Car tech is advancing—but demand? Not so much

“So, yeah, what exactly does that do?” 

That still seems to be a common reaction among drivers when it comes to some of today’s in-vehicle safety tech.

The details: A new study by AutoPacific—which measures consumer demand and awareness for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS)—found that while some features are gaining traction, many still fall flat when it comes to real-world relevance.

By the numbers:

• While awareness among consumers survey is relatively strong for more established features—like Automatic High-Beam Headlights (76%) and Adaptive Cruise Control with Active Lane Centering (67%)—it drops off fast from there.

• Only 48% of vehicle owners are familiar with Cyclist and Pedestrian Detection, and just 11% have heard of Safe Vehicle Exit Assist. 61% of owners say they’ve used high-beams, but only 15% have ever engaged exit assist.

• Night Vision tech, on the other hand, seems to intrigue consumers. Awareness sits at 44%, yet nearly 60% of consumers say they’d want it on their next vehicle.

But here’s the twist: Just because a feature is known—or even used—doesn’t mean drivers want to keep it.

Zooming out: Features that track driver behavior closely—like Speed Limit Warning and Distracted or Drowsy Driver Monitoring—ranked high in awareness and real-world use, but much lower in demand.

In fact, these two features had some of the highest levels of dissatisfaction in the study. 18% of those who’ve experienced Drowsy Driver Monitoring, and 17% of Speed Limit Warning users, say they didn’t like the feature at all.

Yes, but it’s not just what the system does—it’s how it behaves. 

• Roughly 44% of Speed Limit Warning users felt neutral about it, often citing constant nagging alerts and rigid functionality. 

• Drowsy Driver Monitoring drew similar complaints: not working properly, too sensitive, and no way to adjust it.

• Even Rearward Automatic Emergency Braking—one of the more in-demand ADAS features—got flagged by some users for being too abrupt or overly reactive.

Bottom Line: “Build it and they will come” might work in Hollywood, but not with ADAS. Automakers can’t just install features and hope drivers figure them out.

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