Year over year, every automaker is faced with the challenge of making automobiles safer. In the advent of smarter, better technology we did not even dare to dream a decade ago, some auto manufacturers are thinking the best way to keep drivers, passengers, and others safe from car accidents is by taking the human variable right out of the equation. Many new vehicles are hitting the roads with automatic crash avoidance technology and safety systems, relying on computers to prevent crashes.
How effective are these new smart systems at stopping a collision, though? Is there reason to fear that they might be causing them instead?
Front-Crash Prevention Moves Forward
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has begun researching the true effectiveness of automatic crash prevention systems in automobiles of all types. It has already found promising results in many safety features, most notably front-crash prevention. Cars equipped with sensors that detect approaching objects and vehicles can be forced to brake if the system predicts a crash is imminent. The IIHS calculates that cars with forward-crash prevention technology can automatically stop a rear-end collision at least half of the time.
Lane-Departure Systems Cause Some Concern
The automatic crash avoidance technology that has raised some brows is lane-departure prevention systems, also called lane-keeping assistance (LKA). Most vehicles equipped with an LKA use side-facing sensors to look for nearby objects and vehicles and forward-facing cameras to track lane markers. If the sensors predicts a sideswipe is likely to occur, it will adjust the steering column and possibly the brakes to stop the collision.
The prevalent concern is what may happen if an LKA experiences a glitch. Taking steering out of control of the driver is potentially a recipe for disaster. In theory, a driver could be in perfect control of their car, only to have a defective LKA suddenly force them into adjacent or oncoming traffic. However, at the time of this reporting, no LKA defect crashes have been confirmed.
San Jose Defective Automobile Attorneys – Habbas & Associates
Were you in a car accident caused by a vehicle defect, such as a failing lane-keeping assistance system? Were you struck by a distracted driver? No matter the cause of your car accident, our San Jose car accident lawyers from Habbas & Associates can help you seek justice and compensation through a claim. With nearly two centuries’ worth of combined legal experience, our team of legal professionals is ready to take on virtually anything that can come up in your claim and guide it to success.
Find out more about our firm and your options for filing a claim by contacting us today.