CAR SAFETY GLOSSARY

ACTIVE BONNET

When the car’s battery of camera and radar-based systems detect an imminent collision with a pedestrian, the bonnet pings up slightly, thus lessening the impact between the car’s bodywork and the pedestrian’s head – a main cause of fatalities.

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

When the cruise control is set to, say, 60mph, the car maintains that speed. That is unless it detects obstacles, or slowing traffic ahead, in which case it can reduce its speed.

ATTENTION ASSIST

The car will monitor the driver for attentiveness, interjecting with a plea for the driver to pull over and rest if it detects signs of excessive sleepiness.

AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

The car constantly assesses the road ahead and, if it detects a stationary vehicle or one moving so slowly that a collision is imminent, it can activate the brakes to slow down.

ECALL A system that will automatically notify the emergency services of your whereabouts in the event that your car is involved in a collision.

ELECTRONIC ROLL MITIGATION

The car will detect that it is about to roll over and apply individual brakes (say, for example, the right driver’sside wheel only), and adjust the accelerator in order to prevent itself from turning over.

HEAD-UP DISPLAY

Important information is displayed within the driver’s road-facing field of view, often by means of a reflective surface, meaning he or she needs to spend less time looking away from the road.

INTELLIGENT ACTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

A cruise-control system that does everything Active Cruise Control can do, but with the added ability to adjust a vehicle’s speed to reflect the prevailing limit.

LANE KEEP ASSIST

The car will gently (or not so gently) nudge itself back into its lane if it detects itself straying or leaving the road.

It does this primarily by monitoring the white road markings.

OCCUPANT STATUS MONITORING

The car will know how many people are in the car, where they are sitting and, perhaps most importantly, whether they are all wearing their seat belts. An alarm will sound if they are not.

SPEED ASSIST

The car will remind its driver of the speed limits, and might make pointed noises if its velocity exceeds the number posted on roadside signs.