Cars can do a lot these days. If a driver has recently purchased a new vehicle, they are likely aware of how decked out it is with safety features that are meant to make our roads safer.
But new research is finding most drivers are not taking the time to comprehend its capabilities — and that has experts concerned.
"Technology is good, but when we use it right," said Phoenix resident Prakash Subramanian while next to his wife, Kavitha Prakash.
As parents to a teen driver, they want their daughter to know it all - not be a know-it-all.
"They listen better to other people than parents, right," laughed Kavitha Prakash.
The family enrolled their daughter at DrivingMBA to give her a place to get behind the wheel with an experienced instructor to learn the rules of the road. They do not want her to rely on safety features in the vehicle.
"We have back-up cameras... side cameras, but we are not teaching her to use that," said Kavitha Prakash. "Turn around and see... a car is coming or not."
AAA Arizona agrees about how drivers use the latest vehicle technology.
"They have the potential to really improve safety, but they are not the end all be all," said spokesperson Michelle Donati. "They should not be used as a crutch for drivers, but as a tool to advance safety on the roads."
Donati went over one of the recent studies conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Researchers looked into the understanding of one of the most common advanced driving safety systems: adaptative cruise control. They watched how it changed over the first six months of a driver owning their vehicle.
Donati said they found many drivers had an improved understanding of the system, but the level of understanding was not as good as it was for another group of drivers, who had short but extensive system instruction.
"So, the self-taught... learn-as-you-go-approach really led to some significant gaps in understanding," Donati explained.
She said some of the big concern too is that drivers believe their vehicle had safety features it really does not.
"We found was that drivers falsely believe that the vehicle could identify a stationary object in their lane, like a traffic cone or road debris," Donati said. "They falsely believe that the system could help keep their vehicle in its lane and intervene with steering control and they falsely believe that the system could operate in all weather conditions, which is not true."
AAA Arizona said do not drive off the lot without getting hands-on instruction from the dealer to know what the vehicle is and is not capable of. If a driver has already had the car for some time, dust off that owner's manual.
A reminder for all drivers that instruction is important - no matter how long they have been on the road.
"They need to know the technology - what will work... what will not work, right? Because technology is good as long as you know what is the reality of the technology," said Prakash Subramanian.
Have a road issue or a question for Operation Safe Roads? Call 833-AZ-ROADS or email roads@abc15.com.