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Today’s cars and SUVs are stuffed with advanced safety features to keep you and the ones you love safe. The next time you’re in the market for a new ride, look for the following safety features.
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)
More and more drivers look for AEB when buying a new car or SUV. When a vehicle is equipped with AEB and senses a crash is imminent and the driver doesn’t react, the vehicle will brake automatically.
We’ve seen IIHS data that shows that rear-end crashes can be reduced by 50% in cars and SUVs with AEB. People who drive with AEB often say it can apply the brakes faster than we can, too.
Adaptive Cruise Control
If you’re old enough to remember cruise control from the 70s and 80s, you know how far the technology has come with new software development and other upgrades. Back then, you were lucky if the cruise control came with a Resume feature and the feature was generally mechanical in nature by controlling the gas pedal manually.
Today’s cruise control is much more advanced with radar and sensors located in the front of the SUV. Also, many cruise control systems now are adaptive. This means when the SUV notices you’re getting to close to the vehicle in front of you, it will automatically slow the car by reducing the gas or hitting the brake.
This is a terrific new safety feature that makes long-distance driving on the highway safer. It’s also less fatiguing because you don’t need to constantly monitor your speed. That also will help to reduce accidents.
Pedestrian Detection
This technology is an adaption of the forward collision warning system. It watches specifically for smaller objects, such as a pedestrian or bicyclist. At low speeds, the system uses its cameras and radar systems to sense people who are biking and walking.
The system will alert you if there is a pedestrian present and will brake automatically if you don’t tap it in time.
Lane Departure Warning
This helpful system will make an audible signal or vibrate the steering wheel if you leave your lane. Also, a similar system can tell you if someone is in your blind spot on the right or left side.
The blind spot warning system can make it easier to drive long distances without worrying if someone is in the next lane and you can’t see them.
Adaptive Headlights
This is one of those improvements you might not think about, but once you have it, you’ll love it.
Adaptive headlights are helpful in dark rural areas, especially when going around a curve. When driving through the curve, the lights will change direction so you can always see the road in front. With old headlights, the lights continue straight ahead and you may not be able to see where you’re going on a bend in the road.
Center Airbags
There have been airbags in cars and SUVs since the early 90s, but they have become much more sophisticated. Most of us know about front, side, and curtain airbags, but have you heard about them in the center of the front seats?
The center airbag deploys during a crash and can prevent the driver and passenger from slamming their heads together in a rollover or side-impact crash. The center airbag also can keep the occupants in better position to survive a frontal crash.
There has been a massive improvement in car and SUV safety in the past decade. Consider some of the safety features mentioned here in your new vehicle to keep everyone safe.
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