March 13, 2018
11 Types of New Tech That Can Prevent Car Accidents
When you go to purchase a new car nowadays, you may be very surprised at all the features available.
Technology has soared in the car industry and has completely changed the way cars operate.
While some of the features, like auto start and heated seats throughout the car are luxurious and nice to have, other options available make driving safer.
There are so many accidents that happen everyday due to a few seconds of distracted driving, or just human error.
And even after minor, yet costly accidents, people often say, “If I had just been paying more attention…”
You should always be attentive when driving, but when life happens, these safety options can make sure an accident doesn’t.
Here are 11 types of new tech that can help prevent car accidents.
1. Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)
AEB is a newer feature that alerts a driver to an imminent crash, and assist the driver in using the maximum braking capacity of the car.
If the situation becomes critical and the driver is not responding, AEB can independently brake.
There are 3 categories of AEB
- Low speed system – this system is designed for use on city streets to detect other cars in front of yours, in hopes to prevent crashes and minor injuries such as whiplash
- Higher speed system – scans up to 200 meters in front of your car and uses a long range radar for faster speeds
- Pedestrian system – picks up pedestrian movement in relation to the direction your vehicle is traveling and determines risk of collision
AEB goes by many names such as; active city braking, pre-crash safety system, and active city brake.
2. Back Up Camera
This feature isn’t brand new, but can be extremely helpful to drivers.
Many accidents happen at low-speed, like during parking.
A 360-degree camera system is a combination of cameras on all sides of a car, sensors, and a display inside the car.
It helps drivers see their surroundings behind them, which can be extremely helpful when backing up.
If a car gets to close to an object, most systems beep to alert the driver, giving the driver time to break.
Since this feature has been around for a while, it is fairly inexpensive to add when purchasing a car, and is valuable to have.
3. Auto-Steering
Today, some cars have auto-steering capability.
No, this doesn’t mean your car will full driver itself, but it can taking the steering wheel away from a driver in certain situations to avoid collision.
It will apply the breaks a steer around a potential pedestrian or object in the car’s path, all while staying within the current lane of traffic.
Many auto-steering systems work in conjunction with an automatic emergency breaking system.
4. LED Headlights
Quality headlights are crucial to preventing car accidents when driving at night time.
LED headlights are brighter, and typically last much longer than traditional halogen bulbs, some over 20 years.
Besides lighting up the street in front of you so you can see, LED lights are more efficient.
They convert 80% of the energy they use directly into light, only wasting 20%, compared to halogen bulbs that waste 80% of their energy.
The actually lighting that LED headlights provide is a greater quality of light. They provide clear and illuminating light, while being less blinding to other drivers.
An additional benefit of LED headlights is that they draw less energy from your car to produce a purer quality of light, which improves fuel efficiency.
5. Lane Departure Warning/Lane Keeping System
Lane departure warning is designed to prevent distracted driving errors.
Even if you just look down at the radio or to the passenger for a second, it can cause you to get distracted for long enough to shift the car.
A lane departure warning system uses cameras to determine if a car has drifted across a lane.
It sends an audible, vibration, or visual notification if your car has shifted too far.
There are two main types of systems
- systems that warn the driver if the car is leaving its lane
- systems that warn the driver, and if no action is taken, automatically take steps to ensure the car stays in its lane (also known as lane keeping system)
A lane keeping system involves more advanced technology and can even nudge a car back to its lane.
This can be vital if a car has shifted into the direction of opposing traffic.
6. Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
Rear cross-traffic alert is similar to a back up camera, but alerts you to approaching objects, instead of stationary ones.
The alerts are helpful when backing out of parking spaces, since it can detect approaching vehicles, people, carts, animals etc. and warn you.
It usually sounds a warning tone and flashes indicators on side mirrors.
7. Rear Automatic Emergency Braking (Rear AEB)
Vehicles that have rear cross-traffic alert often have rear AEB.
If an object is detected, brakes are automatically applied to prevent backing into it.
8. Autonomous Cruise Control (ACC)
Cruise control has been around a long time and can make long distance driving much more bearable.
ACC is a more advanced type of cruise control that automatically adjusts your cars speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead of you.
This way you can enjoy the benefits of cruise control, without having to slam on the breaks and reset it.
An even more advanced option, Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control, gathers information from satellites, roadside beacons, and mobile infrastructure to determine the distance between cars, and to adjust from there.
9. Bluetooth/Voice Control
Again, this one isn’t brand spanking new, but it is so beneficial in preventing distracted driving. Safe driving apps are on the rise and will continue to be funded due to the rise in car accidents caused by phone distractions.
In many states, texting and being on your phone while you drive is illegal, and for good reason.
Now, smartphones can automatically connect when in a Bluetooth capable car, and then if there is an incoming call you can answer using voice command.
Or you can use it to hear map directions.
Some phones even have voice texting that you can set up, or pre-made message responses you can easily select on a car display.
Other voice control systems let you do various things in the car such as change a song, turn on heat, and more.
10. Forward Collision Warning (FCW)
As the name implies, this system is designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision.
It uses radar, laser, and camera to detect an imminent crash and GPS sensors can detect fixed objects like an approaching stop sign.
It is detects something, the system will warn the driver, or take action without driver input to avoid collision.
11. Blind-Spot Warning
No matter what type of car you drive, there is always a blind spot.
Blind spots are the cause of thousands of accidents every year.
Blind-spot warning gives an audible or visual notification of a car in your blind spot.
Many systems provide additional warning if you use your turn signal when there is a car next to you in another lane.
Safety Features Prevent Car Accidents
Luckily, in new cars, many of these safety features are included in the base model.
Not only do these safety features help prevent car accidents, but they are good for your wallet too.
Many insurance companies offer lower rates to drivers with advanced safety features.
What to do after a Car Accident?
If you are in a car accident, your first concern is medical care.
Depending on the severity of the accident, you also need to get information from all parties involved.
However, if there has been a serious injury, call for medical help first.
After medical care has been established, you need to focus on your legal care.
To obtain the compensation you deserve, seek legal advice immediately from The Law Office of Donna Clark Frayne.
Donna has over 25 years has extensive litigation experience.
Although no two auto accidents are exactly the same, there are commonalities.
So, it’s also important for the attorney you choose to have experience managing cases that have dealt with your type of auto accident.
Wondering how to be a safer driver?
Check out our blog about new apps that make driving safer.