Advanced driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking and blind spot monitoring systems are designed to prevent crashes and save lives, but motor vehicle accident fatalities in the United States remain worryingly high. To reduce the annual death toll on the nation’s roads, researchers and auto manufacturers are working on new technology that could make cars even safer. Here are five automobile safety features that may soon be available.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
Many modern automobiles have advanced autonomous driving systems that can accelerate, brake and change lanes automatically. These self-driving systems rely on information gathered from onboard sensors and cameras, which limits their functionality. That may soon change if research being conducted at MIT bears fruit. The MIT researchers are working on a vehicle-to-vehicle communications system that will allow cars to transmit important information to nearby vehicles. Networking cars together in this way will greatly enhance the performance of autonomous driving systems and improve road safety. According to NHTSA, vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems could prevent up to 79% of road traffic accidents.
Exterior Airbags
All cars, SUVs and pickup trucks sold in the United States are equipped with airbags that deploy automatically in a collision to protect passengers and prevent injuries, but future vehicles could take this technology one step further. In March 2021, Ford filed a patent application for an external airbag system that would protect pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrian deaths have risen sharply in recent years, including 792 deaths in 2022 in the state of Florida. Many road experts believe the growing popularity of large and heavy vehicles like full-size SUVs and pickup trucks is to blame.
Biometric Drunk Driving Technology
Drunk driving accidents in the United States claim more than 10,000 lives each year. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ordered auto manufacturers to develop and deploy technology designed to prevent impaired driving, and two advanced biometric systems have already been developed. One of these systems works like an ignition interlock device and measures blood alcohol concentrations by analyzing breath samples, but experts are more enthusiastic about an anti-drunk driving steering wheel. The steering wheel uses infrared sensors to scan the skin, and it will prevent a vehicle from starting if alcohol is detected.
Augmented Reality Dashboards
Head-up displays that project basic information like vehicle speed onto the windshield have been available for decades. These systems improve safety because drivers are less likely to crash when they keep their eyes on the road, and they will soon become far more capable. Several car manufacturers are developing augmented reality dashboards that go far beyond providing basic information. They warn drivers about upcoming dangers, and they highlight hazards like vehicles pulling out or pedestrians stepping into the roadway that can be easy to miss on a busy city street.
Infrared Cameras
The automatic emergency braking systems that nearly all modern cars have work well during the day, but they are far less effective when the sun goes down. This is a problem because most fatal pedestrian accidents take place at night. To address this performance failing, auto manufacturers will soon be fitting their vehicles with thermal cameras that detect the infrared radiation that humans and animals generate. These cameras will let drivers know when a pedestrian steps into a crosswalk or an animal is concealed by bushes or trees, and they could prevent thousands of accidents each year.
The Self-Driving Future
Many road safety experts claim that fully autonomous vehicles will one day eliminate motor vehicle accidents completely, but that day is still a long way off. Until it arrives, road users will have to rely on the vigilance of drivers and the effectiveness of automobile safety technology. That technology has improved significantly in recent years, but the greatest advances still lie ahead.
