A DIZZYING array of sophisticated equipment in new cars is causing dashboard confusion among drivers, according to a new report.
The latest models come with a range of gadgets from cruise control to parking sensors.
More than one in three motorists admit they do not understand the lights and warning symbols on their instrument panels.
Motoring groups said confusing dashb
oards put drivers at risk of ignoring important alerts of problems. They said the revelation underlined the importance of motorists reading their vehicle handbooks to ensure they knew what warning signals meant.
In a survey of 2,000 people by Britannia Rescue, a breakdown firm, 37 per cent of those questioned said they did not understand the lights and warnings on their dashboards.
Commonly used abbreviations proved even more problematic, with nearly two in three people mistakenly thinking FWD stood for four-wheel drive, rather than front wheel drive.
Nearly one in four could not correctly identify the abbreviation of ABS as anti-lock braking system.
Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA, said: "There is an awful danger of a warning light being ignored and drivers running into problems.
"With the introduction of new devices, such as ABS, airbags and power steering, dashboards have filled up with all sorts of lights and drivers get confused about what they all mean.
"Warning lights tend to be red or amber – and people don't know whether to take the amber ones seriously.
"The simple solution is to read the handbook."
Mr Bosdet said drivers hiring cars should be particularly wary, because vehicle manuals were often missing and even emergency phone numbers were sometimes not supplied. He said hirers might be held liable if they broke down and had ignored warning lights with which they were unfamiliar.
Neil Greig, the Scotland director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists' Motoring Trust, said: "Despite the increasing complexity of modern cars, the basic information requirements remain the same. It is up to drivers to read their car handbook and for car makers to do more to make them easy to read."
Bruce Young, the Lothian and Borders co-ordinator of the Association of British Drivers, said: "Manufacturers colour-code warning lights to tell the driver whether to limp to a dealer or stop immediately, and any non-routine light should prompt the driver to check the handbook for its significance and advice."
Red alert: this car will kill the planet (but it's not sporty, oh no)CIGARETTE-STYLE "health warnings" in adverts for gas-guzzling cars are expected to be proposed by the European Commission this month.
Figures showing vehicles' fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions would have to be displayed far more prominently, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. It also suggested that the crackdown may go further and "any references to sportiness and driving pleasure would be frowned upon".
The move would be aimed at encouraging drivers to switch to less-polluting vehicles.
According to an EC policy document seen by the magazine, "the plan is about nothing less than rebuilding society and changing habits in consumption and production".
Car manufacturers are required by the UK government to display emission figures in easy-to-read text in adverts, which must include those for the most polluting version of the model featured.
Any new proposals would have to be approved by the government, which has already disagreed with the EC over the timescale for a cap on new car emission levels.
The EC has proposed a 130gkm limit by 2012 compared to the current 180g/km average. The government backs a stricter 100g/km target, but not until 2020-25.
