Consumers are showing increased willingness to pay for active safety systems when compared to a similar study performed in 2009. An average of 50% of respondents in 2011 say they will pay for systems, compared to 35% in 2009.

Approximately half of European consumers say they will pay for Automatic Emergency Braking systems and Blind Spot Monitoring, according to the survey of drivers performed for the European Commission’s eSafety Challenge initiative, however, only one third of them are willing to pay for Speed Alert systems.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has the most consumer support with 67% of drivers saying they will pay for it and Adaptive Headlight systems were in second place with 58% of drivers saying they are prepared to pay for this feature.

“The survey shows consumers across Europe have very different levels of awareness of active safety technologies such as emergency braking assistance and blind spot monitoring,” says Stephen Longden, ITS & Telematics Specialist at SBD. “In general, German drivers have the highest level of awareness while UK consumers are among the least informed.”

In Germany, 89% of respondents are aware of ESC while in the UK this figure drops to just 41% of drivers questioned. However, awareness has increased by an average of 10% compared to a similar survey performed in 2009. There is a strong gender difference in awareness of active safety systems with men showing more knowledge than women.

The need for driver education campaigns about the benefits of active safety systems and government actions needed to encourage uptake of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are analysed in SBD’s recent report Kickstarting the mass market for ADAS ~ a review of the key market drivers. “Uptake could be encouraged by tax breaks for ADAS-equipped vehicles or reductions in insurance costs,” says Longden, the author of the new report.