The TLA’S of your SUV
Somebody speak English!
Three letter acronyms – TLA’S – make up the language of the SUV. We take a look at some of the more common terms and demystify them.
TLA’S – what a first world concept. TLA stands for ‘three letter acronyms’ and they are so common, they have acquired their own TLA as a self-descriptor. Furthermore, we use them so often to describe things, that we often don’t know what each of the actual words are anymore!
I may be showing my age a bit perhaps, but how many of you referred to the device which used a video cassette to record a television programme as just that; a videocassette recorder? Or did you just glom onto the ‘much cooler sounding’ TLA of the time, and refer to the device as the VCR?
In the SUV (a TLA even in the name!) market, three-letter acronyms cluster around the vehicles like seagulls around a carton of hot chips. And really, when faced with the question of which SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle, correctly speaking) should you buy, the answer might be: the one with the most TLA’S attached to it. That’s gotta be the one, right? And who cares what the TLA’S mean?
Given that most TLA’S refer to safety systems, it’s a good idea to know what they stand for, because one or another may just save you and your family from becoming a road statistic, but as to the first half of the statement, yes, the more TLA’S your SUV has, the safer its likely to be.
At one point, you could have said, “the more expensive it’s going to be, too” but happily, vehicle safety technology becomes cheaper as the number of manufacturers offering it increases.
Given that we are happy enough to pay what we pay for new vehicles, the cost of new safety systems, from the consumer’s standpoint anyway, is acceptable enough. A good example is the all but mandatory safety system of ABS.
As more manufacturers began adopting ABS systems, the more cost effective they became to produce and as such, it’s nigh on impossible to buy a new vehicle today without anti-locking brakes. This is a trend which will likely continue, as safety TLAS become more sophisticated.
Play the game
To better understand TLA’S, when you bundle the family into your SUV for its intended purpose of a holidaymaker, you could play the Great Acronym Game and teach your children well, as Crosby, Stills and Nash once sang.
You could score 10 points for knowing what the TLA stands for and five points for a semi technical explanation. It beats “I spy” or “Yellow car!”
For the Trivial Pursuit players out there, and to start the GAG going, try this: what is AEB?
AEB stands for Automatic/ Autonomous Emergency Braking; a system which will brake for you if the system thinks you should be braking but haven’t begun to do so.
The system uses sensors to detect an unmoving object in front of your vehicle, then automatically activates the brakes and warns you that it is doing so with varying levels of intensity in light displays, seat vibration, audio alerts or a combination of the lot.
As the driver, you are ultimately responsible for stopping the vehicle, which is why AEB is often referred to as an ‘assistance system,’ a neat “get out of
legal liability” card for auto makers.
A good rule of thumb: If your car suddenly says: “I’m braking for you,” and you can almost hear the words “…you muppet! Wake up!” you should respond by taking control yourself; this is the reaction car makers want from you.
We’ve said it before, but it needs to be reinforced: AEB is an ‘’assistance’’ feature, not a guarantee.
ACC, which should not be confused with the ACC that pays for your doctor’s visits, stands for Active or Adaptive Cruise Control.
Standard cruise control allows you to set and forget a nominated speed. When conditions change, climbing a hill say, the system increases engine power/torque to compensate. Despite the obvious expectation that cruise control should maintain your selected speed when going downhill, not all systems do, so be mindful.
ACC or Adaptive/active cruise control goes a step further. A front facing radar reads the lane ahead of the vehicle cruising at its pre-determined speed and, should something obstruct the radar, the active cruise control system slows the car, either through decreasing engine power or applying brakes, to prevent a collision.
BSM/BSW/BSI and the trademarked-by-ford/volvo ‘BLIS’ acronyms, all mean much the same thing: Blind Spot Monitor/ Warning/information systems. While correctly adjusted side mirrors have been proven to eliminate blind spots, apparently most of us still need an electronic nana to help us out.
A blind spot monitor typically uses radar in the rear bumper to detect a vehicle approaching from behind and at an offset. A warning is frequently displayed as a light in the external mirror of the corresponding side and there may be an accompanying audible alert.
DAD – the acronym, not the groan of the teenaged passengers after a particularly bad joke is told – is comparatively uncommon here, but rudimentary forms of it date back from the mid-90’s – about the time of the original Playstation for you Millennials.
DAD comes in active or passive forms. Passively, a basic DAD system works off a clock.
If the vehicle’s engine has been running for a set time – usually somewhere around two to two and a half hours – a coffee cup icon may appear on the dash, telling you to pull over and take a break.
While this was cute at the time, most pooh-poohed it as a gimmick. Turns out now, “it’s a thing.”
Active DAD uses very sophisticated sensors to determine the angle of the driver’s head, or even eye position, which will change as the driver becomes drowsy.
At one point, a DAD system would use visual warnings, but today, in some cases, it can use counter-steering to correct a ‘drowsy drift’ if the vehicle sensors determine the vehicle is unintentionally crossing road