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Ever since the advent of the wheel as a primary means of transporting goods and ourselves, accidents have happened, to say the least. However, as the centuries have passed and we began to propel ourselves along with wheels attached to motors and such, the chances of a catastrophic accident have increased ten-fold, especially in our fast modern autos. The first autos weren’t the safest contraptions, although our modern autos are amongst some of the safest transportation methods in existence. That still doesn’t mean that lives are not lost, as thousands are killed on a yearly basis in North America as a result of auto accidents. Modernity has looked to remedy this situation with Crash Avoidance Technology, but is it really as good as the commercials claim it is?
What Is Crash Avoidance Technology?
If you want to make a long story short, Crash Avoidance Technology (we’ll call it CAT for simplicity’s sake) is one of many features in modern autos that essentially give the auto you are driving a mind of its own. Of course, we haven’t been taken out of the equation entirely, as we are still responsible for starting, steering and providing the gas necessary to get us to where we are going. The human element involved in driving is exactly why technologies such as CAT are slowly becoming a standard option in many classes of autos, especially in higher end autos.
If you want the long story, CAT is essentially a combination of forward-collision warning and lane-departure warning systems. Through a variety of sensors and cameras, an auto can automatically detect if you are going to collide with another auto on the roadway and whether or not you have left your lane. Once your auto has detected a potential collision or lane departure, it will alert you through an alarm, a vibrating steering wheel or even take matters into its own hands and apply the brakes for you. Both instances are obviously quite dangerous, hence the need for the technology.
Emergency brake assistance is another form of CAT. Along with blind-spot detection, adaptive headlights and even infrared detection, the modern auto is evolving into a computing fortress. But the question is, does any of this expensive technology really work? Is the driver still the ultimate force in preventing accidents?
Improvements To Be Made
The U.S. based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently took up the matter of evaluating CAT and rendered a verdict not all that surprising to many observers. The institute concluded that CAT is not a significant force in preventing catastrophic auto accidents. Surprisingly, it concluded that the technology may in fact cause drivers to become even more reckless while driving, turning off the warning devices or simply ignoring warnings. In other words, this expensive technology, at least right now, may not be any more effective than human senses and instincts in preventing accidents.
The study points to a variety of flaws in CAT, but the main flaw is the human behind the wheel. For example, adaptive headlights, in theory, are able to help a driver see around corners and curves while driving at night, which in turn can potentially lead to the driver missing a deer or some other obstruction in the roadway. However, the IIHS points out that drivers will simply drive faster, as they assume that the technology will compensate for the increased recklessness. In other words, the IIHS believes that CAT simply gives a driver more information about the road ahead and is not effective at preventing accidents.
The Future
The cynical tone of the IIHS’s study should not be discounted, but at the same time, it should be noted that CAT is indeed a huge step forward. As mentioned above, thousands upon thousands perish each year in automobile related accidents that in theory could have been prevented. The goal of CAT is to stop those accidents before they happen and one day in the future, technology built upon the CAT of today could very well prevent accidents. But for the time being, those who own an auto with CAT technology included should keep in mind that you are still responsible for keeping your eyes on the road at all times.
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