You’ve probably seen the commercials: the once-crucial “crash-test rating” for cars is slowly but surely being replaced by its crash prevention technology, its ability to hit the breaks automatically before colliding with another vehicle. It seems like science fiction, and if you feel skeptical of this new technology, you’re not the only one. We are beginning the long transition from driving our cars to our cars driving us, but we are still in the early, experimental phases, and it’s still on you to prevent Colorado collisions. But let’s take a look at how reliable these advancements are, which automakers do it best, and the work that still has to be done.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has compiled statistics and ranked these emergent technologies into different ratings: Basic, Advanced, and Superior.
The few cars ranked as Superior really do what they say they do: they automatically stop themselves or significantly reduce their speed when approaching a car at 12 and 25 miles per hour. These include the Cadillac ATS and SRX, the Mercedes-Benz C-class, the Volvo S60 and XC60, and most notably and affordably, the Subaru Legacy and Outback.
Cars in the Advanced category automatically slowed down at least 5 mph when approaching a car at 12 or 25 miles per hour (not necessarily both). While this speed reduction definitely adds to driver safety, it by no means prevents crashes entirely, as some commercials might boast. Advanced car models include the Acura MDX, the Audi A4 and Q5 SUV, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Lexus ES, the Volvo S60 and XC60, and the Mazda6.
Even some cars with the Basic crash prevention rating advertise themselves as having the same capabilities of the Superior models. Yet these cars only provide a warning of an imminent collision without any automatic braking. A few of them do have automatic braking systems, but they simply aren’t good enough to make a notable difference.
Effective and widespread crash prevention technology is a long road ahead. Not only is this technology—even the basic forms—only found in brand new and higher-end car models, it usually adds an extra $1,000 or more to the car’s price. Few vehicles meet the Superior standard, and even those models aren’t flawless. This kind of laser sensor technology needs time to develop, as do vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technologies that can sense other vehicles at a wide range, track and predict their movements, and even communicate through a grid or coordinate movements as a caravan. With time, drivers will let go of the wheel, and roads will get safer.
How to use this Information
Until these technologies take over, choose Accurate Auto Body as your Colorado collision specialist. For Aurora auto body repair with or without insurance claims, look no further than Accurate Auto Body. Call us today at (303) 344-2212 or set up an appointment online.
Do you have one of these new technologies? How has it worked for you?
