Automatic braking technology uses laser, radar or camera systems to detect an impending collision and apply the brakes automatically, preventing or at least lessening the severity of crashes.
Volvo, Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, General Motors, Ford, BMW and Audi will make these systems standard on all the car, SUV and truck models they sell. More than half of the new vehicles sold in the U.S. are sold by these companies.
The news was announced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). IIHS is a research group funded by the insurance industry.
IIHS President Adrian Lund said that the systems have vast potential to reduce accidents, because most collisions are caused by human error. Lund said that automatic braking systems are always on alert, never getting distracted or tired.
Automatic braking technology is most effective at preventing rear-end crashes, which are extremely common. According to government statistics, rear-end collisions caused 1,700 deaths and 500,000 injuries in 2012.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended in June that automatic braking be required as standard equipment on all new cars.
IIHS said that its research indicates automatic braking could reduce auto insurance injury claims by approximately 35 percent.
Beginning with the 2012 model year, new cars have been required to feature electronic stability control, a system that helps prevent skids.
According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, if a number of auto safety technologies that are currently available as options, such as automatic braking and lane-departure warnings, were made more widely available, nearly 10,000 traffic fatalities per year could be prevented, and $251 billion saved.
If you were injured in an automobile accident, contact Briskman Briskman & Greenberg for a free consultation. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.
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The post What happens to you and your car when you run into the back of a truck trailer? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The IIHS recently subjected 11 popular minicar models to its toughest crash test, and just one protected its crash test dummies well enough to earn a rating of “acceptable.” To be sure, the IIHS tests — especially the small overlap front crash test — are very strenuous.
In the federal government’s frontal crash test, the car strikes a rigid barrier, fully head-on, at 35 mph. The IIHS moderate overlap front crash test sends each car into a deformable barrier at 40 mph, with just 40 percent of the vehicle’s front end (on the driver’s side) absorbing the impact. This concentrates the force of the collision onto a smaller area of the car, increasing the likelihood of structural failure and “injury” to the crash test dummy.
The IIHS small overlap front crash test, introduced in 2012, is tougher still. It too is conducted at 40 mph, but just 25 percent of the vehicle’s front end (on the driver’s side) absorbs the impact, and the barrier the vehicle strikes is rigid. This is the type of impact a vehicle would experience if it struck a large tree or utility pole head-on on the driver’s side.
The IIHS gives each car an overall rating and ratings for each of several distinct categories. The possible ratings are “good,” “acceptable,” “marginal” and “poor.” Just one of the 11 cars tested — the Chevrolet Spark — earned an overall “acceptable” rating. The rest were rated either “marginal” or “poor”, including the popular Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Prius c and Ford Fiesta.
All vehicles were given structural ratings of “marginal” or “poor”, but the Spark scored better overall because the dummy’s movement was better restricted and showed lower injury levels.
The IIHS reminds consumers that the Spark compares favorably only with other vehicles in its own class. The ratings the institute bestows cannot be compared across different weight classes of automobile. Among the 17 “small cars” the IIHS has tested (which are just slightly larger and heavier than minicars), five earned “good” ratings and another five earned “acceptable” ratings.
If you decide a that smaller car is right for you, it is very important to check out crash test ratings and, of course, drive cautiously. If you are involved in a serious auto accident, you need all the help you can get.
If you need to speak with a auto accident attorney, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.
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