Technology on cars is always getting better, but that doesn’t just mean it’s easier to stream your favorite music or put a movie on in the back seat for the kids. A lot of tech advancements can actually help to prevent accidents, including the following:
Front crash detection systems: These systems simply keep an eye on what’s in front of the vehicle, how fast it’s moving, and how quickly the vehicle is closing in on that object. The system can then alert the driver if a crash is coming. Some of the more advanced systems can even apply the brakes.
Adaptive cruise control: This is a similar system that monitors other traffic when cruise control is being used. It will then slow the car down if necessary to under the set speed to keep a safe distance between that vehicle and the one in front of it. Standard cruise control would cause a crash if no action was taken by the driver.
Blind spot monitors: One of the biggest reasons for an accident is when a driver simply does not see a vehicle in the blind spot and merges over into it. These monitors are constantly watching and can flash warnings when other vehicles are close.
Fatigue detection systems: These are fairly advanced and not as widely used, but they check to see if a driver is too tired by watching things like eye movement, steering, blink rates, and more.
These technologies can help prevent crashes, but older cars don’t have these options. With or without advanced safety features in their cars, drivers get into crashes every day throughout Chicago. If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may want to look into your rights to compensation.
Source: IIHS, “Q&As Crash avoidance technologies,” accessed June 07, 2016