In the last several years, road safety has become an alarmingly increasing issue and a public health problem. The number of fatal and disabling road accidents happening is increasing day by day all over the world resulting in transforming road accidents in the tenth-leading cause of all deaths globally.  Studies suggest that an estimated number of 1.2 million people are killed in road accidents each year, as almost 50 million people are severely injured. Developing countries are implementing stricter traffic rules and regulations in order to encourage drivers to drive more safely and reduce the risk they expose themselves and other traffic participants to. However, the increasing percentage of annual deaths occurred in traffic accidents prove that we need a more efficient solution

Therefore, the automotive industry and car manufacturers have started to pay closer attention to improving the safety features they use to equip their cars with. The results of a multitude of tests and studies show that newer cars usually perform a lot better in crashes than old ones. The most innovative safety features such as safety belts, driver assistant technologies, and airbag technologies aim to prevent the passengers of the car from harm in case of a road accident.

Here are the main safety features that aim to help drivers and keep passengers safe in case of a car crash:

Adaptive cruise control

Adaptive cruise control is a safety feature that is available on the vast majority of new cars today. Driving in heavy traffic or keeping a safe distance to the preceding vehicle requires a high level of concentration so the feature can reduce stress for the driver by automatically controlling the vehicle speed according to the road and traffic conditions. Adaptive cruise control automatically speeds up or slows down your car to ensure a set following distance relative to the car ahead is kept. It is normally mounted inside the grille of the vehicle and acts by slowing down and tightening the seatbelts if it senses a potential collision.

Blind spot detection

The blind spot detection is one of the most popular safety features that is equipped on vehicles to provide drivers with better car control.  When we are taking driver lessons, we are always told to look over our shoulder and constantly use our mirrors to see what is behind our vehicle and in our blind spot. The safety feature called blind spot detection is designed to provide drivers with information that they might have missed. Blind spot systems use sensors to detect the presence of objects like cars or people and present that information to the driver. Some systems use audible alert and others can display a simple warning in the corner of the rear view.

Rear-view camera

The rear-view camera is another important safety feature designed to decrease the number of road accidents and victims of traffic accidents. The feature has two main purposes that help the driver drive more precautious. Firstly, to provide the driver with a clear view of what is behind their vehicle when reversing and, secondly, to protect pedestrians and animals from being accidentally hit. The rear-view camera helps you maintain the control of your car and the visibility of the road while driving.

Pedestrian auto emergency braking

A large portion of road accidents is caused in urban settings where pedestrian, scooters, and bicycles are in closer proximity. Pedestrians can both cause accidents by crossing the streets in the wrong places thus, forcing drivers to brake suddenly and affect other drivers as well. yet, the most concerning aspect is the fact that pedestrians are the most predisposed to fatal injuries. Therefore, the automotive industry had once again to develop an innovative technology to assist drivers by providing automatic braking when pedestrians are in the forward path of the vehicle.

Passenger knee airbag

The positioning and efficacy of airbag deployment play an important role in protecting the passengers of the car from severe or disabling injuries.  The knees have been a vulnerable location for injury in car crashes leading to shattered kneecap, lifetime disability, and huge hospital bills.  Front and side airbags, as well as airbag deploying seatbelts, were already integrated into older cars. Yet, one of the most recent safety features in car safety technology is the knee airbags which are designed to deploy below the dashboard on both the driver’s and passengers’ sides to prevent injuries. Japan and the European Union are seriously taking into consideration to implement a regulation that requires all new vehicles to be equipped with automated emergency braking.

Forward collision warning

Among the types of auto collisions, forward collision is certainly the worst because it can produce the most severe damages to the vehicle and harm to its passengers. Forward collision warning is perhaps one of the most innovative and useful safety features that can help drivers avoid or minimize the effects of a road accident. This technology is designed to reduce the impact speed of a crash or prevent it by alerting the driver about an imminent crash so that they can take preventive actions. The forward collision warning system is often paired with adaptive cruise control because both systems use a scanning device mounted at the front of the vehicle to measure the distance from the car and other vehicles.

Choosing a safe car is essential for the protection and overall wellbeing of yourself and your loved ones If you are planning to buy a car, the information found from a VIN decoder will tell you the accident history of the vehicle and if there are any safety related issues. If we take a look in the past, vehicles came equipped with nothing more than a simple lap belt, including no other safety feature to protect the passengers in case of a road accident. In today’s modern world, car manufacturers invest huge amounts of money in developing and designing new innovative safety technologies to make their cars safer than ever.