New Car Safety Features Under the Microscope

With all the advances in technology, we’ve recently entered a new era in car safety. Instead of focusing on reducing injury and death in a crash, today’s safety features aim to prevent an accident in the first place. Hopefully, the new tech covered below will help reduce traffic injuries and fatalities, but its full impact still remains to be seen.

Forward crash warning

When you are approaching a car that is stopped or moving more slowly than yours, a forward crash system will alert you that you are about to hit that car. This feature is offered under different names by various car makers and recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) because of the increase in distracted driving accidents. For this to work, however, drivers must heed the warning.

Automatic emergency brakes

Thanks to an agreement between most car makers and the NHTSA, automatic emergency brakes will be a standard feature on just about all light trucks and cars by the year 2022. When the feature senses a crash is imminent, it will automatically apply your brakes to minimize or avoid the impact.

Adaptive cruise control

More of a way to combat driver fatigue than an outright safety feature, adaptive cruise control adjusts itself based on the vehicles around you. If, for example, you set it at 65 mph but catch up to another car, the system will slow your car down so your car stays away from the other vehicle at a preset distance. Drivers will need to trust their car to speed up and slow down automatically to use this feature, and for those who do not use cruise control, it will be of no benefit.

Blind spot monitoring

This feature will scan your car’s rear corners and causes your side mirrors to light up when another car is present in those areas. While this is among the more common newer safety features already available, drivers must use their turn signals regularly for the most benefit. Some systems activate the mirror lights whenever a car is in a blind spot, but you won’t get the warning vibration or tone unless the turn signal is on.

Cross-traffic alert (rear)

Useful when you’re reversing out of a parking lot space, the cross-traffic alert senses when another vehicle is approaching the back of your car and will warn you when this happens. However, as with other features, it does have its limits. As the name implies, this system will only catch objects crossing from your car’s sides. No alert will be sounded if a car or person is right behind your car. Drivers will still need to pay attention when they are backing out of a space to avoid an accident.

New safety features may help prevent injuries and accidents, but only if drivers use them properly. Technology is not foolproof and does have its limits, so drivers will not be able to solely rely on safety features to avoid accidents. If you have been the victim of a car accident, speak to an experienced attorney, like a negligence lawyer Denver CO relies on, about your case today.

Thanks to our friends and contributors from The Law Office of Richard Banta, P.C. for their insight into personal injury practice.