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Four collision avoidance systems save lives
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Four collision avoidance technologies may be coming our way, especially if the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has anything to say about it. According to an ABC News report, they are already standard on some high-end luxury vehicles. Question is whether these technologies will ever be mandated by law.
According to the report, it is estimated by IIHS that over 10,000 fatalities could be avoided per year on our highways if these technologies were available on all cars. The latest collision avoidance systems are as follows:
1) Collision Warning, whereby an audible along with a visual warning on the windshield’s heads-up display appears whenever the vehicle approaches a slower vehicle ahead.
2) Side-view Mirror Indicator, a visual telltale of a vehicle in the area of the blind-spot
3) Lane Drift Indicator, an audible and visual telltale which senses when a vehicle is veering from its lane into another
4) Adaptive Headlights, which move with the steering as the vehicle maneuvers a turn.
It appears the industry is moving safety from the inside, with air bags and seat belts, to the outside; where high-tech sensors like radar are used to complete the vehicle's safety awareness.
Examiner Final Comments
In my opinion, the IIHS serves the public well in supporting such technologies. As an independent, nonprofit, scientific, and educational organization, it is dedicated to reducing the losses of deaths, injuries, and property damage from crashes on the nation's highways.
Fact is the IIHS criteria to win their Top Safety Pick are tough, because the award is intended to drive continued safety improvements such as top crash test ratings and the rapid addition of electronic stability control. It now appears collison avoidance should head that criteria, because avoidance is always the preferred choice when it comes to surviving crashes.
For the record, the Top Safety Pick for 2010 went to the Buick LaCrosse and the Nissan Versa. Read report To qualify for Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the Institute's front, side, and rear tests and be equipped with electronic stability control.
Perhaps there should be a separate award for Top Collision Avoidance Systems, too; so as to raise more public, industry and government awareness.
And for those who fear the cost of any government mandate, visit a crash survivor who is now a quadraplegic, and see if that changes your mind. So, for now and forever, wear your seat belts. They will at least keep you in place for the air bags, and may protect you from seroius injury or worse.
Photo Source: AP
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