Vehicle Safety is essential in driving – that statement doesn’t need any further explanation, what with the multitude of driving-related accidents since time immemorial. As among the top causes of death in the modern world, traffic accidents have prompted automakers to respond by constantly developing safety features for their cars. Automakers have already gone far from just relying on airbags and seatbelts as their prime vehicle safety features for the cars they make – as technology flourished, they have managed to up the ante on securing drivers and passengers. This article discusses some of the best new vehicle safety features in cars today – you know your car is keeping you safe and sound if it has at least one of these.
1: Smartphone navigation system
Integrating your smartphone to your fairly new car’s infotainment system has now been made possible through the likes of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Using those smartphone navigation systems allows you to make calls, compose text messages, and scan the rest of your smartphone’s contents through your car. Such is a welcome development in an era when driving distraction due to smartphone usage continues to produce victims. What’s even more intriguing about smartphone navigation systems is the fact that you can use voice commands to operate your smartphones in-car, enabling drivers to have hands-free access with minimal distractions to their driving.
2: Lane departure warning system
As a driver, you’re well aware that staying in the proper lane at all times is mandatory not just for your safety, but also for following traffic laws. Yet, with so many accidents caused by wrongful lane positioning, automakers have made it a point to prevent drivers from making such mistakes by developing lane departure warning systems. Through a multitude of sensors integrated into a computer program, lane departure warning systems work by warning drivers audibly or visually once they’ve moved out of their lanes. More advanced versions are able to control cars back to their original lane, keeping them safe from the perils of crashing on other cars.
3: Backup camera
Vehicle Safety in driving isn’t just exclusive to drivers and passengers – it also accounts the well-being of pedestrians or other cars. Given that, automakers have considered issues related to path visibility for reversing cars. From crashing on other objects to running over pedestrians, running cars on reverse have caused several accidents. Such is the reason why the backup camera has been developed – they provide drivers with a clear view of what’s behind them as they run on reverse through the screen of their cars’ infotainment systems. With that, rear-viewing no longer becomes a literally head-turning experience. Parallel parking no longer becomes a chore too, thanks to the way backup cameras provide a clear view of what’s in the way as cars move on reverse.
4: Collision prevention systems
Highway runs aren’t complete without the risk of vehicles suddenly stopping in front of you as you cruise well within the indicated speed limit. For several times, fatal accidents have been borne out of cars rear-ending those in front of them that stop all of a sudden. You might as well find yourself cringing just imagining those things, given their inevitability and the fact that they require drivers to properly time their reflexes in braking. Enter collision prevention systems, which automatically alerts drivers of the presence of objects – cars, people, or other debris, as their cars move forward. That, for sure, should prompt you to steer clear or apply the brakes in the event you’re about to run over a stray animal, collide with a car that suddenly stopped, or smash on a seemingly invisible wall. More advanced versions even prompt the car to automatically brake in the event of an upcoming collision.
5: Blind spot detection
Not all drivers are skilled enough to avoid all blind spots when maneuvering their cars. In fact, you yourself know that you’re limited to a certain extent when it comes to detecting blind spots – just see for yourself if you’re among those having a hard time doing parallel parking, for instance. No matter how much you tune your mirrors to their proper positions, it’d still be difficult for you to actually have a clear estimate of how close you are to running over any object inadvertently. But now, with blind spot detection, drivers can now adjust their maneuvers properly as the system warns them if something’s on their way. Through that, drivers can properly estimate as they maneuver their cars to safety.