The future car safety technology

Cars are getting smarter, and perhaps more importantly: safer. Vehicle features such as intuitive brakes, blind spot technology, night-assist vision are advancing the driving experience in exciting new directions, with more innovations on the horizon. And research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows these technologies are helping prevent fatal crashes and cutting down the number of accidents in general. Here’s a list of car safety technology and innovations to look out for in the near future.

Existing technology:

Forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking:

‍These automated controls can help prevent front-end crashes from happening.

Lane departure warning

‍This warns the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane. According to the IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) if all passenger vehicles had been equipped with lane departure warning, nearly 85,000 police-reported crashes and more than 55,000 injuries would have been prevented in 2015.

Blind spot warning

Cameras and/or sensors alert the driver to objects outside his range of vision. This is important, because studies show that when drivers received more warnings (like from lane departure or blind spot systems), unsignaled lane departures fell by more than a third.

Rear view assist camera, ultrasonics, and radar

These technologies can make you aware of obstacles behind your vehicle to help prevent mishaps while backing up.

Adaptive headlamps

‍Automatically improve road visibility in low-light conditions.

Cross-traffic alert

Provides warning of oncoming vehicles.

Night view assist

‍Infrared cameras illuminate the road and detect obstacles beyond the range of traditional headlights

Pedestrian detection and avoidance sensors

Visual and audible warnings are triggered while automated steering and brake systems activate to help avoid collision.

Future technology:

Mood sensors

‍Facial monitoring cameras detect whether you’re angry, sad, happy, hot, or tired to adjust the temperature in the car or suggest taking a driving break.

Airless, 3D tires

‍Yes, tires that never go flat! Recent 3D-printed tire prototypes feature an airless design with a honeycomb pattern that reduces the risk of a blowout or flats due to punctures. What’s more, these prototypes use 3D printers to replenish the tread as a series of sensors to monitors their condition in real-time.

Ride in a cloud

One of the challenges with automated cars is that they require the ability to capture, process and store tons of data. Newly designed automotive-grade storage devices will support up to a terabyte of capacity to support all the necessary sensory data.

‍Autonomous autos

‍With sensors, computer chips, software and other systems, everyday we’re getting closer to being able to hail a driverless car to transport you wherever you want to go.

Need a car for your upcoming trip?

While we don’t have any self-driving vehicles, booking with Avail means you’ll always get a quality car with features that help keep you safe on the road. Every trip with Avail is protected by Allstate insurance so you’re covered around every turn.