SAFETY MARGINS

Here’s the avoidance tech that will remove the human error from vehicle crashes

works. We have used common acronyms but manufacturers use varying names for the same technology. AEB: This uses radar and/or cameras to monitor the road ahead and in an emergency can automatically apply the brakes, usually after giving you audible and/or visual warnings that you’re at risk of a collision if you don’t brake. Right now.

Read the fine print, though. Some operate only at low speed — look for the word “City” in the name — while others merely slow the car or increase braking pressure when you are already hard on the pedal, sometimes referred to as “Assist” or “Mitigation”.

The best bring you to a complete stop from any speed — the laws of physics permitting — and can detect cyclists and pedestrians as well as other cars. A few top-end systems can also stop your car from entering an intersection or making a turn if there’s a risk of being T-boned, or colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

AEB is sometimes packaged with adaptive cruise control (ACC) as extensions of the same technology. Adaptive cruise will maintain a set speed, as in conventional cruise control, but will also keep a safe gap to the car in front, or another car moving into your path, if necessary by slowing or, in an emergency, stopping your car. Most ACC systems allow you to vary the distance at which intervention occurs but AEB remains active as a last resort. BSM:Keeps an “eye” on the adjacent lane, with a light on each side mirror illuminated when a vehicle is in your blind spot. Some types will also sound a warning if you try to move into the lane when a vehicle is alongside. It’s particularly helpful in the cut and thrust of city traffic. Motorcycle riders will love you for having it.