Distracted driving is a major cause of death from road accidents in the United States. Data from the year 2016 shows that over 3000 accidental deaths were as a result of distracted driving. This is a very high figure and points to the need for an effective way of dealing with distracted driving. That’s why the law is harsh on distracted drivers who cause harm to innocent people. Lawyers from firms like rector law firm are always ready and willing to provide legal aid to victims of distracted drivers. However, the law is not always enough.
For someone who loses a loved one to a distracted driver, no amount of money can compensate for such a loss. That’s why prevention is a far better approach to the whole issue of distracted driving. The good news is that, vehicle manufacturers are very proactive in trying to deal with this problem, by making use of next-gen technologies. In fact, as some of these technologies hit the mass market, car manufacturers could eliminate distracted driving as a cause of accidents in the U.S in a few years. Here are the top 3 ways that automobile manufacturers are helping to prevent distracted driving in the U.S.
1. Incorporating lane departure warning technologies
Today, vehicle manufacturers are incorporating technologies that can tell if a vehicle veers off its lane. These technologies are designed specifically for distracted drivers and work in two ways. The first one is by sending a warning to the driver either through vibration, or audio message. If the driver is still distracted, vehicle manufacturers have a secondary layer of security, in automated steering. Thanks to this technology, when a vehicle veers off the road, this technology pulls the vehicle back to the road. It’s a powerful technology that is helping a lot in preventing distracted driving in the U.S.
2. Rear automatic emergency braking technology
Most accidents related to distracted-driving involve bumping into other cars from behind. At high speed, this can be fatal. That’s why manufacturers have come up with rear automatic emergency braking technology. With this technology, the vehicle brakes automatically if it comes too close to another vehicle. This is a powerful technology that is already helping prevent accidents that are related to distracted driving. As it becomes a standard on newer cars, this technology could go a long way in eliminating distracted driving altogether.
3. Autonomous cruise control technology
Autonomous cruise control is another technology that is playing a huge role in preventing accidents that are linked to distracted driving. This technology works by automatically reducing your car’s speed to maintain a safe distance with the car in front. This is a powerful technology because it eliminates any chances of a distracted driver ramming into another car on the highway, and causing a fatal multiple-car accident. Thanks to this technology, the number of distracted-driving accidents have gone down. In the future, once this technology is available on most cars, distracted driving accidents could be a thing of the past.
