The presentation of intelligent speed assistance systems in car showrooms: Insights from car salespeople and customers

Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is a technology which can reduce car crashes by informing the driver that they are speeding or directly intervening to reduce the vehicle's speed. Car salespeople can play an important role in raising customers' awareness of ISA and its benefits; however, no research has examined how car salespeople present ISA to their customers. Through online semi-structured interviews with 12 UK car salespeople and open-question responses from 48 UK customers who had recently bought an ISA-fitted car, we explored how car salespeople presented ISA and how best to deploy behavioural interventions in real-world sales to promote its use. We found that the salespeople's approach towards presenting ISA: (i) can depend on wider organisational factors (e.g., salesperson training or aftersales care for customers) related to selling ISA-fitted cars; (ii) considers the customer's level of interest in ISA during the vehicle presentation phase; and (iii) can enhance drivers' understanding of ISA. These results offer important practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners in deploying behavioural interventions to promote the use of ISA and reduce fatal driving crashes.