This report contains the results of the University of Iowa’s National Survey of Consumer Driving Safety Technologies. The survey examined drivers’ understanding and knowledge of, and familiarity with, new vehicle safety systems as they relate to how such systems work or don’t work. The National Survey focused on nine vehicle safety features: anti-lock braking systems (ABS), cruise control, traction control, tire pressure monitoring system, back-up/rear view cameras and back-up sensor warning systems, adaptive cruise control, blind sport warning systems, forward collision warning systems, and lane departure warning systems.
The National Survey’s findings are guiding the National Education Campaign with regard to current consumer and public knowledge, and awareness of vehicle safety technologies. The University of Iowa Public Policy Center conducted an online panel study that is representative of the U.S. driving public. The final dataset includes responses from 2,015 adult drivers across the United States.
The National Survey results show that there are generally low levels of knowledge, not only about emerging safety technologies such as adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning systems, but also about technologies that have significant market penetration or are standard, such as anti--‐lock braking system and tire--‐pressure monitoring systems.
With the results from the National Survey, the University of Iowa was able to target the technologies that will be phased into the American public over the duration of the campaign. Additionally, the National Survey provided insight into the types of resources that respondents would utilize in searching for information regarding their vehicle.