Today's cars have advanced crash prevention breaking, intelligent heads-up displays and pre-crash alters, but customers still think the tech companies Apple and Google can do a better job, according to a survey by CarSafetyRules.com.
The study asked 1,000 new car owners in the UK which brand would be most likely to develop technologies to best improve road safety. Apple took the lead, with 21% of the vote, with Google ranking a close second at 19.8%. Both beat Volvo, a brand widely known for high safety standards, which garnered 19.7% of user confidence.
Apple's victory is somewhat surprising, given both Google's and Volvo's successful forays into self-driving cars. Alternately, Apple has not made any formal announcements regarding plans for a full fledged car.
The Cupertino-based company has only been publicly focused on improving safely features relating to Siri's driver's assistant features, which improves driver safety but doesn't yet match either Google's or Volvo's progress.
Still, it's no secret that the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs had his sights on the automotive industry and multiple board members have admitted to discussion of an Apple vehicle, although no firm plans have been confirmed. These comments, coupled with Apple's commitment to quality products, may have contributed to Apple's car safety reputation.
"Consumers expect future cars to be more intelligent and to offer more electornics support to improve safety," said Tristan Honeywill, Editor of CarSafetyRules.com. "But they mainly see brands like Google and Apple delivering these types of advances."
DANIEL BERG for LAPTOP Magazine
