The technology making the roads safer

Have you ever wondered about how many safety features your car has?
Cars are being fitted with the latest assisted driving technologies to prevent accidents by supporting the driver through sensors, automation, warnings, or partial control.

Assisted driving, short for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), refers to technologies that help drivers operate their vehicles more safely. These systems monitor the driving environment via sensors like cameras, radar, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and ultrasonic sensors. They also interpret data, warn the driver and even intervene in certain situations to reduce the chances or severity of collisions.
There are two types of driving assisted systems: 1. Passive safety systems: This alerts the driver about potential hazards or risk of collision using signals like sounds, vibrations or flashing lights. 2. Active safety systems: This plays a more active role in keeping the driver safe such as automatically applying the brakes to prevent a crash.

While assisted driving and automated driving sound quite similar, they have some key differences.
With assisted driving, the driver must remain in control and responsible for the vehicle. As the name suggests, the technology is only there to assist. It’s not intended to relieve the driver entirely of their duties. With autonomous driving, the vehicle can drive on its own without continuous human supervision under specific conditions. Laws and standards are beginning to recognise such systems with the UK adopting the Automated Vehicles Act for the safe trial and use of automated vehicles.

Vehicle safety technology

Assisted driving started off with the adoption of technologies like cruise control and anti-lock braking system. Today, ADAS includes a whole range of technologies, including alerts and warnings, crash mitigation, driving tasks assistance and environment monitoring. Most new cars available today have plenty of these features to keep the road users safe.
While most of us are aware of the common safety features like seatbelts, airbags, headrests and Isofix, some of the other safety features include:

1. Forward collision warning systems (FCW)

FCW uses cameras and/or sensors to detect cars in front of you and sound an alarm. This is an example of a passive safety system.

2. Automatic emergency braking system (AEB)

AEB automatically applies the brakes if you fail to respond to an impending accident. These systems are continuously evolving to spot new risks, such as cross traffic approaching from the side. This is an example of an active safety system.

3. Adaptive cruise control (ACC)

Cruise control uses radar or laser sensors to measure the distance between you and the car in front and keeps you at a constant gap behind it to help avoid unintentional tailgating. If the cruise control is set to 70mph and the car in front is doing 65mph, the ACC will automatically match your speed until the car in front moves out of the way.

4. Driver drowsiness and attention warning (DDAW)

This helps you maintain focus when you’re on a long and monotonous drives. It uses technologies like eye-tracking, steering input, vehicle behaviour analysis or even heart rate to notify drivers when they look drowsy.

5. Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA)

This helps prevent the car from crossing a set speed limit. It uses GPS data and/or traffic-sign-recognition cameras to determine the maximum speed of the area. As soon as you cross the limit, the system limits the engine’s power to reduce the vehicle’s speed.

6. Rear cross-traffic warning

This helps with the age-old problem of reversing out of a parking space. Can’t see what’s coming? A series of sensors will keep an eye out for you and sound an alarm if something’s about to occupy the area you’re backing into.

7. Electronic stability control (ESC)

ESC uses sensors on the back of your car to detect if your car starts skidding or loses traction. If your car loses control, the system applies brakes to specific wheels help you regain control of your car. It’s also known as Electronic Stability Program (ESP).

8. Lane departure warning (LDW)

LDW will sound an alarm if you inadvertently wander out of your lane without indicating. Lane keep assist (LKA) takes this a step further by actively correcting your line by nudging the steering.

9. Blind spot monitoring

This system displays a light in the side mirror or sound an alarm if you attempt to change lane with a car in your blind spot.

10. Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)

This system monitors the tyre pressure to detect any imbalance. If the tyre pressure falls below a certain threshold, it warns the driver via dashboard warning lights.

11. Seatbelt reminder

This safety feature detects the passengers in the car to alert those who haven’t fastened their seat belts or those who’ve unbuckled their seat belts while the car’s still moving. This has become a mandatory safety feature on all seats of a new car since September 2019.

Many assisted driving systems now monitor for pedestrians walking into the road.
This preventative technology helps reduce the impact of accidents on pedestrians when they happen. Plus, safety organisation Euro NCAP has standards that new cars must meet to get a good score on safety tests. These technologies include deformable areas on car bodywork, and sprung bonnets that pops up to increase the space between the engine and bonnet, thus reducing the impact in the event of a collision.

Several manufacturers have cycling detection systems, which use a combination of cameras and radar to detect and identify cyclists and link their presence to the car’s emergency braking. Nissan Leaf was the first car to be fitted with a bike detection system that met standards set by safety organisation Euro NCAP. The standard is part of a suite of technologies known as AEB VRU (automatic emergency braking, vulnerable road users) that also include pedestrian detection systems, which are essential for manufacturers that want to score maximum points during crash tests and safety ratings. Like regular AEB, it uses software that can recognise cyclists and apply the brakes automatically to avoid or mitigate an impending accident.

Euro NCAP helps car buyers compare cars based on their safety ratings. It grades new cars on how well their safety features perform under real‐world, traffic conditions, which has made these technologies an even bigger priority for manufacturers.
Cars like the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 3, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Audi A6 e-tron and Kia EV3 are few amongst the cars that have received an overall of five stars.

The New Vehicle General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2) was adopted in November 2019 to help reduce the impact of human error on road users.
Under this regulation, all new cars need to be fitted with a set of assisted driving systems in the EU, with the expectation of all new cars on sale to include these features from 7 July 2024 onwards. The required assisted systems include intelligent speed assistance, alcohol interlock installation facilitation, driver drowsiness and attention warning, advanced driver distraction warning, emergency stop signal, reversing detection and event data recorder. While the UK is not following the GSR2 regulations, most new cars in the UK will have these safety features as manufacturers usually use the same software across Europe. Looking to upgrade to a new car with the latest safety features? Browse new cars available to buy today or lease a brand-new car on Autotrader.