How Secure is Your New Car?
As more new vehicles come to the market boasting the latest and greatest technology, manufacturers are looking to simplify the driving experience. This means getting you up and running with easier access to your car. So, what’s one of the prominent solutions?
Well, this has translated into keyless entry and push-button ignition becoming commonplace across the latest models. That’s not to say it was ever difficult to use a key, but clearly the boffins behind this technology thought that was getting all too cumbersome. So with the traditional and trusted key now looking lonely on the outer, is everything actually all fine and well?
Leaving the Past Behind
Over the last decade an array of features has been evolving expeditiously in automotive circles. New cars that we drive today are vastly different to the cars that were driven 10 to 15 years ago. Technology has come on very quickly, and so too has the world that we live in. Today we have amazing things like online streaming, extensive EV models, the invention of the Android phone, accident avoidance, adaptive cruise control, infotainment everything, GPS tracking, Rover on Mars… The list is long. What big features are found in today’s new cars that weren’t part of the package in an equivalent new car bought back in the noughties?
When ADAS Features Fail
I don’t quite know why I’ve become more attentive to learning about a car’s ability to protect its occupants in the event of a collision, along with its ability to avoid the collision altogether in the first place. I expect it has a lot to do with having close family members who occasionally need to drive themselves places. Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) are growing in popularity. ADAS systems can help prevent accidents not only at speed, but also when parked as a stationary car. ADAS features are designed with one purpose in mind and that is to increase driver and occupant safety.
Small Overlap Crash Test
The influx of all the amazing new electronic safety aids and crash avoidance systems found on-board new cars has been exceptional. There is no doubt that these systems are helping save lives and minimising injury. There has been one part of the latest car crash testing regime that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has brought in as part of their testing in order to help make cars safer.
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