Accident, the very word gives you goosebumps! Isn’t it? Accidents are mostly caused by human error which can be avoided most of the time with safe driving. However, in a few cases, unsafe roads also led to accidents. Talking about Los Angeles, it has some of the riskiest highways to drive. These include Sierra Highway, Route 74, I-405, and I-5. These roads have witnessed some of the most fatal crashes till today. But you don’t have to worry at all. Imagine you had a bad day and also met with an accident. You got injured and need to make a personal injury claim. Then, Arash Law is always there to guide in the best manner.
Well, gone are the days when road safety was limited only to airbags and seat belts. Don’t get surprised that automobile manufacturers now focus on accident prevention driving technology and many other innovations to make road journeys safe. Here is a list of technologies that would help you to steer towards safe driving. But don’t forget to use them with caution. So, let’s start!
External airbags
Who is not aware of airbags? Airbags are an integral part to minimize the impact of crashes on occupants in the car. Now, automobile makers are focusing on utilizing airbags to reduce the impact on pedestrians as well in case of collision by fitting them externally. For instance, the Land Rover Discovery now has a sensor tube in the bumper which detects if an animal or pedestrian is hit. It also deploys an external airbag on the windshield to soften the impact on them.
Transparent Hood
Any guesses what the transparent hood could be? This function is one of the unique technologies to hit the market. With this, the area under the hood is visible and allows the driver to visualize obstacles and terrain easily. The system is embedded with an electronic control unit and four satellite cameras. An algorithm for image processing reconstructs the image and inserts it into surround-view to the driver. The technology would help the drivers to avoid accidents.
Warning systems
Well, you never know when there could be a frontal crash while driving in a car. The technology is designed specifically to detect awaiting front collision, which can somewhat reduce the impact. The warning system utilizes radar to scan other vehicles, animals, or pedestrians and monitor their distance and speed. The warning mechanism will either inform the driver or automatically take over and apply the brake on the vehicle. The technology is already applied by Volvo, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai.
Contact Sensor System
The contact sensor system detects contact between a car and a person or object at cutting speed. The technology is quite useful in Los Angeles, where roads are quite dense. The system records sound signals that can be used for detecting the impact of collision. With this, the vehicle can be halted immediately. Not only this, the sensor system supports other applications such as recognizing road conditions, identifying drivers by voice, and detecting scratching.
Emergency brake
Brakes are applied more often in roads with heavy traffic such as that of Los Angeles. Brakes, when applied timely, can avoid a potential road crisis. But the time to apply sudden brakes is just a matter of a few seconds. So, here comes the emergency brake feature that can identify if the brakes are applied in panic and initiates it’s faster the application than a human. It identifies the situation by analyzing the force on brakes applied by the driver. There is no doubt that the utilization of technology can reduce normal stopping distance.
Traction control systems
You might know that slippery road is one of the major causes of accidents. A traction control system is one such technology that prevents the wheel from spinning. This is especially useful when acceleration is given, or the vehicle is started on wet roads. To prevent unexpected spin of the wheels on a slippery road, the torque of each wheel is reduced all at one time. This avoids instability on a slippery road as traction is reduced in the wheels. As a result, the frequency of accidents can be reduced.
Lane Departure Warning
Do you always like to drive in the same one lane? It is considered an ideal road behavior to stick to one lane. Lane departure systems are designed specially to warn drivers and discourage lane jumping when they move to another without an indication. The system reads and monitors the markings on the road and makes a detection. And can you believe that more advanced versions of lane departure warning will have the ability to only warning. Instead it will intervene with correct braking and steering on changing the lane.
Speed Assistance
Intelligence speed assistance is the system that ensures that your vehicle does not cross the legal speed limit. It constantly monitors the location through GPS and is enabled to calculate speed based on the distance travelled. The system then links it with the database which connects with speed limit for the road. If the analysis finds that you are about to cross the prescribed limit, it issues visual or an audio warning. The system can also be enabled with speed limiter, which is an auto mechanism that automatically slows the speed of the vehicle by cutting down the speed.
Blind -Spot Monitoring
Blind-Spot monitor is quite useful when you are driving a bus or truck. The large body vehicle causes difficulty for the drivers to see what is coming behind as the only visible view is the body of the vehicle itself. The rear end of the vehicle has ultra-sonic sensors. With these, blind-spot can provide information to the drivers whether there is something behind or when there is no need to change the lane.
Final words
The purpose of the technologies mentioned above was to make you aware of the latest innovation in vehicles. However, you should take note that most technologically advanced vehicles can also not avoid an accident if the driver shows carelessness. So, take advantage of the latest, reliable and self-sufficient updates while driving. Have a safe driving!
