Active Safety Guidance for a Safe Driving Experience

There are several reasons why driving in itself is thrilling but also dangerous at the same time. Trying to navigate through crowds of vehicles while focusing on the different aspects of driving and avoiding accidents is huge pressure on drivers. Thus, new technologies are being developed continuously to help drivers drive safely on the road. It would be interesting to take two such safety measures – blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

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Blind-spot monitoring system

This technology was introduced back in 2007. Sensors are mounted on the rear side or side view mirrors that emit electromagnetic waves. They reflect from vehicles that are entering the car's blind spots. Research shows that accidents reportedly go down by 14% due to blind-spot monitoring systems. Moreover, chances of injuries are reduced by 23% due to these systems.

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The car then provides an alert (in the form of a light or flashing light accompanied with a chime) to alert the driver aware of the conditions. Vehicles with lights inside the car are better since they are not obstructed by bad weather.

Often, instead of sensors, cameras are mounted inside the mirror housing. These cameras capture a live feed of the surroundings. However, blind spot monitoring is diminished in the case of this system.

New technologies are being developed to integrate blind-spot monitoring with emergency lane monitoring to prevent accidents!

The major problem with blind-spot monitoring systems is the pace of the vehicles. If the cars are moving too fast, the sensors have difficulty accurately providing information to the drivers and there is a certain lag. Sometimes, the alert comes too late for the driver to take preventive measures leading to increased chances of accidents. Improvements need to be made to the system for making driving safer.

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Rear cross-traffic alert system

RCTA or Rear cross-traffic alert systems use similar sensors as blind-spot monitoring systems. These sensors are placed at the rear end of the vehicles.

For example, if a person is trying to move out of a parking spot and there is heavy traffic around, it can be hard for the driver to track all the commotion. RCTA sensors emit electromagnetic waves that bounce off the cars moving at the back and provide directions to the driver. The infotainment system provides a visual and audible signal to the driver.

Reverse AEB systems are being developed actively along with these RCTA systems. So, if the sensors detect any potential collisions, the brakes are applied immediately to avoid accidents. There are still many problems that need to be fixed when it comes to AEBs but rapid improvements are being made to further improve these systems' efficiency.