ORLANDO, Fla. – Dubbed as the eyes and ears of your car, advanced driver-assistance systems are popping up more in newer vehicles but you might not you have them or how to use them.
Advanced driver-assistance systems, also known as ADAS, include forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring. New research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates these systems could prevent more than 30 million crashes and nearly 250,000 deaths over the next 30 years.
Jennifer Wheeler, a sales professional at Napleton Clermont Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, said families are looking for these features.
“Some of them are on a higher trim level, some are select, but a lot of them are standard,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler told News 6 the cost of the safety features can be included in the price of the vehicle at some dealerships, while others allow drivers to purchase the technology individually.
“They’re definitely going to save you on your insurance because every safety feature you have is going to be an added discount to it, but sometimes they could be hundreds to thousands of dollars just depending on which package,” Wheeler said.
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So how do you know which feature is best for you?
“Every location and every challenge requires different technology.” said Mohamed Abdel-Aty, professor of Transportation Engineering at UCF. According to Abdel-Aty, automatic emergency braking is important to have on a freeway or at an intersection, while lane departure warning could be beneficial to people who drive at night.
Abdel-Aty and his team of researchers at UCF are looking for ways to make driving safer. They fly drones over roads to capture actual driving habits. One of those spots is at University Boulevard and Alafaya Trail in Orange County.
“This is the most pedestrian-dangerous intersection in Central Florida, so that’s why we selected some locations because they are challenging, they have a lot of what we call conflicts or near-misses. Near-misses (are) an indication of a safety problem,” he said.
The drone video is then converted into a simulation to test car-safety features. The simulator showed what the sensor sees and how it detects nearby cars and objects.
Work on the technology is still evolving.
“The performance and the injury severity for vehicles equipped with automation will depend on environmental factors, such as rain, wet surfaces and also whether the crash happens in (an) urban environment or on the highway,” said Dr. Natalia Barbour, assistant professor of Transportation and Smart Cities at UCF.
Researchers stressed that for any of these safety features to get results on a greater scale, more drivers need to activate them. However, some are hesitant. According to Dr. Barbour, her research found many people are concerned over their privacy and whether the technology is reliable.
While these systems have proven to be helpful, experts said they are not perfect, so it is important for drivers to pay attention.
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