No one wants to be in a car accident, even a minor fender-bender. This is the fuel that drives innovators to continue developing vehicle safety features.
Here are seven safety features available now, and two more you can expect to find standard on vehicles within the next few years.
1. Automatic braking
Perhaps you have one of the newer vehicles that came equipped with the automatic emergency braking system, which can sense an impending collision. If you do not brake in time, the system activates and brakes for you. This feature is already shown to have reduced the incidents of rear-end collisions.
2. Adaptive cruise control
The ACC system, available on many new cars, uses radar and sensors that monitor the distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you to keep you from getting too close.
3. Rear-view camera
Also currently widely available is the rear-view camera, so you can see objects behind you—children pets, trash cans—when you put your vehicle in reverse.
4. Lane departure warning
Lane departure warns you when you begin to drift outside your lane. A companion feature, lane keep, will gently guide you back between the lines.
5. Blind spot detection
Forget having to look over your shoulder. The blind spot detection system uses small orange or yellow lights in your door mirrors to warn you of vehicles coming up from the rear.
6. Safety exit assist
Safety exit assist prevents children in the back seat from opening the door when bicycles or other vehicles approach from the rear. Look for this feature to become standard within the next four to five years.
7. Facial recognition
This safety feature monitors driver awareness level and sounds a warning if you are not paying attention to your driving. This, too, will be available on most cars in the next few years.
Reducing injury and death
Serious injuries can result from even a minor collision. In addition to head, neck and back injuries, knee and leg injuries are common after impact. Along with head trauma, severe facial injuries also result from striking the steering wheel. New safety features help prevent car crashes so that you, as a responsible driver, may never have to experience one.