Car crashes have been with us for a while now, and engineers have been working endlessly to minimize the effects of crashes. The better part of it is that there are also efforts being put in place to help prevent the occurrence of the accidents in the first place. This has been effective in reducing the menace of road crashes leave alone the effects.

And while it’s never nice to think about the worst that might happen on the road, ensuring your car has the right safety features can make all the difference in a collision. Thankfully, cars have never been safer, and manufacturers are continually developing vehicle technology to not only mitigate the effects of a collision but, in some cases, avoid one altogether.

Much of this technology is included as standard, but often varies from model to model. For instance, side airbags for rear passengers is often offered only as an optional extra, so it’s worth considering carefully. Vehicle safety kit can be classified as ‘active’, which will take action before an accident to improve safety, and ‘passive’, which operates to protect passengers once a crash has happened.

Sourced From: http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cars/article/car-safety-features-explained

Among the most current features in today’s cars are those which help prevent cars from rolling over, ramming into others or over-speeding. These features have been modified to take the place of the driver’s judgment and aiding them in decision making when driving. This is seemingly a better future for the automotive industry, these features come in different categories.

The combination of a sound structure, good restraint systems and active safety technologies provide the best chance of survival in a crash.

Structural Integrity – how the shell of a vehicle withstands and channels crash forces away from occupants. This varies substantially from make to make, and model to model. A sound structure is vital when it comes to saving lives.

Safety Features – built-in safety features such as airbags, antilock braking systems (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) and seat belt pre-tensioners help prevent or manage the forces of impact. All are critical features.

Safety Assist Technologies (SAT) – advanced safety assist technologies assist the driver in avoiding or reducing the severity of a crash. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning (LDW), blind spot monitoring (BSM) and fatigue monitoring systems (FMS).

Sourced From: https://www.ancap.com.au/understanding-safety-features

From the use of view aids to cameras, warning indicators and automatic response in modern cars, the technological development has come a long way. These new tech may not be on all cars on the road, but the few which have them are just an indicator of the future of safe driving.

Forward-collision warning (FCW) uses laser, radar, or cameras to assess surrounding conditions, as well as the speed of your approach to a potential impact with a vehicle ahead of you. The system alerts you with visual and/or audible signals to a potential crash, allowing you time to react. Some systems also sense and alert you to the potential for a collision with pedestrians. We want to see forward-collision warning standard in every car.

360-degree surround-view camera systems help drivers park more easily, and check for obstructions, through a bird’s-eye view from above the vehicle. Multiple cameras positioned around the car show parking lines relative to the vehicle, making maneuvering in tight situations a snap.

Automatic high beams take the stress out of driving on back roads at night by automatically turning off the high beams for oncoming traffic, and then turning them back up once the cars have passed. We’ve found some systems work much better than others, however.

Blind-spot monitoring signals when there’s a car in the blind spot beside you on the road. The best systems illuminate little lights in the side mirrors where you should be looking anyway. They emit a chime if you signal a move toward a car next to you. We’ve found these systems to be very effective.

Sourced From: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/03/must-have-car-features-and-those-you-can-skip/index.htm