20 Technologies That Help Prevent Car Accidents

New Technology Now Available to Help Prevent Car Accidents

Technology has slowly become a part of everyone's day to the point that it is now unavoidable. There are not many people who can say that they spend a day without having anything to do with technology, and those who cannot see this! Now we can keep in touch with family, friends and those we work with no matter where we are, on the beach, at the mall or even driving. However, playing with any technology while driving, especially a cell phone, is dangerous, and last year, distracted technology contributed to more than 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Administration..

The Key To Preventing Car Accidents With Technology Is Reducing Human Error

The primary cause of any car accident is human error. Many automakers know this and are working hard to equip their vehicles with various features that will help drivers reduce the potential for making mistakes that can lead to an accident. New technologies in the automotive industry have helped reduce the number of car accidents around the world. Car accidents will likely continue to decline significantly with all the innovation and future technology available to drivers.

here's Our List of Some of the Top Technologies Available Now That Are Helping Prevent Car Accidents and Injuries:

1. AEB: Automatic Emergency Braking Systems

There are two types of brake assist technologies that fall into the category of AEB, or automatic emergency braking systems. Both technologies have been designed to help prevent injuries due to accidents in the rear of a vehicle. Rear-end accidents typically account for about a third of all car accidents each year. The “Crash Imminent Braking” system detects when an imminent collision with another vehicle is likely to occur and will slow or stop the vehicle even if the driver has not taken any action. “Dynamic Brake Support” will activate when the driver brakes but not hard enough to stop the vehicle.

2. Security Cameras

Backup cameras, also known as rearview video systems, have been designed to prevent accidents that occur when a driver is backing up. This type of accident often involves a bicyclist or pedestrian being struck by a vehicle pulling out of a parking lot. This camera will turn on whenever the vehicle is in reverse and will allow the driver to see the area directly behind the vehicle. Due to the great importance that this technology has had in preventing car accidents, it is now mandatory in all new vehicles manufactured after May 2018.

3. Blind Spot Detection

Using blind spot detection will help the driver make sure there are no vehicles in their blind spot when changing lanes. There are some versions of this type of technology that will allow the driver to receive constant updates on the status of their blind spot, and others will only provide warnings and information if their turn signal is on.

4. Lane Departure Warnings

With the use of cameras, this new safety technology can track the position of the vehicle within the lane markings. With Lane Departure Warnings, a warning will appear if you start to drift when no turn signal is activated. This is a great way to get a distracted driver focused on the road again. This warning is also a great way to avoid a side accident when changing lanes. There are some versions of this technology that even take control of the vehicle and ensure it stays within the driver's lane.

5. FCS: Forward Collision Systems

There are many people who end up in a rear-end accident for the simple reason that they were looking across the road or looking at their phone. For this situation, FCS or Forward Collision Systems are a great prevention system. This technology allows a vehicle to measure the distance between your car and the vehicle in front of it automatically and can then minimize the speed of your car which will minimize the impact of a collision.

6. Adaptive Headlights

An impressive new technology that is drastically minimizing road accidents is adaptive headlights. This is a kind of car headlights that will turn on when the steering wheel is turned. You might be wondering, how does this help prevent accidents? Consider when you turn on a dark road and a deer suddenly pulls out or another vehicle is in your path. Using adaptive headlights will allow you to see anything on the road, at all times.

7. ECS: Electronic Stability Control

Electronic Stability Control, or ECS for short, is a technological advance that does an excellent job of keeping vehicles from spinning out of control, even in climates that are risky. This technology works by reducing engine power through the application of the brakes to the wheels in the event of an accident that causes you to lose control. ECS has proven to be very useful, as it can probably prevent around fifty percent of all vehicle rollovers and other automobile accidents.

8. Vehicle Communication (V2V)

Recently autonomous vehicles have been a big focus in the automotive sector. This type of technology requires that vehicles have a type of communication between each other to avoid a collision.

The communication would probably be done by using GPS coordinates and other sensors that they are currently developing. This technology would not only need to be able to communicate with other vehicles, but also detect when other road users, for example cyclists and pedestrians, are near your vehicle.

9. Traction Control Systems

Traction control systems can help eliminate accidents caused by slippery roads. This technology helps prevent the vehicle's wheel from spinning out of control during acceleration or when the vehicle is starting, particularly when the roads are wet. This is a relatively different technology compared to the anti-lock braking system. Anti-lock braking aims to prevent the brakes from locking up by slowly decreasing the pressure applied to the brakes. To ensure that a vehicle's wheels do not unexpectedly spin when a driver exits onto a slippery surface, the speed of each wheel is reduced at the same time.

10. Auto Steering

There are some cars today that have the ability to drive automatically. However, this does not mean that your car can drive itself, but rather that it can take control of the steering wheel in specific situations to avoid a collision. The vehicle will apply the brakes and turn around the potential object or pedestrian in the vehicle's path; meanwhile, it will stay within the current lane of traffic. Many of the automatic steering systems work in conjunction with automatic braking systems.

11. Rear Cross Alert

A rear cross traffic alert is like a backup camera. However, it will alert you to any approaching object rather than a stationary object. These alerts are useful as they can tell you if there is an approaching vehicle when backing out of a parking space, or warn you of an animal, person, or other moving objects in your path. The alert is usually a warning sound, and indicators will flash in the side mirrors when something is approaching.

12. Led Light Headlights

This system is activated when there is an object behind detected. The brakes are automatically applied to prevent the driver from hitting the object.

13.AEB Rear

A vehicle that has the rear cross-traffic alert installed, also often has a rear automatic emergency braking system, also known as a rear AEB. If there is an object detected, the brakes of the vehicle will automatically be applied to prevent the driver from backing into the object.

14. ACC: Autonomous Cruise Control

Vehicles have long had cruise control, which can make long-distance travel much more bearable. Autonomous Cruise Control, also known as ACC, is a more advanced version of cruise control technology and will automatically adjust the speed of your car to help you maintain a safe distance from other vehicles in front of you. That way you can enjoy the benefits you can get from cruise control without the need to constantly slam on the brakes to reset it due to other drivers. There is an even more advanced cruise control option now called Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control, which will gather information from beacons on the road,

15. Voice Control / Bluetooth

While this is not entirely new technology, it is still useful in helping to stop distraction while driving. There are a ton of new safer driving apps out there and these will continually be funded due to an increase in car accidents caused by phone distractions. In many states, it is currently illegal for a person to be on the phone while driving. Now you can connect a smartphone to Bluetooth-enabled cars automatically, and when you get a call, you can answer it with a voice command. There is also an option to use voice command to assign addresses. Some voice control options may allow you to change the song on your phone, change the temperature, and many other options.

16. Anti-Recharging Teen Driving Tech

Now, even if you can prevent your teen from playing on their phone in the car, there are still other temptations for reckless driving with drivers this age. There are now products to help teens think twice about speeding or reckless driving.

There are GPS phone add-ons that will alert parents if the teen is driving too dangerously or too fast; an example is the SpeedDemon application.

17. Interlock Devices

Each year, more than 9,000 deaths can be prevented if an interlock device is implemented to monitor a driver for signs of drowsiness or intoxication. Some tools such as an in-vehicle breathalyzer that does not allow the vehicle to start if the driver's blood alcohol content is greater than 0.08.

18. Drowsiness Video Sensor

There's also a video drowsiness sensor that sits on the dash that will scan the driver's face for any signs of drowsiness. This sensor will pull the driver's seat belt or make noises to make the driver stop.

19. Gear Shift Palm Detection

Palm detection on the gearshift lever is a sensor that can lock the car in park if any traces of alcohol are detected. When the vehicle detects alcohol, the vehicle's navigation system will issue a voice alert for drunk driving. Nissan is one of the car dealers that offers this technology, along with several other dealers.

20. Phone Suppression Technology

New apps like Zoom Safer are improving road awareness and helping drivers ignore the phone. Zoom Safer is installed in the hearing aids to filter text messages and calls. This technology will block text messages and inform text messages that you are currently driving. It will announce any call over a loudspeaker, so the driver doesn't have to look at the phone.