18% of respondents currently use a dash-cam at least sometimes (11% always, 6% sometimes). Furthermore, 20% of respondents do not use one and would also not consider using one in the future. Men are twice as likely to use a dash-cam (15%) compared with 7% of women. Of the respondents who said they use a dash-cam, the main reason given was: “I want to have proof of what happened in case of any incidents on the road” (76%). This is closely followed by worry about fraudulent claims by other driver (60%.)

Use of a phone while driving

When asked about mobile phone use while driving, the most common answer given was that the respondent “never” used their phone while driving (48%). A further 33% said that they only use their phone for hands-free calls while driving. Some 13% of respondents admitted to using their phone while the vehicle is stopped despite it being illegal. When looking at age groups, 7% of 18-24 year olds admit to using their phone while driving.

Electric vehicles

Three-quarters (74%) of respondents agreed with the statement: “Electric vehicles (EV) are more environmentally friendly than petrol and diesel vehicles”. Over half of respondents (59%) said that environmental consciousness is a concern when purchasing a vehicle and the majority of respondents (72%) said that environmental consciousness was a concern purchasing household products, selecting reusable products, compostable bin bags and recycled products.

A majority of respondents (57%) would be likely to consider purchasing an electric vehicle if it was available to them at a price they would consider reasonable. A third (32%) of respondents said they were fairly likely and 24% were very likely. 

When looking are the results by age, 18-24 year olds are much more likely to purchase an electric vehicle (73%), than 55+ (51%).

The majority of respondents (84%) said that the reason they would consider purchasing an electric vehicle is because they are “environment friendly”, followed by a desire to save money on fuel (69%) and anticipating future trends (54%).

The vast majority of women (92%) said they would be more likely to buy consider buying an electric vehicle because they are ‘environment friendly’ (92%)’; the figure for men was 78%. Men were more likely to consider buying an electronic vehicle because of ‘advanced technology’ (32%), than women (14%). 

The majority of respondents (81%) would be concerned about battery charge/ range when purchasing an electric vehicle. Followed by finding somewhere to charge the vehicle (74%), the time it would take to re-charge (66%) and the price of purchasing the vehicle (64%).

Londoners are the least concerned about ‘finding somewhere to charge the vehicle’ (62%). Whilst respondents in Scotland are most concerned (83%). 

Driverless cars

Just 27% of respondents said they would be likely to travel in a driverless car, with 11% being very likely and 16% being fairly likely. However, 62% of respondents say they would be unlikely to use a driverless car in the future. Looking at the difference between men and women, with 36% of men are likely to travel in a driverless car, compared with only 17% of women. 

Some 39% of respondents said they would not travel in a driverless car because they would rather be in control of steering and speed. A third (29%) of respondents said they would be concerned about being on the road with other vehicles that are not driverless.

A quarter (26%) of women said that they would not travel in a driverless car because they don’t understand how driverless cars work enough, compared to only 13% on men. 

A total of 31% of respondents said that their reason for travelling in a driverless car is that they think that the roads will be safer and it is an exciting development in technology. Only 9% said that it was because they do not like driving in general. 

The Key Findings Report is based on the results from the Aviva Car Drivers survey. Questions were asked to a nationally representative GB sample of 2,019 adult respondents aged 18 and over, of whom 1,487 were identified to be regular driver who drive less often than once a week. The online survey was undertaken between 21-22 March.