Vehicle Safety Technology Can Reduce the Risk of Auto Crashes by Up to 40%, Study Reveals

Vehicle Safety Technology Can Reduce the Risk of Auto Crashes by Up to 40%, Study Reveals

James Bond eat your heart out! Vehicles being built today are making some of Secret Agent Bond’s models seem like antique toys, as modern safety technologies, like the following, are rapidly advancing:

• Forward-accident warning – with or without auto braking capability
• Backup cameras to prevent backing into obstacles or other parked vehicles
• Blind spot monitoring and warning systems usually bundled with rear-cross traffic alerting
• Lane-cross warning and lane-stay assistance to keep cars in their own lanes from weaving astray

While these safety technologies may be modern marvels, they are having significant impacts on roadway safety. In fact, studies have revealed that:

• Automatic braking can cut the risk of rear-end collisions by about 40 percent
• Forward collision warning systems can reduce motorists’ accident risk by roughly 23 percent. 1

Standardizing Technology Can Further Reduce Auto Accident Risks, IIHS Says

As automakers and others continue to focus on developing new safety and crash-prevention technologies for vehicles, some industry experts have pointed out that simply equipping vehicles with modern, standardized features and technologies could itself be highly effective in reducing accidents, preventing injuries and saving lives.

For instance, officials at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have reportedly found that, if all vehicles on our roadways were equipped modern automatic braking systems, roughly 700,000 fewer rear-end collisions would occur every year in the U.S.

“The success of front crash prevention represents a big step toward safer roads,” said IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby stated in January 2016. “As this technology becomes more widespread, we can expect to see noticeably fewer rear-end crashes. The same goes for the whiplash injuries that often result from these crashes and can cause a lot of pain and lost productivity.”

The Roadblocks to Standardizing Safety Technology

One of the main challenges to standardizing safety features and technologies in vehicles, industry experts have revealed, is coming to an agreement about what should be standard in the first place. While this will take the collaboration of automakers, transportation safety regulators, and possibly others, some federal authorities are already taking action to set standards and push safety into a new era.

Among these actions include the:

• National Transportation Safety Board’s work to standardize forward collision-avoidance systems in cars (so that all new cars would be equipped with these systems, just as vehicles over the past few decades have been coming with seatbelts and airbags as standard features)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s moves to standardize automatic emergency braking systems in all vehicles, as well as to update its 5-Star Rating System to consider and evaluate modern safety technologies.

As these standards are being set – and as vehicle safety technology continues to advance, consumers are encouraged to do their own safety research when car shopping to ensure they are making the safest choice for them and their family.

To check out the IIHS’ 2016 Top Safety Pick list, click here.

Contact Lakewood Car Accident Lawyer James L. Finegan

Have you or a family member been injured in a car accident? If so, contact Lakewood Car Accident Lawyer James L. Finegan to find about more about your options for recovery. To contact Attorney James Finegan, call (303) 980-5511. You can also send an email via the contact form on this page.

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1: According to a recent study published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute