Before you buy a car, don’t just consider the driver’s needs, but consider the passengers as well. If your family is important to you – you don’t need to convince me that they are – then finding a car with safety features to match is equally as important. Families come in all sizes and so do vehicles, so it doesn’t matter if you are dropping off your kid at school in your Chevrolet Cruze or heading on a family trip in your Toyota Highlander, safety is paramount.
Here are five car features that every family-caring chauffeur should consider.
Automated braking
One third of all collisions are rear enders. Excessive speed, road conditions, and carelessness cause drivers to slam their brakes, but sometimes collision happen anyway and the driver from the rear is always liable. That makes braking essential, especially in those close-call moments on the road.
Automated braking is quickly showing its value to many drivers who occasionally change radio stations and enjoy their coffee during their commute. Using sensors, such as radar, laser or video data, the input system is able to calculate the speed of the vehicle and the approaching object and time the brakes accordingly – to stop before the two collide.
As an intuitive system, automated braking works unobtrusively. The driver shouldn’t even notice it’s there. It only activates when the moment arises.
Collision avoidance systems
Collision avoidance systems give your car a little brain of its own, not that it can drive without you. However, it can definitely access the situation around you (speed of traffic, visibility, etc.) to get you where you need to go safer.
Adaptive cruise control, adaptive headlights, blind spot detections, front crash prevention, lane departure warning and prevention, and park assist are all key features of the collision avoidance system. Each feature utilizes sensors to notify the driver when something (another car, an object, a pedestrian, etc.) is too close for the safety of your car.
Camera assistance (reversing, side views and blind spots)
Not every collision is a major one, but slight maneuvers can still cause big problems, especially for those that occur in tight spaces around your blind spots. Camera assistance is a popular option to help drivers see in those situations. It acts as another mirror or sightline in your vehicle located conveniently on your dashboard or rearview mirrors.
Whether you are changing lanes, parallel parking, or backing into a tight spot, camera assistance will offer you assurance that you’ll at least get to see where you are going, and they are becoming a standard and not simply a luxury item.
Enhanced night visibility
Unlit roads and oncoming headlights strains the eyes and limit visibility causing hazards for many nighttime drivers. Using near-infrared illuminators and a charge-coupled device camera, innovative engineers and manufactures have equipped vehicles with, enhances night visibility. This technology allows drivers to see obstructions that would otherwise be unapparent.
From UV technology, augmented reality windshields, to night-vision imaging systems, prototypes of all kinds are being tested by the biggest names in car manufacturing, because drivers of all calibres know that driving at night is often one of the most challenging aspects, weather conditions aside.
Electronic stability control
Because of the fact that most roads are not straight and traffic doesn’t flow at a constant speed, vehicles and the drivers driving them can find themselves losing control in gut-wrenching situations. According to Transport Canada, the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) had worked to reduce the rate of control-loss accidents by 29%.
ESC works by utilizing a sensory system that addresses the speed of the vehicle in relation to the rotation of the wheels with the steering of the driver. If it senses that there is a disconnect between the two, than it can assess the type of swerve (or loss of control) to properly administer the braking needed and help the driver regain control.
