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How technology makes auto travel safer and more efficient

posted by AskPatty - Auto Advice
Monday, June 28, 2010 at 8:30pm CDT

It’s easy for many of us to take for granted how much technology contributes to making driving safer and more efficient than ever before. At the same time, it’s hard for many of us to comprehend what improvements technology will bring us in the future.

In many of today’s automobiles, technology is what automatically turns on the windshield wipers when a vehicle enters rain… or the headlights when a vehicle enters a tunnel… that means a driver has less to do at that moment.

When it comes to going somewhere new, an in-vehicle navigation system can get the driver to the destination without requiring them to look down to a map. If the driver misses a turn, the navigation system can automatically turn down the radio and verbally tell the driver the new instructions to get them back on the route. That’s safer than trying to read an open map while driving.

So-called “haptic” controls – which use a sense of touch or feel – can pass along important information to the driver without requiring them to look away from the road. Say, for example, that a driver is drifting out of their lane. A vibrating steering wheel could warn them right away. Why vibrate? Because many motorists already associate that vibrating feeling with what it feels like to drive over a roadway edge’s rumple strips.

Heads-up displays can put important information right in front of the driver – so they don’t even have to look down. So critical things like vehicle speed, adaptive cruise control details and navigation instructions can be communicated through an easy-to-read message put directly in the driver’s field of view. A message like that appears to “float” above the vehicle’s hood. Technology can go a step further – reducing the severity of an imminent crash by putting on the brakes, and enhancing the protection to passengers by tightening safety belts and readjusting seat positions. And this is before a crash even occurs.

When a crash is unavoidable, technology can be a lifesaver. Automatic Crash Notification (ACN) can contact rescuers when it matters most: right after a crash. As we all know, reducing the time it takes for rescue workers to make it to a crash scene helps to save lives.

And as automakers build in the past, the future is just as impressive. Take that Automatic Crash Notification… what if it were expanded and allowed drivers the option of loading personal medical information into the system? That way, emergency responders would not only learn of the crash, but they’d also know in advance that the driver is allergic to a particular medicine… or is a certain blood type… or a host of other important information that rescuers might need to know.

It’s not only safety, but efficiency that can be helped by the latest technology. Drivers can avoid back-ups by using road hazard notification, which alerts of problems ahead, long before they can be seen. Think of it: knowing the bridge ahead is out… or a construction zone has reduced the road to one lane… or the fire department has shut down a road… or any number of sudden traffic developments will help a driver pick the best, most efficient route.

All of this – and even more – is what happens when innovation and technology come together. And the traveling public is better for it.

Article courtesy of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
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