Technology & Safety Introduction
Technology never stops. And modern cars are constantly being upgraded with the most cutting edge technology available for safety, efficiency, navigation and entertainment systems.
Even the basic requirements for any car are given the occasional makeover to bring them up to date.
The most important thing you can do to protect your life is to fasten your seatbelt. Safety belts save lives on their own and many of the more advanced safety features, such as forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking can help you avoid accidents.
Don't overlook safety features when comparing different car models. Antilock brakes and electronic stability control, for instance, are very desirable. Although now standard on new cars, these features are well worth seeking out if you're buying an older car.
Here's a rundown of some basic safety gear.
Technology & Safety Safety Belt Features
While the seatbelt is arguably the single most important piece of safety equipment, enhanced features help seatbelts do their job more effectively.
Seatbelt pretensioners instantly retract the belts to take up slack during a frontal impact. This also helps position occupants properly to take full advantage of a deploying air bag. Force limiters, a companion feature to pretensioners, manage the force that the shoulder belt builds up on the occupant's chest. After the pretensioners tighten it, force limiters let the belt play back out a little to reduce the force.
Some models offer inflatable safety belts in the rear seat that further reduce the force of the belts themselves on rear passengers in an accident and spread those forces over a wider area— a particular concern with more fragile occupants, such as kids or the elderly.
Adjustable upper anchors for the shoulder belts can make a meaningful safety difference. Adjustable anchors help position the belt across the chest instead of the neck to prevent neck injuries. They also can help keep the belt from pulling down on a tall person's shoulder, making it more comfortable and thereby encouraging its use.
Technology & Safety Airbags
Front airbags have been standard on all new cars since the mid-nineties. Most vehicles had them even before then. Crash sensors connected to an onboard computer detect a frontal collision and trigger the bags. The bags inflate in a few milliseconds—the blink of an eye—then immediately start deflating.
While airbags have saved thousands of lives, they also have the potential to cause injury or even death to children or to occupants who aren't using a seatbelt. Children under 12 should be seated in the rear in an appropriate restraint system and rear-facing child seats should never be installed in front seats equipped with airbags, unless the airbag can be deactivated.
Adaptive, or dual-stage front airbags, introduced in 2003, became standard across the board by 2007. Most airbag systems now detect the presence, weight, and seat position for the driver and front passenger, and deactivate or de-power front airbags as appropriate to minimize the chance of injury to drivers positioned close to the wheel, out-of-position occupants or children.
Side airbags
Torso protecting side-impact airbags for front-seat passengers are also nearly universal, and some car manufacturers offer side airbags for rear-seat passengers, as well. Side airbags are fairly small cushions that pop out of the door trim or the side of the seat back. They help protect the torso, but most aren't effective in protecting the head.
Nearly all new models today also include additional "side curtain" bags that deploy from above the windows and cover both front and rear side windows to prevent occupants from hitting their heads and to shield them from flying debris. A curtain bag often also stays 'inflated' longer in most cases to also keep people from being ejected during a rollover or a high-speed side crash. The better head-protection systems deploy the side-curtain bags if the system detects that the vehicle is beginning to roll over.
Technology & Safety Antilock brakes (ABS)
Before antilock brakes came along, it was all too easy to lock up the wheels (stop them from turning) during hard braking. Sliding the front tires makes it impossible to steer, particularly on slippery surfaces.
ABS prevents this from happening by using sensors at each wheel and a computer that maximizes braking action at each individual wheel to prevent lock-up.
ABS allows the driver to retain steering control while braking, so that the car can be manoeuvred around an obstacle, if necessary. Some drivers, unaccustomed to ABS actuation, may be alarmed as the pulsing sensation conveyed through the brake pedal and chattering at the wheels when used. Not to worry. This is the system rapidly applying the brakes to provide maximum power and control. The trick is to squeeze firmly on the pedal and let the system do its job.
Technology & Safety Traction control
This electronically controlled system limits wheel spin during acceleration so that the drive wheels have maximum traction. It's particularly useful when starting off in wet or icy conditions, and/or launching with a high-horsepower engine. Some traction-control systems operate only at low speeds, while others work at all speeds.
Most traction-control systems use the car's antilock brake system to momentarily brake a spinning wheel. This routes power to the opposite drive wheel. Some systems may also throttle back the engine, and upshift the transmission, to prevent wheel spin.
Technology & Safety Electronic stability control
Electronic stability control (ESC) takes traction control a step further. This system helps keep the vehicle on its intended path during a turn, to avoid sliding or skidding. It uses a computer linked to a series of sensors—detecting wheel speed, steering angle, sideways motion, and yaw (rotation). If the car drifts outside the driver's intended path, the stability-control system momentarily brakes one or more wheels and, depending on the system, reduces engine power to pull the car back on course.
ESC is especially helpful with tall, top-heavy vehicles like sport-utilities and pickups, where it can also help keep the vehicle out of situations where it could roll over.
Electronic stability control became standard equipment around 2012. It started on luxury cars years ago and then migrated to other vehicles. It became especially commonplace on SUVs. Car manufacturers each tend to have a proprietary name for their stability control systems. If in doubt whether a used car has it, find out before you buy. Prior to 2012, while a model may be available with ESC, not necessarily every trim or individual car was so equipped.
Consumer Reports' auto experts highly recommend stability control, a proven life saver. Even with this and other safety systems, remember that the basic laws of physics still apply. Take any corner too fast, and you could push the vehicle beyond the system's limits. So don't just speed into a curve and expect the system to bail you out.
Technology & Safety Brake Assistance
Brake assist detects when a driver initiates a panic stop (as opposed to ordinary gradual stops) and applies the brakes to maximum force. In conjunction with anti-lock brakes, the system enables threshold braking without locking up the wheels. Studies have shown that most drivers, even in panic stops, don't apply the brakes as hard as they could, so Brake Assist intervenes to reach the shortest possible stopping distance.
Technology & Safety Forward-collision warning (FCW)
Forward-collision warning uses cameras, radar or laser (or some combination thereof) to scan for cars ahead and alert the driver if they are approaching a vehicle in their lane too fast and a crash is imminent. Most systems alert the driver with some sort of visual and or audible signal to a potential crash, allowing time for you to react.
Technology & Safety Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)
These systems add to the benefits of forward-collision warning. AEB will sense a potential collision and if you don't react in time, the car will initiate automatic braking.
Technology & Safety Pedestrian Detection
This system uses the features of forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking to help protect pedestrians. The vehicle's camera(s) or radar are looking for a pedestrian in the vehicle's path. Some systems will alert the driver with an audible or visual alert and some will even start automatic emergency braking if a collision is deemed high.
Technology & Safety Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive cruise uses lasers, radar, cameras, or a combination of these systems to keep a constant distance between you and the car ahead, automatically maintaining a safe following distance. If highway traffic slows, some systems will bring the car to a complete stop and automatically come back to speed when traffic gets going again, allowing the driver to do little more than pay attention and steer. Some vehicles equipped with lane keeping assist will also allow the car to stay within the lane markings.
Technology & Safety Blind Spot Warning (BSW)
Using radar or cameras, this system illuminates a light or icon in or adjacent to the outside mirrors to warn that another vehicle is lurking in the lane beside, possibly hidden in your car's blind spot. Many systems also sound an audible warning if you attempt to move over anyway or operate your turn signal indicating that you're going to. More advances systems can also brake or steer the vehicle back towards the centre of the lane. Also effective are outside mirrors with a small convex section for a wide-angle rearward view.
Technology & Safety Proximity Alert (Rear Cross-Traffic Alert)
These systems sense traffic that may cross your path as you reverse, which can be helpful when you are backing out of a parking space or driveway. Some systems will automatically brake for the driver to avoid an object.
Technology & Safety Lane Departure Warning System (LDW)
This alerts you if you steer your car out of its lane without the turn signals activated. Using a camera or lasers to monitor lane markers, the LDW may sound a chime, blink a dashboard warning light, and/or vibrate the steering wheel or seat.
Technology & Safety Lane-Keeping Assistance (LKA)
In addition to sensing when you leave your lane, this technology will introduce a mild steering input to put you back into your lane.
Technology & Safety Active Head Restraints
Active head restraints move up and forward in a rear crash to cradle the head and absorb energy in an effort to mitigate whiplash injury.
Technology & Safety Brake Assistance
This rear-view camera-based assistance system is activated when the vehicle is placed in reverse. The rear view is displayed in a centre console screen or rear-view mirror. Mostly used as a parking aid by providing a bumper-level view aft, a backup camera can also assist with spotting a child or pedestrian concealed in the blind zone immediately behind the vehicle. A recommended convenience, this is a safety feature whose value is made apparent every time you drive. Plus, some more advanced systems give a 360 degree view around the vehicle.
Technology & Safety Parking Assistance
These are sensors embedded in the front, rear, or both bumpers that alert you — at parking speeds — that light poles, walls, shrubbery and other obstacles are getting close.
Technology & Safety Automatic High Beams
This function automatically switches from low to high beam and back again, for improved night-time visibility as conditions warrant.
Technology & Safety Tyre Pressure Monitors
Under inflated tyres can hurt handling and fuel economy. They can even lead to a blowout as under inflated tyres are more susceptible to damage and wear. A tyre can lose air through the rubber and does so slowly so that many drivers don't notice. The type of tyre-pressure monitor recommended measures tyre pressure directly. Others gauge air loss indirectly by using sensors to count wheel revolutions.
In either case, it's still recommended checking your tyre's pressure weekly with a conventional tyre-pressure gauge.
