If you drove one of the first cars to ever exist, think how amazed you would be if you could see what’s rolling off an assembly line or cruising the streets in 2021. Today’s vehicles look entirely different, and they also have many safety features that did not exist back then.
That’s as it should be, though, since today’s cars can go so much faster than the original ones could. They are much more powerful as well.
Today, we’ll look at some of the best new safety features that you can find on modern cars. If you’re shopping based on safety, you’ll want to be on the lookout for these.
Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive cruise control utilizes lasers, cameras, radar, or some combination of those three. You activate it, and then you can keep a constant distance between your vehicle and the car ahead of you.
If your adaptive cruise control is doing what it’s supposed to do, you can automatically keep a safe distance between your car and those around you, which you couldn’t do with previous cruise control versions. If you’re on the highway and the traffic slows, this latest cruise control will stop the car and then start it up again when vehicle ahead moves forward.
The car companies that offer this feature tested it thoroughly before making it available. However, if you’re ever in a vehicle and another car hits you that had its cruise control feature on, you’ll probably need to contact an experienced car accident lawyer.
You can find out more about doing so here. There are few reported incidents of that happening, but a mechanical failure is always possible.
Pedestrian Detection
Pedestrian detection is rather ingenious because it uses multiple other modern vehicle safety features. The cars that have it utilize automatic emergency braking and forward-collision warning technology.
The vehicle will have radar or cameras, or both. These can detect when a pedestrian enters the vehicle’s path. Some of the systems that are in cars today will use an audible signal to alert the driver. Some will start the car’s emergency braking system if they determine that a collision is likely.
Brake Assist
Brake assist is another popular automotive feature these days. It’s a system that detects if another car, object, or person appears suddenly in front of the vehicle.
The driver in that situation usually initiates a panic stop by mashing down on the brakes. The technology helps the brakes grip with maximum force rather than the slower, gradual stop they would otherwise execute.
This system works very well with anti-lock brakes, which are standard now on most vehicles. The system allows for what car companies call “threshold braking” without completely locking the car’s wheels.
The reason this technology exists is that studies showed that even when a driver attempted a panic stop, they did not press down on the brakes as hard as they could. This tech helps them to do that, making a collision unlikely and potentially saving many lives. Cyclists and pedestrians will undoubtedly be glad to hear about this feature.
Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
Busy parking lots are one of the places where collisions can often occur. If someone is about to back out of a space, but they can’t see what’s behind them very well, that’s a potential injury formula.
The rear cross-traffic alert sensor helps you when you put your vehicle in reverse. It’s also useful if you’re backing out of the driveway at home and into a busy street where there are cars passing by or children playing.
Some of the more advanced systems will even brake automatically if they detect a person or object behind you. This is usually only on high-end vehicles, but inexpensive ones might have it soon as well.
Lane-Keeping Assist
Lane-keeping assist is another fantastic innovation that some car companies refer to as LKA. LKA senses when you leave your lane due to cameras and radar.
The vehicle can detect what lane you should be in based on real-time sensor information. If you begin to drift away from your lane, it will steer the car back in. Sometimes, you’ll also get a warning noise or a dashboard indicator light.
You also might look for features like active head restraints, automatic high beams, and various parking assist systems. None of these are standard yet, but as time passes, you should see many more of these features on a wider vehicle range than what exists now.
