Media post: The Modern Car Safety Features that Benefit Drivers the Most

If you get an older car, it will probably cost less. That might appeal, but if you go this route, your car likely won’t have many modern safety features. 

You may choose to save up your money to buy a newer car for that reason. If you have kids, then you might think about how often you drive them around in your vehicle. Getting one that has top-of-the-line safety features should make you sleep a little better at night.

Let’s talk about some of the modern car safety features that benefit drivers the most, and their passengers as well.

Strong Headlights

Headlights these days come with increased capabilities. The average headlights in a modern car can easily outshine those from previous generations. 

Legal requirements for keeping both headlights working exist, and most consumers feel that’s a good thing. If you ever see that one of your headlights went out, you should immediately repair it. 

You also have even stronger brights that you can turn on if the situation requires it. For instance, maybe you’re driving on a back country road with no streetlights.

You will certainly want to turn on your brights in that situation. You never know when a deer might decide to run across the road. This way, you will probably spot it in plenty of time to avoid it.

Rear Backup Cameras

A few years ago, a new automotive mandate came out. The federal government decided that all new cars needed to come with rear backup cameras.

Up to that point, you could get cars with rear backup cameras, but the law didn’t require it yet. When that changed, it revolutionized the automotive safety industry.

Much like the government mandating seatbelts, only good could come from such an edict. Some of the auto manufacturers grumbled about it, but once it became common practice, drivers definitely appreciated the new feature.

You can find plenty of individuals on the road these days that started driving when cars didn’t have this requirement. They might still turn around to watch the road behind them while backing up. 

Most new drivers know to watch what’s behind them using the camera. With it, they can spot anything behind them that the vehicle might otherwise hit.

Most cars will sound an auditory alarm if they detect something behind that the driver might not otherwise notice. If a car drives across behind the driver, they can step on the brakes. 

A cyclist might bike past the car’s rear, or a child might run past trying to grab a ball or frisbee. If a vehicle ever hits an object or person, that can cause an injury or even death, so most motorists feel glad they now have a rear backup camera. 

Blind Spot Detection

Blind spot detection made its debut a few years ago, and since then, it has become more common. Every car has a blind spot. It’s typically to the driver’s immediate left at about the vehicle’s midpoint.

In the old days, you would have to glance at that blind spot and put on your turn signal to indicate a lane change. While you should still put your turn signal on, you now have what those in the automotive industry call blind spot detection in several car makes and models.

Every time the vehicle detects something large enough to potentially pose a danger in the car’s blind spot, it sounds an alert. Some cars have an indicator that lights up in the side mirror or on the dashboard. Some do both of those things. 

This helps drivers quite a bit. If you ever forget to glance over into your blind spot before changing lanes, this can save you from a costly sideswipe collision. 

Front Collision Warning and Automatic Brakes

Forward vehicular collisions can damage your car and potentially injure you and your passengers. If you rear-end a vehicle ahead of you, that can hurt another driver and their passengers as well.

In most situations, if you are paying close attention to the road ahead, you should brake in plenty of time if the car in front of you does the same thing. However, many times, something might distract a driver. Distracting driving plays a part in many modern car accidents.

You might try to see what someone texted you on your smartphone. Maybe you will let a conversation with the person next to you distract you instead.

No matter what is distracting you, though, if you have a front collision warning system, it will sound an alarm if the vehicle ahead of you slows or there’s something else up ahead that you could hit. 

Some cars also have automatic braking now as well. If you don’t press down on the brakes fast enough to slow your forward momentum, the car will stop automatically. As you might imagine, this technology saves many lives every year. 

Lane Departure Alerts

You also have lane departure alert systems in some cars now. If your vehicle drifts slightly out of the lane without you signaling first, a noise will sound that lets you know it’s happening.

There’s something remarkable about this technology if you learn a little about it. There’s a camera under the car that enables it to know when you’re leaving your lane. 

The camera sees the marks on the road that indicate what lane you’re in. That means you’re getting warnings in real time every time the camera detects a lane change without the driver signaling.

If you get a brand-new car, then it will probably have some of these features, if not all of them. If you buy a high-end model from a reputable car brand, then it becomes even more likely.

It’s possible that some of these features could become requirements in the years to come, similar to shoulder-harness seatbelts and rear backup cameras. That will benefit drivers even more. The more of these features they have, the more car accidents they can avoid.