Safety Innovations for Cars

Black Audi car

Will new found innovations make cars smarter and safer? Perhaps. And given how frequently car accidents occur and how serious the injuries can be, it’s never a bad idea to make automobiles safer.

In the past, we discussed how the National Highway Transportation Safety Association was behind a push to have black boxes installed in all cars, much like the black boxes found on airplanes. These devices provide valuable feedback after an accident occurs.

But what about safety innovations that will help protect passengers in a vehicle involved in a crash? The Chicago Tribune explored a number of new motor vehicle safety innovations in a recent article. As detailed in the article, these new features include:

  • Active head restraints
  • Adaptive cruise control
  • Daytime running lights and Xenon high-intensity-discharge headlights
  • Lane departure warning systems
  • Occupant personalization
  • Smarter seat belts
  • Tire pressure monitoring systems
  • Telematics
  • Traction control

As explained in the article: “Whether lights, cameras, sensors, seats or belts, even the most advanced of current technologies are designed and built, more or less, to save us from ourselves.”

This is an astute observation, since one of the most dangerous things that most of us do on a daily basis is ride in a car. Car accidents are extremely common and can cause life threatening injuries, and yet, as a society, we’ve decided that the risks of traveling in a car are worth it. In other words, the convenience of being able to travel quickly and efficiently o our destination trump the very likely risks of being involved in a car accident.

Of course, even though we’ve accepted the risks inherent in traveling in an automobile, it doesn’t mean that doing so should be a dangerous proposition. So it’s good to see that more innovative safety features are being added to cars to reduce the risks of injury to occupants. After all, as the old saying goes: better safe than sorry.

Howard Ankin of Ankin Law (www.ankinlaw.com) handles workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. Mr. Ankin can be reached at (312) 600-0000 and howard@ankinlaw.com.