Cars that can save your life - ConsumerReports.org

Although self-driving cars are years away, some of their souped-up features are already available on contemporary cars—and can save you from a crash. Those crash-avoidance systems can let a car “see” other vehicles or pedestrians well before they are in your line of sight, anticipate some types of collisions, automatically apply the brakes to avoid a crash, and prevent you from crossing lanes... The life-saving potential of crash-avoidance systems is great enough that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ( IIHS ) tests them as part of its safety evaluations. As of 2015, vehicles must both excel in crash tests and have a front-crash warning system with automatic braking to be named an IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus. Camera systems can be baffled by bad weather. In the end, those systems can prevent a lot of crashes from happening. Some new cars have these crash-avoidance systems. Rear camera Rear-visibility technology (such as backup cameras) will become mandatory in May 2018. They can help prevent a back-over accident, such as hitting a child who wanders behind your car. Forward-collision warning (FCW) and autobrake Also called a precrash-mitigation system, these stand-alone or combined radar-, laser-, or camera-based systems peer ahead and warn drivers of an impending collision by using. Source: www.consumerreports.org