When you are ready to purchase a new vehicle, you may be surprised at how much more technology vehicles include these days. You may be impressed with all the in-car entertainment options you can utilize, as well as the vehicle’s safety technology systems.
Many of the newest car safety features are now becoming must have’s, including
- blind spot monitoring
- forward collision warning
- lane keeping assist
When used correctly, these safety technology features may decrease accident rates by 40%, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Understanding car safety tech features
However, drivers must understand these technologies and their limitations to help reduce accidents caused by driver error. One thing that drivers may not realize is that blind spot monitoring doesn’t accurately detect pedestrians or bicyclists all the time.
Drivers also may confuse the difference between automatic emergency braking and a forward collision warning. A forward collision warning is just that: a warning that a vehicle or object is ahead of you and you may collide with it. Auto emergency braking will engage the brakes to stop the vehicle before hitting another object.
Distracted driving and safety technology
If a vehicle has adaptive cruise control (where it detects if your vehicle should increase speed or reduce it), that doesn’t mean drivers can engage in other activities while using it. Drivers still need to pay attention for sudden changes in traffic or road conditions while using adaptive cruise control.
Drivers shouldn’t become complacent and allow themselves to become distracted behind the wheel, no matter what safety technology their vehicles have. Distracted driving is the top cause auto accidents, which may not change if drivers solely rely on technology to reduce crashes.
In the end, car technology safety features will become more and more common in vehicles in the coming years. Drivers need to learn how to use the features, yet still realize that they shouldn’t solely rely on technology to avoid an accident to truly make a difference in reducing accidents.