Driving down the road today entails much more technology than it ever has before. On our way to completely autonomous vehicles, today’s automobiles are smarter and better equipped to handle a variety of circumstances on the roads.
Watch the sci-fi novels of your childhood come alive over the next decade, but take stock in where we are now. Here is a brief look at some of the most efficient safety tech advancements in today’s vehicles.
Auto-emergency braking systems
In 2018, you’ll likely have to purchase a luxury car to experience auto-emergency braking systems, but that will all change by the year 2022. An agreement between most big-named car manufacturers and the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) says that this safety function will be standard on nearly all vehicles in the next 3-5 years.
Standardizing auto-emergency braking systems on all cars, SUVs, and small trucks is expected to drastically decrease the number of traffic accidents each year. Cut out the possibility of paying thousands over a car accident injury, and make sure your next vehicle comes equipped with auto-emergency braking.
The braking system works as such: If your vehicle’s built-in sensors detect an imminent collision at the speed you are currently cruising, the braking system will automatically engage. If you’re going to collide, no matter what, the braking system will do its best to minimize the impact.
Adaptive cruise control systems
Driving a vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control features will help to combat the simple mistakes of the fatigued or distracted driver. If you’ve been driving for hundreds of miles on cruise control, you may get a bit spaced out.
Adaptive cruise control systems help regulate your control settings with a little less effort from the driver. For instance, if you’re traveling around 75 mph and a car pulls into your lane going slower. Your adaptive cruise control will adjust the speed of your vehicle to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.
Blind spot/lane departure monitoring
Moving into another lane on a busy highway can be a perilous adventure, but driving a vehicle equipped with blind spot detection or lane assist will keep you safer during the transition. Blind spot detection will give the driver a physical or visual cue if there is another vehicle in their blind spot.
When your vehicle is equipped with lane assist, your car will do a little more than just let you know when there’s someone in the way. Lane assist will actually engage small corrections in the braking and steering systems of your vehicle to avoid a collision while switching lanes.
Rear monitoring/camera systems
Rear movement monitoring systems on today’s vehicles keep your kids’ bikes safe when they forget to move them from behind the car. Cameras displaying high definition live stream from behind your vehicle also make backing up much safer.