The price of safetsafety

How much does protec protective tech cost on top-selling cars?

THE UK’S roads are busier than ever, with car drivers covering an estimated 254.4 billion miles last year; ear; the highest figure ever logged. Despite ite this growth, the number of accidents nts has fallen by 10 per cent over the past ast five years, while deaths on the road were down by four per cent in 2017. 7.

Improvements in car safety have undoubtedly played their part, with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance (LKA) and blind spot warning helping keep cars away from each other, and on the correct side of the road.

But which of the UK’S most popular cars get these features as standard? And if they’re not included, how much do they cost to add? We surveyed the 10 most recent best-sellers to find out.

Commenting on our findings, Colin Grover, principal engineer with safety expert Thatcham Research, said: “We push car makers to include the best safety equipment as part of the package. This is especially true of autonomous emergency braking.”

He also urged buyers to seek out models with standard safety systems.