In the last ten years we have witnessed a true silent (or louder, depending on the system...) revolution in automotive safety. The advent of the Help Flash device, in 2016, was a decisive step in the evolution of road safety, but throughout this last decade there have been several auxiliary devices that help make our cars safer and contribute to the reduction of accidents with fatalities on our roads.
Even the ABS – a system that prevents the wheels from locking in the event of heavy work, allowing the driver to maintain the direction of the vehicle – in all new cars produced from 2004 onwards, makes an important contribution to the safety of our roads. It may also be possible to introduce ESP (mandatory as of 2014), a system that maintains the stability of the car in different circumstances and that has proven to be “miraculous” for many drivers in more extreme situations. The combination of these two driving aids is, in itself, a reason for rejoicing and has helped save thousands of lives, but not only the only ones. See a list of driving support systems that ensure the comfort and safety of our vehicles and, consequently, our safety.
Reversing camera
Many accidents could be avoided if the visibility of the future was better. To think, many builders will now include reversing cameras that, through an ecrã, allow us to control the maneuvers in this sense, avoiding small touches or, above all, collisions or attacks in other cars that are crossing or approaching. Thanks to the use of short-range radars and a myriad of new sensors, every day many cars automatically detect the passage of pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles and alert the driver or traffic.
Sistemas de travagem ativa
Once again, the combination of short, medium and long range cameras and radars allows the car to detect dangerous situations that the driver can escape. According to the detection carried out and the evaluation of the situation, the system can alert the driver and pre-prepare the work system or, if the user does not react, it can also immobilize the car. This system is particularly useful in urban environments, reducing the risk of collisions or attacks with greater or lesser gravity.
Deteção de ângulo morto
This is another lack of visibility that can endanger our safety and security for two remaining road users. The famous blind angle, which prevents the view of a vehicle that is positioned in a certain location on our side, can be bypassed by using a set of radars and sensors that alert us to the presence of another vehicle when we intend, for example, to change direction. This alert is, traditionally, transmitted through a luminous indication in the exterior mirrors.
Maintenance assistance in the rolling stock
A good complement to the dead angle detector is the maintenance assistance system in the wheel area. The simplest systems only alert the driver to a possible detour in the road and a consequent change in wheel speed with potentially disastrous results. Our most evolved, our own system adapts to the direction and helps to maintain the trajectory within the defined field. To change the system without problems, you must always perform the direction change signal (click) so that the system is not forced to change.
Câmaras de visão noturna
With the democratization of technology, much of it of military origin, you are seeking to gain attributes that, a few years ago, seemed worthy of appearing in scientific fiction. Night vision cameras with automatic detection of animals, dogs or bicycles, for example, and attached heat sensors (to clearly distinguish an object or a tree from a person), allow increased safety in a situation in which visibility (or lack thereof) always enhances accidents.
Active lighting systems
As you already know, in lower market ranges, LED matrix headlights, the lighting has another “brightness”. Not only for the quality and range of two luminous beams (future Laser headlamps will be able to illuminate up to 1 km away, even as the Help Flash is visible when activated), but for the ability to vary the location and intensity of the two luminous beams. Thus, we can keep the berm illuminated in our road area, even when we cross each other in front of each other and without running or chaining each other. The system itself is “selling” the relocation of the remaining traffic, or direction of the vehicles at the same speed and turning off or linking LED sections in a way to avoid or chain, but without ever prejudicing our visibility.
Adaptive cruise control and traffic signal reading system
These systems, which could be complementary, are only two more recent, but also two more democratized. Maintaining the speed of crossing in accordance with the rest of the traffic results from the use of long-range radars that “avaliam” the speed of movement of the vehicle that precedes us and adapts, automatically, to our speed at the same speed. This system, in addition to making driving on the highway more comfortable, also prevents accidents caused by driver distraction, as it accelerates and decelerates in accordance with the other vehicle in front of us. The traffic sign reading system goes to a front camera to “see” the signs (especially regarding non-local maximum speed) and alert the driver for any excess speed. The most modern systems can also automatically adapt the traffic speed to the maximum non-local traffic speed. In addition to a security quest, this system is particularly useful to avoid bribery by authorities...
