The Newest Car Safety Systems You Should Know
Cars are better than ever before and they’re built to provide high performance and efficiency while lasting longer than previous models. What you might not know is that they’re safer, too. New body designs ensure that passengers and drivers are protected both on and off the road. These days, cars are smarter and can keep you safe without any effort on your part. Here are the newest car safety systems you should know about and how they keep you and your family safe.
Automatic Emergency Brakes (AEB)
First off, you need to ensure your family’s car is in good shape before leaving yourself in its figurative hands. But once you take care of the basics, devices like automatic emergency braking (AEB) can look out for you and yours. AEB can detect potential collisions through a system of cameras and sensors that detect when you’re getting too close to surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, or other objects and hazards. Even if it can’t stop in time, the impact is considerably lessened by AEB. Your reaction time can currently be aided, and will eventually be replaced, as AEB systems are refined.
Lane Departure Warning
Drowsy driving causes a tragically large number of crashes and casualties on our highways. Too many drivers drive for far too long or hit the road with horrendous sleep deficits. While the best way to stop this is by getting a full eight hours of sleep every night, lane departure warnings keep you in your lane by announcing or buzzing an alert when you appear to be veering off. Lane Keeping Assist is a more advanced system that detects road surface markings and, when you begin to leave the lane, slowly adjusts the steering to get you back on track.
Facial Recognition Software
Cameras are popping up all over our vehicles, beginning with vehicle backup cameras that give a rear view as you pull out of the garage, driveway, or parking spot. Other camera systems provide a 360-degree view around the car’s exterior as well, while cabin cameras can show concerned parents what’s going on with the kids in the back seat. The next step is facial recognition software, which combines with an internal camera to detect if the driver seems inattentive or too sleepy to drive, thus alerting them.
Heads-up Display
Another one of the newest car safety systems you should know is the heads-up display. Fans of science-fiction and high-tech gear will appreciate having necessary data like speed, mileage, directional data, and more projected on their windshield. This eliminates the need for drivers to look down and away when their eyes should remain on the road. After years of flicks showing on-screen data in faster-than-light spaceships, it’s pretty cool to know that the future is now.