Getting behind the wheel of your vehicle is something that we all do almost every day. While driving you’ve more than likely had one of those heart stopping moments when you almost hit something, or maybe sadly you did hit something. A collision avoidance system is an advanced technology created to help prevent these moments leading to a vehicle collision.
These things happen every day without warning. The car in front of you slams on their breaks. Maybe something runs out in the street. Any type of distraction that catches your attention for a split second can all lead to the high danger of a vehicle collision.
Sometimes reactions aren’t quick enough. The response time is just a few seconds short. Maybe yes, some accidents are unavoidable. With a collision avoidance system installed in your vehicle, scientists are trying to step in with technology that sees a possible collision before you do.
At East End Auto Body Shop, we’d like to educate you on collision avoidance systems and what happens in the event of a collision. We’re here to help in both circumstances!
Facts on Vehicle Collisions
Despite doing our best to avoid vehicle collisions, staying aware and obeying traffic laws, they still happen all over the world. They could definitely happen to you, too. Engineers taking it upon themselves to create a collision avoidance system for vehicles is a great step in the right direction.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over two million motor vehicle accidents in the United States were caused by rear-end collisions in 2017 alone.
With varying causes for vehicle collisions, a lot of them could have been prevented if detected even a little bit sooner. That’s with the AI assistance of a collision avoidance system.
For example, a study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 2018 recorded that 62% of drivers paid more attention to their surroundings while driving and performed safer driving, always using signals, when a collision avoidance system was part of the vehicle.
If you are wondering how to not become part of those high vehicle collision statistics, but don’t already have a collision avoidance system in your vehicle, you may want to reconsider.
How a Collision Avoidance System Works
Responding to possible collisions, these avoidance systems react in two separate ways. First, your vehicle’s collision avoidance system may alert you with a light, sound, or even both. If your vehicle has front and back cameras, it may also show visual warnings of possible hazards.
With the science of radars, lasers and cameras, collision avoidance alert systems should include:
- Forward Collision Warning: Visual and/or audible warning to alert driver of possible collision.
- Blind Spot Warning: Visual and/or audible notification that a vehicle is in the driver’s blind spot in a nearby lane.
- Cross Traffic Warning: A visual, audible, or vibrating alert if an object is currently out of both cameras range, but seems to be moving at it.
- Lane Departure Warning: A visual, audible, or vibrating alert that a driver is crossing over their lane markings and coming near your vehicle.
As well as the above warnings and alerts, some of the collision avoidance systems actively help drivers in avoiding danger of collision. These more advanced systems technically override you as the driver. Changing speed, or applying the vehicle’s brakes.
The alerts to the driver in these situations are similar to the one’s discussed above. The action is just a little more hands-on and assists drivers further than just warnings.
Collision avoidance features that actively assist drivers include:
- Adaptive Cruise Control: These systems use radar or lasers to adjust your cruise control speed to maintain an appropriate distance from the vehicle in front of you. Preventing collision in the event of sudden braking.
- Automatic Emergency Braking: Also in the event of sudden braking in front of you, brakes are automatically applied when information from sensors recognize possible collision or to minimize collision speed.
- Rear Automatic Emergency Braking: Brakes are automatically applied to prevent the vehicle from backing into an object when the cross-traffic monitoring system or sensors detect possible obstructions.
- Electronic Stability Control: An extension of antilock brake technology, ESC automatically applies your brakes to help steer the car appropriately during a loss of traction. A computer is monitoring multiple sensors to navigate which wheels need to brake and which need to accelerate.
- Parking Assist: Information from cameras and sensors come together, allowing vehicles to steer themselves into a parking space while the driver determines the speed.
The most advanced technology in collision avoidance systems are being created by combining information from different systems into one. As they become more impressive and start working in harmony, the safety of your vehicle will only increase.
When Collision Can’t Be Avoided
So, after learning what a collision avoidance system is, maybe you’re wondering what your vehicle withholds. Does it have one, if so, what does it include? Maybe your vehicle’s collision avoidance system has even saved you from a collision in the past.
If that’s not the case, hopefully you’ve become educated with the preventative importance of a collision avoidance system and the possibilities of collision accidents without one.
Though the chances of being involved in an accident when you have a collision avoidance system are lowered, they’re still possible.
In the event of being involved in a vehicle collision (which we hope is never), the next question will be where can I get my vehicle repaired?
At East End Body Shop, we help you through the stressful process of after accident maintenance and collision repair.
Get a Free Estimate
When a collision avoidance system hasn’t been in place, or stopped an accident soon enough, auto body repair will most likely be needed.
We’re a family owned business, so we understand the importance of treating our customers at the highest level. Handing all of the details, we at East End Body Shop help lower the stress of getting your vehicle repaired properly after a collision.
Wanting to make your auto body repair as seamless as possible, just stop right in for a free estimate today! Our Team is eager to help.
