Many years ago, there was a time when inner tubes in car tires could burst, send vehicles off the road while in motion, causing property damage, injuries, and even death(s). Then technology advanced and bought seat belts, roll bars, vehicle crash crumple zones, airbags, reinforced steel beams in the doors, and more in cars. These features have made cars much safer for passengers which have resulted in fewer injuries and deaths.
In the 1980s, traction control helped the tires of vehicles have a better grip on the road while accelerating. Then the use of electronic stability control became common and replaced the older technology. Like traction control, it also helped car tires to grip the road moreover, it prevalent vehicles from sliding and slipping over the road.
The purpose of every safety feature of each generation in the car was to save the life of the driver and passenger. Over the past 70-80 years, vehicle technology has significantly advanced and improved the lives of millions of people.
Latest Car Safety Features
Although research and development are ongoing and every major car manufacturing company is always creating amazing safety features, there are some safety features worthy of mention. Here are some cool features that help prevent crashes.
- Lane Departure Warning: This system notifies the driver when the vehicle is drifting into the other lane. When the driver is not paying attention or dozing this feature comes into play. It identifies the lane change by using a marker and warns the driver using audible noise or vibrating the steering wheel or seat of the driver.
- Forward Collision Warning: Detects things that come in the path of a vehicle like a pedestrian or other solid object and it informs the driver that they may need to stop or slow down.
- Adaptive Headlights: This is the latest system which is available in more expensive and higher-end vehicles. It turns the headlights in the direction where the vehicle is pointing. For drivers, it becomes easier to see what comes in front of them while taking turns, especially on zigzag roads. Drivers can see people, animals, or parked cars to avoid crashing into them. Proper headlight illumination is valuable in terms of road safety.
- Adaptive Cruise Control: When the cruise control feature was first introduced, it helped drivers in maintaining a constant speed on long distant roads without keeping their foot for too long on the gas pedal. Adaptive cruise control feature works in the same except it enables drivers to set a rate of distance and speed they prefer to have between them and the other vehicle in front of them. When the speed changes and the car moves out of the path of the driver, the adaptive cruise control readjust the speed and distance of the vehicle.
- Drowsiness Detection: Bumper-to-bumper traffic, late-night driving, and long trips can turn an otherwise pleasant trip into a nightmare. Driver boredom and fatigue can get an experienced driver into an accident. This feature uses tugs on the seat belt, slight vehicle braking, audible noises, and other signals to alert the drowsy driver.
- Blind-Spot Monitoring: There are always one or two spots around the vehicle that we cannot see no matter how many mirrors a car has. This feature uses cameras and radar to prevent drivers from falling victim to the dilemma and hazard of blind spots while driving. This feature makes a flash on any side of the mirror an audible noise to alert the driver that it is unsafe to change the lane.
- Parking Assist: It is not easy to park the car in a tight spot or parking when other cars zoom past your vehicle. Vehicles with car assist have cameras and sensors that guide your vehicle to park without causing any harm.
- Windshield Displays: There is always a chance of an accident when the driver has to keep looking at a navigation system, speedometer, or other data while looking down at the vehicle’s instrument panel. With the help of the windshield display, the driver keeps their eyes on the way along while being able to read important driving info displaying on the windshield, where it is easy to read.
- Braking-Assist Technology: It’s very rare that drivers apply brakes fast in emergencies to prevent an accident. Braking assist has solved this problem by recognizing how far the object is and increases the brake pressure automatically to avoid the collision.
- Rear Mounted Cameras and Radar Sensors: While driving, we never know what or who may be behind the car, below the view of the rear-view mirror. Bumper-mounted radar sensors and rear-facing cameras help in detecting the people, animals, or other stationary hazards behind the vehicle.
Will These Safety Features of the car Prevent Accidents?
Neither technology nor the driver is perfect. Therefore, cars will still get into accidents despite these and other safety features. Car safety experts and San Diego car accident lawyers will to the fact that numerous instances of car accidents have been prevented because of these advanced technology features of modern cars. So while they are not 100% guaranteed to prevent a car accident, they are a step in the right direction.