84% of UK motorists support drink-driving vehicle immobilisers
This figure makes particularly interesting reading for insurers looking to reduce the costs of drink driving related incidents and is especially significant when combined with the fact that 66% would specify additional technologies when buying a new vehicle, specifically to benefit from discounted insurance premiums.
The level of support for alcohol detection devices is in stark contrast to the 39% of respondents who stated they would support the introduction of technology designed to make it impossible to exceed the speed limit.
These findings are very timely with the recent reduction of the BAC limit for drivers in Scotland earlier this month and the festive season’s imminent arrival, putting drink driving high on the national agenda.
‘These results clearly demonstrate the high level of support for innovation designed to minimise drink driving,’ commented Pete Marsden, National Windscreens’ commercial director. ‘There is a clear opportunity for insurers to capitalise on this support with premiums that differentiate between vehicles with and without this safety feature.’
As an organisation operating in the automotive repair industry, National Windscreens has undertaken research into a wide range of motoring safety technologies at various stages of development to help identify industry trends to inform future business decisions.
This latest survey was completed by 540 National Windscreens customers in October as part of an ongoing programme to establish awareness and attitude towards technology innovations designed to improve motoring safety.
When asked which safety technology had the most potential to reduce road accidents, 17% of survey respondents cited alcohol detection systems – just 2% less than the most popular answer which was Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB).
According to the Department for Transport, despite significant reductions in recent years there were still 230 UK deaths attributed to drink driving in 2012. And with alcohol cited as the cause for 6630 road accidents per annum, in addition to the human cost this issue obviously has huge financial implications for the motor insurance industry.
Katie Beck
Katie joined Fleet World in 2012 as an editorial intern, following the completion of an English and American Literature BA from the University of East Anglia. She accepted a full-time position as an editorial assistant at the end of the internship period, and was promoted to the role of features editor in 2014. She works across the magazine and website portfolio, and administrates the social media channels.
