A lot of families remember their parents' Chevy Impala that was half a block long and took about that much room to stop when the brakes were pressed. With that memory in mind, people are glad today's technology provides better stopping power, considering that every member of the family has a car. This is often, sadly, necessary in order to finance the future of the family. So every family is grateful that their kids' cars will safely brake when necessary when the kids are distracted by various things, such as waving at passing friends, text alerts on their phones or loud music on the MP3 player.
Automobile makers have built into their cars safety features centered on braking. More cars are on the road than ever before, they travel faster than ever before as well as driving greater distances to get to jobs, schools and vacations. Distractions are more intense, so drivers sometimes need extra help stopping their cars when approaching deadlocked traffic, slick roadways from rain and ice or getting out of the way of emergency vehicles. With all that in mind, anti-locking brakes were invented. That technology helped, but then, just as phones got smarter, so did braking systems.
Insurance Companies
No insurance company wants to pay out for an accident, so they offer discounts when clients use vehicles with safety measures built in, such as airbags and child safety features. In 2010, Nissan introduced Forward Collision Avoidance Assist Concept. This is, basically, a smart chip inserted behind the car's front bumper which senses and records the distance of things in front of the car. It then releases pressure on the gas pedal and applies it to the brakes slowly until the driver notices the alerts going off inside the car and safely brakes to a stop. Doesn't this sound like just the thing to protect our young drivers?
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA, working hand in hand with Congress, has helped auto makers refine what Toyota and Honda call Brake Override. Brake override is another smart chip-type thing, in which the car senses when the gas and brake pedals are being pressed simultaneously and steps in to stop the car safely. People who drive race cars, for example, use one foot for the clutch and the other foot for the gas and brake pedals, heel-and-toe style. This smart chip senses that and safely brakes the car to a stop. BMW was the first to use this technology, but as the movement toward safety gathers momentum, people can expect to see all auto makers building these innovations into their cars.
The Year of Green Cars
With the awareness of federal regulations on car safety features in addition to financial awareness in the form of auto insurance companies' regulations comes auto makers conforming to the collective view of the future. 2012 cars will not only be fuel efficient but safety conscious. Models such as the Ford Focus along with the Hyundai Accent will combine brake override or brake assist with electronic brake distribution, in which the smart chip senses which wheel is banking into a steep turn then redistributes power to all wheels to prevent a skid. These innovative technologies will prevent brake dust and particles from causing emissions, which will make for a greener experience for the people not breathing in the stuff.
