Modern car safety features you may not be aware of

We all know about car safety features like seatbelts and airbags which have been ubiquitous for a while now, but things have moved on and there are a lot more car safety features available now than ever before, so let’s take a look at a few of the best:

SPEED LIMITERS

Although most roads have a speed limit, a lot of people still end up speeding; some of them know exactly what they are doing, but others edge over the limit without really realizing that’s what they’re doing. That’s why the speed limiter now exists.

What are speed limiters? Basically, they’re a device that restricts the amount of fuel that is discharged into the engine, which means they can only ever go so fast. Some vehicles even have sensors fitted, which can read signs on the road and automatically limit the car’s speed based on those signs, which is amazing, and since speeding is a leading cause of accidents that’s great news.

IN-BUILT BREATHALYZERS

Drink driving is a leading cause of death and paralysis on the road – incidentally, paralysis injuries among the most expensive car-related injuries in terms of insurance – so it is really good that companies like Alcolock have now developed built-in breathalyzers that will prevent a vehicle from working if the driver tests over the limit. That way, drunk individuals who may not be fully aware of their actions will be prevented from causing harm to themselves or others.

ANTI-TAILGATING VEHICLES

Tailgaiting is a bugbear of many a good driver, and it can also prove very dangerous, particularly in wet and icy weather conditions, where distance is of the utmost importance between cars. So, you’ll probably be delighted to hear that anti-tailgating technology has now been developed. Such devices can be fitted into vehicles to alert you when you are unwittingly tailgating, or when someone else is tailgating you. These devices have been used in Dubai since 2015, and they are doing a great job of cutting car accidents, although it is thought they will be even more effective when they are made autonomous instead of relying on drivers to act on their alerts.

SELF-INSTALLING CAR SEATS

We’ve had automatic seatbelts for a while now – since 1981 when they were first made available by Toyota in fact – but those brilliant car engineers have taken the concept to the nest level by creating self-installing car seats that will automatically belt up to ensure that your kids are kept safe whenever you’re out and about. As of now, there is only one self-installing car seat available to buy, and as you can imagine, it isn’t exactly cheap, but as the technology is refined and the market for such a device becomes clear, other makers are sure to follow suit and we’ll all be using them to keep the kids safe in the future.

DRIVERLESS CARS

Okay, so driverless cars aren’t a safety feature, but since most car accidents are caused by user error, when we do eventually see a full-scale roll out of driverless vehicles, chances arew the roads will be a whole lot safer.


Photo Credit: Ford

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