Safety Tech in Vehicles Should Be Standard
Honda’s Research Institute has taken the initiative in improving safety tech in their vehicles for the future. The organization recently started a pilot program that will search for faded or missing highway lane markers. This system will use Honda vehicles to evaluate the road conditions that they frequently travel on. The company plans to collect the information, analyze it, and send it along to the Department of Transportation for road maintenance usage.
The pilot program classifies road markings from a scale of Ideal (green), Good (yellow), Needs Repair (red), and No Lane Lines (gray).
This is the second time in recent history that a business has tried to address the infrastructure problems that government has ignored for years. It is also the type of technology that should be available for every car. Imagine if you could avoid an accident because your vehicle warned you about a road defect? That got us to thinking about the safety features that come standard in cars, vans, and pickup trucks.
According to Kelly Blue Book, “airbags, along with seatbelts, antilock brakes, traction control, stability control, and backup cameras, are government-mandated.” That means that every new vehicle you buy will automatically have these features. Some auto manufacturers have begun to incorporate driver assistance technologies into their models that will help reduce traffic accidents and save thousands of lives each year as a result.
The inclusion of driver assistance technologies in all vehicles will help to keep not only the driver but other motorists and pedestrians safe. There are various types of safety technologies that have the power to warn drivers of potential accidents to take action that helps prevent traffic accidents.
- Collision warnings. These features help monitor a driver and warn the driver if he or she is in danger of a potential collision. Some examples of collision warning technologies include forward collision, lane departure, rear cross-traffic, and blind-spot features.
- Lane departure warnings. This tech issues a warning to a driver once the vehicle crosses the lane’s markers. The vehicle can also issue a warning if a potential collision is in danger of occurring while the driver is attempting to back out of a parking spot with the rear cross-traffic feature or if there is a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot with the blind spot feature.
- Automatic emergency braking. This safety tech allows the vehicle to note any pedestrian, cyclist, or vehicle in front of the vehicle, and automatically applies the vehicle’s brakes to prevent a collision. Blind spot intervention works in a similar way. It applies the brakes or takes over the steering if the driver attempts to switch a lane while a vehicle is in his or her blind spot.
- Adaptive cruise control. This feature allows drivers to automatically adjust their speed to maintain a safe following distance behind the vehicle in front of them. This helps drivers to reduce the risk of a tailgating accident happening.
- Lane-centering and keeping systems. The vehicle provides automatic, constant steering to ensure that the vehicle remains centered in its lane and does not drift off into another lane. The lane-keeping feature applies the same kind of safety for the driver by automatically steering the vehicle once the vehicle begins to depart from the lane that it is currently occupying. These features help to maintain the safety of the driver and the vehicle by automatically maintaining the proper driving conditions.
- Adaptive headlights. These headlights incorporate the use of sensors that are used to measure a driver’s steering inputs. They help to improve a driver’s nighttime vision by providing an accurate amount of illumination in the direction of the road ahead.
- 360-degree cameras. These systems provide a view of the space around the entire vehicle, and can help a driver perform tasks such as parallel parking in a more efficient manner.
- Parking assist. This feature allows a driver to let the vehicle park itself, and to drive itself in and out of difficult parking spots.
While some of these new technologies may seem a bit outlandish, there was a time when seat belts and airbags weren’t standard, either. It’s time car companies started making their safety features standard in ALL makes and models, and doing their share to make the roads safer for all of us.
Until they do, the Maryland car accident attorneys of Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. are ready to help. We have the skills, resources, and experience you want on your side when you have been hurt in a collision. Please call us at 410-730-7737, or submit our contact form to schedule a consultation. We are proud to serve clients throughout the state of Maryland.
Bruce Plaxen was honored as the 2009 Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Maryland Association for Justice. For more information on his legal background, please visit his attorney bio.