SMART CARS ARE DRIVING A SAFETY REVOLUTION

A revolution in car safety will take place within the next five years as a wave of mass-market models that can predict and automatically respond to danger arrive in showrooms. That’s the prediction of Mike Song, head of Hyundai in Africa and the Middle East.

Despite the rapid rollout of advanced technology such as anti-lock braking and electronic stability control to mass-market cars, driver reaction time still has to be factored in, he says. To take driver aids to the next level will require overcoming the human factor.

Hyundai’s most recent new models combine a package of innovations into “Smart Sense”, which includes aids such as smart cruise control and lanekeeping assistance. The company’s research and development of driverless vehicles also feeds into the concept.

With autonomous emergency braking already incorporated into crash testing programmes such as EURONCAP and the prospect of other similar technologies being included in the testing regimen, manufacturers are being pushed harder to achieve top safety rankings. “… we need to make sure every new model is better than the car it replaces, because the assessment is always being updated to take new technology into account,” Song says. “In five years’ time, a car that doesn’t respond to danger won’t be considered completely safe anymore. To meet that expectation, we need to be bringing the best available technology into the market now.”