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Beaufort Drivers Shouldn't Trust Vehicle Tech to Avoid Crashes

Hilton Head auto accident attorneysIn-vehicle technologies have come a very long way in recent years.  According to AOL Autos, 75 percent of 2014 vehicles allowed drivers to choose a blind-spot detection system as an optional upgrade. Two percent of vehicle manufacturers actually made this blindspot detection system a standard feature. Around half of all cars in 2014 also offered a lane keep program or lane departure warning system that would alert motorists if they had gone outside of the lane where they were supposed to be driving.

Personal injury lawyers in Beaufort, SC know that advances in both crash-prevention technologies as well as crash-survival technologies like airbags have been major contributing factors toward bringing the car crash death toll down dramatically in recent decades. However, these technologies are not perfect. Like all electronics, they can malfunction, not work effectively or not work at all. Drivers in the Bluff, the Point, the Northwest Quadrant and throughout Beaufort and surrounding areas need to be aware that even if they upgrade to all of the best crash prevention technologies available, this is no substitute for paying careful attention to the road and driving in a smart and assertive way.

Vehicle Tech Cannot Avoid All Collisions

AOL Autos reports that AAA and MITAge Lab teamed up to test popular crash-prevention features. A variety of different cars made by different car makers were all included in the study because some vehicle crash detect systems are likely to work better than others. The goal was to get an overall idea of whether tech tools designed to reduce human error in cars are likely to actually make people safer or not.

The results showed that while these systems mostly work, they have a very long way to go to being perfectly reliable.  The lane keep or lane departure system, for example, often did not work very well in construction zones and did not work effectively in situations where there was bad weather or the roads were wet.  The lane departure system also was less likely to work when the markings on the pavement had become old and faded.

Blind spot detectors did not perform much better than the lane departure systems. Many people use these detectors to help them merge into highways or change lanes, as it can be very difficult for drivers to see fast-paced cars coming at them from behind. Unfortunately, these systems performed the most poorly when cars were going by quickly. In cases where there was a 50 mile-per-hour difference in speed between the car and a person on a motorcycle who was in the driver's blood spot, the motorcycle never even showed up on the lane departure system. The detector in general did not pick up on a motorcycle until 26 percent later than it spotted a passenger car. By the time the motorcycle was detected, the driver was just 14 feet away from it.

These technologies have a place in preventing accidents, despite the problems, and they are mostly first and second generation technology tools so they are likely to improve. Still, no matter what types of advancements are made, there is no substitute for a safe driver who is focused on the road and who follows all safety rules.

A Beaufort South Carolina personal injury attorney can help if you've been injured or a loved one was killed in an accident. Contact Twenge + Twombley today at 866-452-6315 for a free case consultation. Serving The Bluff, the Point, the Northwest Quadrant and surrounding areas. 

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