Car Safety Features that are more Prominent in 2022

As technology advances, car manufacturers are prioritizing options that keep drivers and passengers safe and secure. In the upcoming year, you can expect to see some rapid improvements to car safety features in the form of optional add-ons and standard offerings. At your local Cleveland North Coast Auto Mall, we want you to stay informed on these new technologies so that you can choose a vehicle that can keep your most important cargo safe. Read more to learn about the future of vehicle safety and discover upcoming advancements to get excited about.

Driver Assistance Systems

Photo via Flickr by taberandrew

While cars may not drive themselves yet in 2022, they will be able to limit the human errors that can cause accidents. Driver assistance systems are features that cars can employ to limit the potential for common driver mistakes that can turn deadly. This type of smart technology can make a meaningful impact on the future of accident avoidance.

One example of a common driver assistance system is automatic braking. Although some vehicles already use this feature, its potential benefits will likely see mean that it sees widespread use within the year. If a vehicle senses a collision, it can automatically brake much faster than the average human could react. This could save valuable seconds, limiting the negative effects of a crash or eliminating the collision altogether.

Other driver assistance features include blind spot monitors that could warn you of drivers that you couldn’t see on your own, giving you ample time to move to safety. Pedestrian detection technology could alert you when there’s a pedestrian nearby, even potentially altering the vehicle’s position to avoid a collision. Lane departure warning could alert you when your car drifts out of its lane on the highway, eliminating any potential crashes. 

Even more advanced technology could automatically correct when a vehicle drifts into another lane, reducing the chance of injury by quickly fixing the car’s position in situations where a driver can’t react quickly, or at all. These features and others aim to eliminate the possibly deadly effects of vehicle collisions, or possibly to eliminate all collisions. While manufacturers may not reach this goal in 2022, their advancements can get us closer to an accident-free world.

Traffic sign recognition is another technology that drivers could start to see as soon as 2022. This feature would allow a car to recognize objects like speed limit signs, pedestrian warnings, or road descriptions like curves or reduced sight lines. The vehicle could then alert the driver of these warnings or, in more advanced technology systems, auto adjust according to the sign’s data.

While you may have already seen some of these features before, you can expect them to get smarter and more advanced in 2022. You can also expect to see them more frequently as the technology becomes readily available. What was once offered as an optional add-on may soon become standard in all vehicles.

360-Degree Driver Vision

Another technology that you can expect to improve and become readily available in 2022 is 360-degree driver vision. This concept pulls feeds from multiple cameras at different angles to allow a driver to have a complete view of all angles surrounding the vehicle, virtually eliminating dangerous blind spots.

Many cars already include rearview cameras, which have made a crucial impact on a driver’s ability to successfully and safely operate a vehicle. But this is only the beginning when it comes to this type of technology. You can expect to see cameras from different angles appearing in a variety of vehicles in 2022 as a precursor to total 360-degree vision. 

Night Vision

There are already a few night vision systems available today that use infrared light or amplify regular light to help detect pedestrians or other objects in the dark. However, since the technology for these systems is still new to the market, it is most available as a luxury option. In 2022, car manufacturers will likely discover ways to improve this technology and make it suitable for mass distribution. 

Adaptive Cruise Control

You may have already heard of, or even used, cruise control to maintain a constant speed on long stretches of road like highways. But adaptive cruise control could allow you to cruise without having to ever adjust your speed to match the vehicle in front of you. This smarter cruise control option could minimize accidents by maintaining safe distances between your fellow drivers as you change speeds and allowing drivers to keep control of their vehicle in cruise mode without having to lift a finger. 

Like night vision, this technology is already available in some vehicles, but it’s currently too new to be available to mainstream drivers. In 2022 and beyond, it could become standard for many drivers. As the technology advances, you can also expect to see adaptive cruise control adjust for very slow speeds as well as high speeds. This could be useful in situations like stop-and-go traffic.

Cars that Communicate With Each Other

Using Wi-Fi technology, cars could soon “talk” to each other, transmitting information about their location, speed, and direction. This could help drivers avoid collisions with other vehicles. While this feature likely won’t be readily available for at least a couple of years, you may start seeing precursors and initial versions of this technology within the year.

These are just a few of the potential safety advancements that you could see within the upcoming year. As technology becomes smarter, even the most basic vehicles should begin to see some of these features made standard. If you’re considering investing in a new vehicle, it can be important to understand how it can provide you with a driving experience that’s as safe as it is enjoyable. If you have any questions about current or upcoming safety features, you can always contact us today to learn about how our vehicles can keep you safe on the road.