What cars can do
Self-driving automobiles will incorporate numerous systems to help them navigate roadways and react to ever-changing conditions. But the hubbub over their future overshadows the many features that are already available.
These features, mainly safety-oriented, are so plentiful that many franchised dealerships actually employ computer technicians possessing the necessary savvy to explain and demonstrate the nuances of device-laden vehicles to buyers.
Ever since anti-lock braking systems appeared (one of the first computer-controlled safety-related systems to become standard), the list has been steadily growing. Anti-lock brakes, like many safety items appearing subsequently, take some of the control away from drivers (“pumping” the brakes in this case) and relegate it to faster, more reliable computer control. Anti-lock brakes pulsate rapidly, sensing pending “lockup,” avoiding skids and retaining steering control more efficiently than most drivers can.
Similarly, other autonomous automotive advancements now regularly perform certain driving tasks with more accuracy and dependability than humans typically can.
There are so many of these features, many drivers may not even know they have them, let alone how they function. A Website, “mycardoeswhat.org,” makes a worthy attempt to explain the function of dozens of such new features found on today’s automobiles.
For example, items as simple as a rear-mounted backup camera are described and featured at the Website. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has called for these cameras to become standard equipment on all vehicles by 2018, but many manufacturers are complying in advance as of 2016.
Another popular device detailed at the Website is automatic emergency braking. It is coupled with another feature, forward collision warning, by which sensors in the front of a vehicle detect how close you are to the car ahead, supplying the driver an audible warning when the distance becomes too short. Automatic emergency braking takes things a step further by applying the brakes in an attempt to avoid a collision when the driver fails to react.
The list of items explained at mycardoeswhat.org is long, and includes lane departure warning, tire pressure monitoring system, adaptive cruise control, curve speed warning, obstacle detection, pedestrian detection, electronic stability control and many others.
Several manufacturers have even attempted to assuage the mayhem that can arise from driver drowsiness, making various forms of “drowsiness alert” systems available on current production vehicles. Typical versions of this feature track how often you depart from the center of your lane over a set period of time. A sound, vibration or visual warning is given to drivers deemed drowsy by this method.
More advance systems “learn” your normal driving patterns when not drowsy and compare that baseline to erratic maneuvers that may suggest drowsiness or distraction.
Some self-driving-oriented features offer more convenience than safety. An example is automatic parallel parking. How nice would it be to have your car automatically steer into a tight parking spot parallel to the curb?
Advanced sensors in the parking system will not even activate if there is insufficient space in the spot for your vehicle. But if there is room, the feature will alert you to stop and shift into reverse, then it will steer your car into the space in one attempt without bumping anything.
Though totally self-driving vehicles may still be several years away, the features that will make their eventuality a reality are already being installed on the cars we drive. Drivers will be the benefactors of this technological explosion in regards to safety and convenience.
Readers may contact Bill Love via e-mail at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.
